Trauma manifests itself in so many ways - how can it be disrupted?
The pandemic both exacerbated old issues and sparked all sorts of new stressors for people across the world. That was certainly what Tiny DeCory saw on the Pine Ridge reservation, where teen suicides more than tripled despite her best efforts to stem this tide. Tiny’s suicide prevention efforts are captured in the short documentary, The Bears on Pine Ridge. Dr. Halleh Seddighzadeh encounters the same thing in her work as a forensic traumatologist, where she focuses on survivors of human trafficiking, war, terrorism, genocide, gender-based violence and ecclesiastic abuse and offers a holistic approach to healing. Unfortunately, there is too much demand for the work of Dr. Halleh and Tiny, two women determined to disrupt trauma wherever they see it.
Film: The Bears on Pine Ridge
Speakers: Dr. Halleh Seddighzadeh, Tiny DeCory
In-Person •Friday, Oct 1 | 3:00 - 5:15pm | Sheridan Opera House
Virtual •Oct 3 - 31
The Bears on Pine Ridge
The Bears on Pine Ridge is a documentary film that follows heroic citizens on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, as they battle both a catastrophic youth suicide epidemic and a lawless non-Native border-town that is plaguing the reservation with alcohol addiction.
Dr. Halleh Seddighzadeh (she/her)
Dr. Halleh Seddighzadeh is an international counter-trafficking expert and forensic traumatologist who takes a holistic and empirical approach to healing. She advises corporations, government agencies, law enforcement, tribal governments, medical practitioners, and social service providers on how to address and prevent cycles of trauma, as well as how to provide treatment for trauma survivors. At our show, How Do We Heal?, Dr. Halleh will share her holistic approach to healing and delve into ways society can disrupt the cycles of interpersonal and generational trauma.
Tiny DeCory (she/her)
Yvonne "Tiny" DeCory is a respected elder, leader and teacher on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is part of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Tiny was the lead supervisor for The Sweetgrass Project –– an independent suicide prevention iniative that aims to strengthen effective suidicide prevention strategies–– until it lost funding in 2015. She then launched the BEAR (Be Excited About Reading) Program, which serves as their community focal-point to empower struggling youth and families to make positive decisions and educate the community about mental health, substance abuse, peer pressure and suicide prevention. Following the screening of the documentary film The Bears on Pine Ridge –– which follows Tiny’s efforts to foster community on her reservation ––Tiny will speak to the process of healing at our show, How Do We Heal?
Eileen Janis (she/her)
Eileen Janis helped Tiny create the only official Oglala Sioux Tribe suicide prevention program on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the Sweetgrass Project, in 2008. This project advanced the notion that each individual's life on their reservation matters. Eileen also joined Tiny’s BEAR Program full-time in 2015 to continue her suicide prevention efforts. Together, Eileen and Tiny have saved thousands of lives over the past decade. Eileen will speak in the show, How Do We Heal?