Diamond-Welch Leads Project Focused on Violence Prevention in Native Communities
“For generations, Indigenous people in the United States have faced violence in all of its forms, from physical to psychological,” Diamond-Welch said. “The cumulative nature of historical trauma, compounded by modern-day struggles, has created an environment in Indigenous communities that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable: Native children and youths, many of whom experience different forms of violence throughout their childhoods. Yet in the face of violence, Indigenous people have also shown great resilience.”
Using funds from a National Institute of Justice grant, a new tribal-researcher partnership, led by Diamond-Welch, will work to examine the scope and forms of violence experienced by Native youth in the Great Plains and explore sources of resilience to this violence. The research team aims to create programs that can leverage the sources of resilience that already exist in Indigenous communities to stop violence against youths at the source.
This partnership involves researchers from USD and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), together with leaders from the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains, a large, multi-state tribal organization focused on ending all forms of violence experience by Native women and families. Over the span of 18 months, the research team will examine the factors that make youth and young adults susceptible to violence in Indigenous communities and what can increase their resilience.
“There is a lot of knowledge about what youth face that rests within Native communities, and to spread awareness on these issues, we need research,” said Carmen O’Leary, executive director of the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains.
Diamond-Welch hopes that the research will shed light on the resources and services that help to make young people resilient in the face of violence and the ways in which they could be better supported.
“As researchers, we were inspired by the passion and commitment of Carmen O’Leary and the incredible work that she does across the Great Plains,” Diamond-Welch said. “We want to be able to provide our skills to help support O’Leary in her important work through the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains. This partnership will highlight the voices of local experts across the Great Plains Region, and we hope it will enhance effective services to support youth and their resilience to violence.”
To learn more about the research project, visit the National Institute of Justice website.
About the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains
The Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains, Reclaiming Our Sacredness, represents the rural, isolated tribes in a six-state area of the northern Great Plains. Active members are Native women who are either staff or volunteers of tribal government operated or community-based service programs offering services in domestic violence or sexual assault. Learn more about the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains online.
