In the last several decades, narrative has emerged as a powerful process to assist in interrupting the intergenerational transmission of trauma in Indigenous and other marginalized communities. The idea that "our stories are our medicine" is finally becoming recognized in health promotion research and practice as a viable mode of healing from the devastating aspects of historically situated and ongoing traumas.

In our classes, students explore the transformative role of story and narrative through various modalities. Digital Storytelling is a particularly powerful method to engage in personal and collective narrative excavation and creative expression. 

Throughout my years of teaching, I continue to be amazed at the level of vulnerability, honesty, and artfulness that students engage and share. 

Here is a collection of powerful stories.

**NOTE: All stories shared with permission of those who created them. 

Facilitating a DS workshop at University of Washington IWRI, Summer 2015

In my teaching and research, I have a fundamental belief and value that I should not ask others to do something I am not willing to do myself. I learned this early on in my social work practice. It seemed an unfair use of power to hold back all of myself while asking that community members or clients shared with me the most intimate details of their lives. 

In this spirit, I humbly share a digital story I created several years ago to honor my family, and especially my abuelo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgPw2cDV_kc

rebozo cartography - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgPw2cDV_kc