CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PATHWAYS FOR INTERGENERATIONAL WELLNESS
CHO-GE XO-ŁA BE’ in our language means the medicine to heal ourselves is in our hands. Native Health in Native Hands (NHNH) promotes culturally responsive pathways for intergenerational wellness.
NHNH pathways reconnect our youth and community to our roles and responsibilities to Mother Earth, all our relations and one another.
Join us around the fire - together we can make a difference. Even a small action is a great start. Help power change.
N-shon naa nu-la ~ THANK YOU!
COMING BACK TOGETHER
Native Health in Native Hands is a native led, native run 501c3 non-profit organization, created by Kinest'e people. The goal of NHNH is the re-establishment of the traditional cultural values and practices of the Kinest'e people - Revitalization of Our Ancestral Language (Xo-kenesh), cultural arts, native plants, food sovereignty, N-shong konk' good fire /cultural fire), ku-nus (canoe) culture, land and water access, stewardship, leadership, lifeways and practices - ŁEE-NA-KUL-DUŁAI (coming back together).
The Kinest'e, now called Wailaki, are a Tribe whose ancestral homelands are in Northern Mendocino, Southern Humboldt, and Southwestern Trinity counties. NHNH has been building collaborations with state and federal organizations along with local landowners to strengthen working relations and stewardship programs on Kinest'e ancestral homelands.
Native Health in Native Hands gatherings, pathways and collaborations emphasize cultural connections with community, Indigenous lifeways, language, traditional activities & arts, land and water stewardship, plants, medicines, foods and self care.
Reconnecting with our Traditional Knowledge and Spiritual Roles and Responsibilities
Connection to traditional lifeways strengthen the circle of prevention, healing, recovery and balance.
LIFE WAYS
Indigenous ways of knowing and being respect the interconnectedness of all things. Reconnecting with our traditional knowledge and spiritual roles and responsibilities. Whether it be through ecological management, Indigenous foods, nutrition & medicine, ancestral languages and traditional activities and arts, etc., Connection to traditional lifeways strengthen the circle of prevention, healing, recovery and balance.
Xo-kenesh (WAILAKI LANGUAGE)
Language is a blueprint of the way we see the world, the interconnection of all things and our roles and responsibilities to Mother Earth, all our relations and one another.
Xo-kenesh reconnects our people to the land, one another and traditional ways of knowing and being.
LAND ACCESS
We have been with working with state park, Six Rivers National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, non-profits, private landowners and allies - stewarding the land with native traditional land practices along with modern land use practices. ŁEE-NA-KUL-DUŁAI ~ Coming Back Together Again.
PLANTS THAT NOURISH US
Plants that Nourish US gatherings and initiatives promote Indigenous access to traditional lands and land management, traditional food stewardship, mentorship and research to strengthen our sustainable relationship with our home lands and waters and traditional foods.
N-shong konk' (“GOOD FIRE”~ CULTURAL FIRE)
NHNH cultural burn crews steward low-intensity fire (N-shong konk’ or good fire) on the forest floor which reduces major fire fuels. The native practice of cultural burning and prescribed burning creates nutrient-rich soils and diverse habitat for plants and animals, also generating sustainable food sources for humans. Kinest'e cultural revitalization helps reconnect people with our environment. NHNH workshops, gatherings and media hearten Kinest'e People, regional Tribes and non-native communities to bring N-shong konk’ to the land with which they live.
Hai kinest'e ku-nus (The People's Canoe)
Carving redwood canoes and paddling them on the Eel River (Xa-Cho) are Wailalki traditions undergoing an intergenerational revival after over 150 years of interruption. Hai kinest'e ku-nus connects people with the river and the life in and around it - weaving and integrating language, cultural activities, mentorship and sharing of traditional knowledge and practices. The Wailaki ka-nus project is reviving a cultural tradition that nourished the people and gave them important life skills and relationship with Mother Earth. The Wailaki relationship with Xa-cho (Eel River) has been damaged since at least the 1850s: there are no Federally owned reservation lands along Xa-cho within traditional Wailaki homelands. With help from other Tribes we are re-establishing our traditions and language hand-in-hand. This intertribal mentorship partnership and project is bringing healing to all involved. Connection is healing, we must make an effort to cultivate, nourish and strengthen our connections - for our ancestors, children, one another and generations to come.
ŁEE-NA-KUL-DUŁAI
COMING BACK TOGETHER
native health in native hands
WE ARE EARTH PEOPLE
We emphasize cultural connections with native plants, medicines and foods - lifeways, language and land - Mother Earth, community and self care.
