Karina Walters, associate dean for research and co-director of the School's Indigenous Wellness Research Institute, was named the 2018 Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecturer by the Council on Social Work Education. Her presentation on transcending historical trauma will be given Nov. 9 during the CSWE’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Research suggests historical trauma suffered by American Indians leads to risk behaviors that may play a significant role in health inequities experienced today by Native American peoples. In her presentation, “Imaiyạchi: Transcending Historical Trauma and Living Ancestral Visions Imagined for Us,” Walters will explore social epidemiological approaches to com
munity-based interventions that are rooted in tribal knowledge and sustainable in indigenous communities.
Walters is a principal investigator on the Yappalli Choctaw Road to Health, a culturally focused, strengths-based, outdoor, experiential, obesity-substance abuse risk prevention and health leadership program targeting at-risk Choctaw women across five regions of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. This innovative program creates a Choctaw-specific health promotion model for behavioral change that is grounded in ancient teachings and in the vision that tribal ancestors hold for transcending historical trauma.
The Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture was established in 1988 to continue Scott’s legacy of equity and social justice in social work. Nominees must show that their scholarly work demonstrates equity, diversity, and social and economic justice; provides a seminal contribution to human rights; and focuses on the most critical issues of the day.
The CSWE annual meeting attracts some 2,600 conference attendees, including social work educators, students, deans and program directors worldwide. For details, go to CSWE.