Catherine E. McKinley

Tulane University | TU · School of Social Work

Because of the long history of exploitative research with Indigenous groups, an ethical and empirical imperative exists for researchers, especially non-Indigenous scholars, to reflect on their own positionality and to use culturally congruent methodologies and strategies when conducting research. A simultaneous need is for research on the reproduct...

Sociocultural, mental, behavioral, and physical factors are interrelated associates of chronic health conditions—such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease—all of which are disproportionally high and drive much of the mortality and morbidity for Indigenous peoples. Indigenous worldviews conceptualize health holistically, with inseparabil...

Purpose: Social workers navigate systemic stressors while managing self-care amid scant institutional support. The purpose of this systematic review is to critically examine the state of social work intervention research for self-care practices. Methods: This review includes empirical research articles focusing on self-care interventions in social...

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to fill the gap in a critical understanding of peer-reviewed empirical research on self-care practices to identify structural, relational, and individual-level facilitators and barriers to self-care practices in social work. Method: We followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews...

Family prevention programs that enhance mental health, wellness, and resilience—while simultaneously addressing violence and alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse—among Indigenous families are scarce. This gap in culturally grounded and community-based programs creates a critical need to develop and evaluate the efficacy of such prevention programs. T...

Indigenous faith practices have enabled persistence, resistance, and transcendence despite centuries of settler colonial historical oppression. Spirituality, ceremony, and religious practices are fundamental aspects of Indigenous wellness, resilience, and liberation from a colonial mindset. The purpose of this research was to understand U.S. Indige...

The purpose of this research was to examine how families and foodways have evolved over time and how they may present promising promotive factors for resilience, health, and wellness. Because food is central to family, social relationships, and healthy living, Indigenist foodways may promote family resilience and offset inequities. Pragmatic horizo...

Past and present structures of settler colonial historical oppression aimed to erase and replace Indigenous peoples have profoundly disrupted U.S. Indigenous foodways. The purpose of this article is to use the Indigenous Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) to understand U.S. Indigenous peoples’ experiences and...

Parenting quality, family resilience, and community resilience and support have been found to be primary protective factors for the disproportionate burden of anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), depression, and suicide that US Indigenous youth and adults tend to experience. The purpose of this research study...

The focus of this chapter is how women experience contemporary settler colonial structures of historical oppression through being overburdened with “invisible” household labor such as childcare, housework, and financial responsibility. Shouldering this additional “invisible” load contributes to mothers’ overload, depression, distress, and health im...

Depression is an embodiment of a settler colonial structure of historical oppression and common associate of violence. This chapter presents research that assessed the relationships between risk and protective factors associated with historical oppression (and its proximal stressors) and depression. Results indicated that historical oppression and...

This chapter identifies solutions to prevent and ameliorate IPV within Indigenous communities. Indigenous women and professionals working in this area recommended a multifaceted, holistic approach that includes: (a) increasing community engagement and awareness through outreach and educational initiatives; (b) bolstering the service system to provi...

Through this chapter, the connections between settler colonial historical oppression and the epidemic rates of IPV experienced by Indigenous women across two studies. In the first study, themes illuminate understanding of Indigenous women’s experiences of IPV: (a) Intergenerational cycle of normalized violence throughout the life course; (b) Dehuma...

The reversal of matriarchal and female-centered Indigenist societies does not happen overnight. This case study focuses on one tribe in the United States as an example of Indigenous women’s resilience and resistance to societal constraints imposed by a context of settler colonial historical oppression. After reviewing research demonstrating women’s...

Family and community risk and protective factors associated with alcohol abuse are examined within two tribes through mixed-methods research. Qualitative findings revealed love as an important component of family resilience, expressed through verbal affection, physical affection, and frequent rituals of love and affection within families. Participa...

Through this chapter, Indigenous women’s resilience narratives to identify protective factors related to IPV. Women reported to us the following protective factors that buffered or helped them recover from IPV and promoted strength and resilience: (a) educational orientation, with higher education instrumental to gaining the social and economic mob...

This chapter focuses on gender-specific risk and protective factors related to mental health disparities among Indigenous peoples. Analysis revealed that historical oppression increases risk for a range of mental health problems. Additionally, the following risk factors were common: high-risk environments, child maltreatment, IPV (especially for wo...

Gender-specific research on cardiovascular health among US Indigenous peoples is examined to identify multisystemic risk and protective factors. A sex-specific analysis across these dimensions revealed risks for CVD are elevated for females. Analysis revealed depression, anxiety, PTSD/historical trauma/stress, and AOD abuse as mental/psychological...

This chapter reviews risk and protective factors across ecological levels related to wellness and resilience among Indigenous youth. Historical oppression (encompassing perceived discrimination) was a societal risk factor, which represented 7% of factors identified; cultural factors represented 16% and included ethnic identity, spirituality, and co...

