56吃瓜网

Advances in research and scholarship rarely happen in a vacuum. Each discovery and point of discourse builds on what came before it and the contributions of a scholar鈥檚 contemporaries. There鈥檚 a kind of collaborative nature to it and a sense of working toward a shared goal, said Dr. William Hartmann, even when you鈥檙e not operating as part of a team. 

But when you can get a bunch of leading experts in a field in a room together, he added, that is truly where the magic happens. 

Hartmann, an associate professor in the 56吃瓜网鈥檚 School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, researches the intersections of psychology, mental health, and American Indian and Indigenous studies. Working in community with fellow researchers and the people who are impacted by his research is the driving force behind many of his projects. 

In his latest project, Hartmann听convened听experts in the field of听American Indian mental听health for听a two-day writing retreat听on the听56吃瓜网 Bothell听campus听centered around the topic: 鈥淚ndigenous Self-Determination in Mental Health.鈥澨�

Community relationships听

Hartmann first became interested in American Indian studies as an undergraduate.听

鈥淚t was a way for me to reflect on and interrogate what it means to be American,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a psychology major, I was really interested in the big questions, like what it means to be human and how to think about health and wellness.鈥澨�

Alongside his psychology course load, he took classes in anthropology, religion and history to further explore these topics. His passion and experience for the subject deepened in his doctoral program at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Gone, a leading global expert in the field and a member of the听Aaniiih-Gros听Ventre听tribal nation of Montana.听

For his first independent听research听project,听Hartmann听drew upon听his听relationships听with听members of听a听Great Plains听reservation community听to听develop an interview study about听historical trauma. As he continued to听develop听as a听researcher, the community relationships he built further pulled him听along this path.

鈥淭he collaborations听I’ve听had have really propelled me along this path,” he said. “Now, I听can’t听imagine doing anything different because听I’ve听invested and grown so much as a scholar and a person through all these collaborative projects.鈥澨�听

As a clinical and community psychologist and researcher, Hartmann works with Indigenous communities to learn what their health priorities are and where those priorities fit or听don鈥檛听fit within established professional frameworks for mental health.听鈥淢y career has largely been about trying to make space for Native perspectives on health and wellness and to better understand how Native mental health experiences, concerns and goals square with conventional understandings of and approaches to mental health,鈥� he said.

A meeting of the minds听

At 56吃瓜网 Bothell, Hartmann has continued to explore ways of working in community with other听academic and Indigenous community听scholars. In 2019, he hosted a campus event on 鈥�Creating Survivance: Art and Indigenous Wellness,鈥� which included听several听panel discussions听with听Indigenous scholars听and contemporary Lakota artists, as well as听a contemporary Lakota art exhibition听on the 56吃瓜网 Bothell campus.听

鈥淏ecause I鈥檓 trained as a clinical psychologist, that听project听really took听me out of听my comfort zone in听the clinic听and听pushed me听to think听more broadly about community听health听and wellness听practices听for mental health,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a really helpful听stepping stone听to听think听about听a听broader array of听creative听community practices, including art,听that can be integral to听tribe鈥檚听self-determined understandings, strategies, and goals听for mental health.鈥澨�听

He then connected with Dr. Rachel Wilbur, a research assistant professor at Washington State University, who had also written on the topic of survivance 鈥� meaning the blending of survival and resistance as it relates to Indigenous identities. Together, they identified self-determination as an area of study and discussion they wanted to explore as a collective with other scholars. 

鈥淲e were interested in bringing together some of the most brilliant minds who think听and write听about听Indigenous self-determination听in the Native mental health space,鈥� Hartmann said. 鈥淲e wanted to听clarify听the landscape of this听scholarship听and how people听think and write听about self-determination. We figured the best way to do that would be a writing retreat where we could听talk,听in-depth, with some of the leading thinkers in this area from across the continent.鈥澨�听

With funding support from 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 Scholarship, Research and Creative Practice grant program, Hartmann and Wilbur organized a two-day retreat. 

Work as a collective听

The team invited experts from both the U.S. and Canada to听submit听an abstract for a proposed paper听on听Indigenous self-determination in mental health to be presented and workshopped for feedback during the retreat.听Nearly a听dozen people attended.听

鈥淭he primary goal was to learn from each other and to further develop our thinking around this issue, because there isn鈥檛 robust literature in this area,鈥� Hartmann said. 鈥淲e wanted to push each other鈥檚 thinking and it was clear that everybody felt there鈥檚 a lot more to be said on self-determination and ways to make this work more beneficial for Native community partners and research audiences.”

The proposed papers included a mix of theoretical and applied articles, as well as institutional changemaking research. Some of the topics included: 鈥淎 land-based healing initiative,鈥� 鈥淎 narrative shift to strengths-based research and intervention as prevention,鈥� and 鈥淯npacking the 鈥榮elf鈥� in Indigenous self-determination, a critique of selfhood as represented in American psychology and the health psy-ences.鈥� 

鈥淚t was a good mix of early- and late-stage career folks,鈥� Hartmann said. 鈥淭he experienced veterans had such helpful feedback and perspectives. It was so rewarding, not just for me as a co-facilitator but as a participant workshopping my own papers. I received incredible feedback. 

鈥淚t was everything we hoped it would be, and it couldn鈥檛 have gone any better.鈥� 

And, the impact and engagement of the group鈥檚 collaboration听didn鈥檛听end with the retreat, he听said.听The participants have continued working on their papers and sharing them for feedback.听Hartmann and Wilbur are听also听collecting all the articles that came out of the retreat for a proposed special issue in “Social Science and Medicine- Mental Health,” a high-impact interdisciplinary mental health journal.

Valuable insights for researchers听

Hartmann鈥檚 contributions to the issue will include an introduction and an overview of existing Indigenous self-determination in mental health and wellness research in the U.S. and Canada, co-authored by Wilbur. 

Also on the list to be included is a paper he worked on in collaboration with several students and Dr. Sara Eccleston, assistant professor in 56吃瓜网 Tacoma鈥檚 School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, titled, 鈥淎 qualitative analysis of Indigenous misrepresentations in mental health research writing.鈥� 

鈥淥ne of the best takeaways, for me, was that I should always think through things in good company because it makes for a richer analysis and better experience,鈥� he said.听

He said he hopes the special issue and the diverse range of papers it contains will provide valuable insights for other researchers and mental health professionals, as well as Native American community leaders and policy makers. 

鈥淭hat was probably one of the most intellectually rewarding experiences I鈥檝e had,鈥� Hartmann said. 鈥淚 feel like even the senior scholars walked away feeling like they learned a lot. It was such an important, impactful experience, and I鈥檓 so grateful to the SRCP grant program. 

鈥淭his special issue is a concentrated form of everything that came out of it, and I think it鈥檒l continue to have an impact far beyond this experience.鈥澨