Date November 22, 2023

Bridging health and heritage

By Carl Dimitri

Summit led by Brown researchers makes shared space between mindfulness training and Indigenous cultural practice

The Mindfulness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health investigates the impact of mindfulness techniques on health and well-being. Along with reduced emotional reactivity and improved behavioral regulation, mindfulness is effective in reducing stress, studies show—and mindfulness may play a role in helping to manage life-threatening conditions like hypertension and depression.

Jeffrey Proulx, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior and of behavioral and social sciences at Brown, explores the relationship between mindfulness, inequality and social justice. One of his goals is to expand mindfulness practices specifically within Indigenous communities – a population that suffers socioeconomic disparities and ill health disproportionately.

This November, Proulx convened a summit on mindfulness and Indigeneity at the Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There he brought together 30 mindfulness researchers and practitioners from Indigenous communities across North America.

During the summit, participants formed the Indigenous Mindfulness Coalition – one of Proulx’s hopes for the gathering. “The summit fulfilled all of the goals that we had set out, primarily to bring together people from all over the country that work with Indigenous communities and develop mindfulness programs for them,” Proulx said. “These people are doing incredible work, but they're all over the country and don't connect much. Just bringing these people together can catalyze things.”

“We wanted to create an intentional space where leaders and key actors in Indigenous mindfulness could safely gather, collaborate, share about their projects, and most importantly, build relationships with one another,” said Chase Bryer, a doctoral student in behavioral and social sciences at Brown and a summit coordinator. “To say we achieved this would be an understatement—it was a deeply healing experience.”

Contemplative Traditions

Summit participants aspire to introduce mindfulness practices into long-standing Indigenous rituals. "Culturally rooted contemplative practices are deeply embedded in Indigenous ways of life and are used during times of stress," said Bryer. "Many don't realize that these practices were criminalized by the U.S. government until as late as 1978 during the era of tribal assimilation."

The loss of culture, heritage and socioeconomic stability have had a profoundly harmful impact on the health of Indigenous people across America. Researchers aim to introduce Indigenous traditions into mindfulness programs, creating a more welcoming space within them and improving health outcomes.

Proulx pointed to Indigenous dance, song, prayer and beading as inherently contemplative traditions that are naturally aligned with Western mindfulness practices. “We’re aiming for people to understand their cultural traditions, so we integrate these traditions into the classroom,” Proulx said, “Mindfulness students engage in activities like beading while practicing mindfulness. Eventually, they carry away this cultural knowledge. We strive to spotlight and encourage as much cultural understanding as possible in our work.”

We’re aiming for people to understand their cultural traditions, so we integrate these traditions into the classroom. Mindfulness students engage in activities like beading while practicing mindfulness. Eventually, they carry away this cultural knowledge. We strive to spotlight and encourage as much cultural understanding as possible in our work.

Jeffrey Proulx, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research), Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research)

The health benefits of mindfulness go hand-in-hand with rediscovering cultural legacy, Brown researchers say. It is a way to reconnect with the self and the community simultaneously.

“Western mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have been shown to not resonate with tribal communities,” said Bryer. “Infusing cultural knowledge and traditional practices within mindfulness interventions is not only a way to disrupt the negative outcomes of intergenerational trauma, but also can be used as a cultural tool to repatriate contemplative practices that were previously stripped away from Indigenous people.”

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