This chapter explores the impacts of settler colonial structures of historical oppression in the forms of IPV experiences and exposure for women, children, and families, which offers a holistic perspective on the consequences of IPV. Consequences of IPV on women included: physical injuries and hospitalizations, psychological consequences (including...

Background on what enables families and their members to survive, recover, and thrive despite experiences of historical oppression and adversity is focal for this chapter. As such, and through the contributions of over 1000 participants and colleagues led to the development and validation of the Family Resilience Inventory (FRI), which identifies f...

Gender equity continues to gain broad interest and attention, but its attainment remains persistently out of reach. If patriarchy is the tool, then structural sexism is its handmaid. Gender and structural sexism profoundly affect the quality of lives of women and people along a continuum of diverse sexes, sexual orientations, and gender identities....

At the basis of this work is an invitation to become liberated from oppression as the life vocation of women, expansive genders, and all people to become reclaim their wholeness and realize their more authentic selves. Patriarchal structures have imposed prescriptive gender roles and created a context where devaluing women and the more feminine gen...

Interconnections between mental health (anxiety and depression) and multilevel risks from contemporary settler colonial structures of historical oppression as manifested by violence, socioeconomic strain, and adverse child experiences are focal to this chapter. Results indicated that clinically significant levels of depression and anxiety were elev...

Current research shows gender role attitudes influence several health-related outcomes, including IPV. However, little research exists on gender role attitudes of Indigenous peoples. Drawing from mixed methodology research, US Indigenous peoples’ perceptions of gender role attitudes were explored before examining key social determinants of health....

Depending on the family’s response to IPV, families can be protective or risk factors for Indigenous women’s wellness and recovery from IPV. In this chapter, family and cultural-level protective factors for Indigenous women who experienced IPV are explored, and the following factors formed the bedrock of resilience for these women: (a) family suppo...

In this chapter, the protective/promotive roles that tribal language and the oral tradition, elders (often grandmothers), and family play in Indigenous people’s wellness and resilience within a context of historical oppression and its related risk factors are explored. Qualitative findings revealed several culturally relevant protective themes: (a)...

This chapter explores the finding from the prior chapter to uncover how protective/promotive factors associated with subsistence living relate to well-being and resilience. Traditional, subsistence living style promotes well-being by (a) fostering fond memories and family bonding through “living off the land” which instilled a sense of pride in bei...

Existing research suggests effective disciplinary practices can act as a protective factor against social and behavioral health disparities. Indigenous peoples reported experiences of disciplinary practices. The following themes emerged related to experiences disciplining children: (a) Establishing Structure and Boundaries, (b) Taking Away Privileg...

This chapter focuses on familial risk factors that create vulnerability and impair recovery from violence for Indigenous women. Findings reveal the following identified risk factors that are connected to settler colonial historical oppression: (a) family division that occurs when family members form adversarial, unsupportive, and destructive relati...

General research suggests family communication fosters family resilience, but little research exists on communication in Indigenous families. This chapter explores Indigenous peoples’ experiences of family communication, and the protective factors for family resilience are explored. Qualitative findings revealed themes related to family communicati...

Drawing from mixed methods research, this chapter explores structural sexism though IPV victimization and perpetration experiences. Connections with adverse childhood experience (ACE), infidelity, and AOD abuse were emergent themes related to IPV victimization. Women experienced more severe violence, and PTSD and IPV victimization were higher among...

Before colonization, Indigenous gender relations were characterized as egalitarian and complementary, but little research has explored gender relations in Indigenous communities today. In this chapter, themes from interviews, observations, and focus groups with participants from two US tribes related to gender are presented. Gender relations often...

This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of how relationships among settler colonial forms of historical oppression through patriarchal gender roles, early childbearing, and early marriage pose risks for violence and to women’s physical and psychological health and socioeconomic and educational status. Early childbearing (ECB) was a precursor...

This chapter explores how settler colonial structures of historical oppression are risk factors associated with IPV victimization. The following themes illuminate women’s experience of violence across the life course: (a) overlapping and cumulative victimization experiences—childhood maltreatment was connected to involvement in unhealthy relationsh...

This chapter centers the societal risk factor of historical oppression in two tribes by exploring expectations and roles for mothers, which were impacted by the imposition of patriarchy during colonization. Mothers play a variety of roles, including caretakers of the family responsible for physical and mental household labor, and center of the fami...

This chapter explores findings from two studies which identify experiences of structural sexism as evidenced in Indigenous women’s help-seeking for gender-based violence and the effects of sexual violence. In the first study, Indigenous women’s help-seeking experiences from the formal service system after experiencing violence highlighted the follo...

