Title: "Neurodecolonization, mindfulness, and the Medicine Wheel: An Indigenous Model of Traditional Wellness"
Description: This presentation presents a model that discusses the current science and knowledge regarding stress, cognitive resilience, mindfulness, and a roadmap for healing from trauma and colonization.
Bio: Michael Yellow Bird, IMTA CMT-P, MSW, PhD, is Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. Michael Yellow Bird. He is an enrolled member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) in North Dakota, USA. Dr. Yellow Bird is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association and is a certified mindfulness teacher – professional. He has held faculty appointments at the University of British Columbia, University of Kansas, Arizona State University, Humboldt State University, and North Dakota State University. His research focuses on the effects of colonization and methods of decolonization, healthy Indigenous aging, Arikara ethnobotany and traditional agriculture, Indigenous mindfulness and neurodecolonization, and the cultural significance of Rez dogs. He has been the principal investigator on two mindfulness research projects in Indigenous communities: The Klamath River Early College of the Red Woods (KRECR) school on the Yurok reservation in Klamath, California, and at the Circle of Life Academy (COLA) on the White Earth reservation in Minnesota. He is currently the principal investigator of a project entitled, “Online Training for Foster Parents that will promote reconciliation through Mindful Decolonization and Cultural Safety” in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which is co-funded by the Provincial General Child and Family Health Authority and the Metis Health Authority.
Dr. Yellow Bird is the author of numerous scholarly articles and the co-editor of four books: For Indigenous Eyes Only: The Decolonization Handbook, 2005; For Indigenous Minds Only: A Decolonization Handbook, 2012; Indigenous Social Work around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice, 2008; and Decolonizing Social Work, 2013. He is the co-author of two recent books: A Sahnish (Arikara) Ethnobotany (2020) and Decolonizing Holistic Pathways Towards Integrative Healing in Social Work (2021). His most recent co-authored articles include Defunding Mindfulness: While We Sit on Our Cushions, Systemic Racism Runs Rampant (October, 2020); An Open Letter from Indigenous Peoples to Indigenous Peoples in Brazil On Surviving COVID-19 (January 02, 2021); Praxis in a Racially Volatile Society (forthcoming), and Decolonizing Mindfulness, Mindful Decolonization, and Social Work Futurities (in press). He is currently co-authoring a book entitled, Arikara Corn and Traditional Agriculture (forthcoming).
His mindfulness and neurodecolonization works are featured on a several mind body and mindfulness podcasts. His most recent press article can be found at: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/meaningful-mindfulness-576071502.html