Indigenous families demonstrate resilience by parenting children in some of the most difficult situations in US society. In this chapter, the parenting philosophies and practices used to protect children from the risks of an oppressive context are explored. Themes included: (a) “Your Kids Come First”: Prioritizing Children’s Needs; (b) “They Should...

Living AWAke encompasses living AWA with gender in mind. Living AWAke is a process of becoming aware of how gender and other dimensions of diversity affect life, while intentionally navigating institutions, relationships, and experiences with precision and decision. Alignment is living and working from one’s center, one’s authentic, decolonized sel...

In this chapter, the systemic and community factors that have created a context of settler colonial structures of historical oppression giving rise to IPV are examined more deeply, including (a) experiences of oppression, including sharecropping, boarding schools, and discrimination; (b) historical and contemporary losses, including language, tradi...

This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of the important protective role of family connectedness among Indigenous populations. Participants’ perceived family connectedness as an important component of family resilience characterized by: (a) families frequently “taking care” of each other by sharing responsibilities in the household, helping c...

In this chapter, an introduction and application of the FHORT is used to explain the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Indigenous people. The FHORT introduces the concept of settler colonial structures of historical oppression, which expands upon historical trauma to include both historic and contemporary forms of oppression. Using...

Settler colonialism attempted to reverse the treatment of land and Indigenous women, treating both at objects to possess and conquer. Land and sense of place is central, not only to the identities of Indigenous peoples, but it is inseparable from patriarchal colonialism that treats land and women as possessions. This possessive consciousness is rel...

Centuries of historical oppression have targeted and undermined Indigenous foodways, which fundamentally disrupts the culture and wellness, yet decolonized, resilient, and transcendent Indigenist practices persist. The purpose of this research was to use the framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT) to understand foo...

The purpose of this article is to understand how historical oppression has undermined health through environmental injustices that have given rise to food insecurity. Specifically, the article examines ways in which settler colonialism has transformed and contaminated the land itself, impacting the availability and quality of food and the overall h...

Indigenous food sovereignty is increasingly used as a framework to explore changing diets and the impact of settler colonialism on the health of Indigenous groups. The impact of settler colonialism on changing the diet of Indigenous peoples and the creation of food deserts has been less frequently explored, especially within state-recognized tribes...

Sexual violence against Indigenous women has long been used as a tool of colonial violence and conquest. As a contemporary form of historical oppression that may drive associated health and mental health inequities, Indigenous women in the United States experience sexual violence at greater levels than the general population and at and twice the ra...

Obesity tends to be higher, whereas physical activity (PA) tends to be lower for U.S. Indigenous peoples, which drives chronic health problems and mortality. Historical oppression and nutritional colonialism have disrupted Indigenous peoples' subsistence and concomitant PA. The purpose of this research is to use the framework of historical oppressi...

This is an Accepted Manuscript of the following book chapter to be published: McKinley, C. E. & Lilly, J. M. (In Press). Family Communication (Re)Awakening Indigenous Resilience, Wellness, and Transcendence. In R. C. Diggs & T. J. Socha (Ed.s) Family Communication and Cultural Transformation: (Re)Awakening Legacies of Equality, Social Justice, Fre...

Indigenous women in the United States are among the most vulnerable to intimate partner violence (IPV), which has reached endemic levels. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to understand contextual factors and barriers to becoming liberated from violence. Reconstructive analysis of data from a critical ethnography with a sample of 231 wome...

Introduction Indigenous women experience extensive reproductive health disparities and reproductive oppression. Theoretical frameworks for understanding the complex intersection of factors that contribute to these experiences are needed, especially those that highlight the resilience of Indigenous peoples throughout settler colonialism. The purpose...

Abstract Objective: We use the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) to investigate the framework’s core concept of family resilience and related protective and promotive factors that contribute to greater resilience, namely communication. Background: Scant research has examined communication in Indigenous famili...

Native American (NA) women experience higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to other U.S. racial/ethnic groups, yet previous research has not sufficiently examined the complex determinants shaping their IPV experiences. This research explores the interplay of family networks and legal systems influencing NA women's IPV experience...

One of many ways that Native American (NA) families demonstrate resilience is by parenting children in some of the most adverse contexts in U.S. society. We use the framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT) in a critical ethnography to qualitatively explore the parenting philosophies and practices that NAs use to pro...

Research has shown that gender role attitudes influence a number of health-related outcomes, including intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet the gender role attitudes of Indigenous peoples – a population that experiences persistent health and violence disparities – have received scant scholarly attention. Using the Framework of Historical Oppression...

Intimate partner violence (IPV), early childbearing (ECB) and early marriage (EM) are interconnected to the historical oppression of patriarchal colonialism imposed upon Indigenous peoples throughout the world by colonising nations, such as the UK. The artefacts of colonial oppression persist in both colonising nations and those that have been colo...

Objective: Indigenous peoples of the United States experience disproportionate rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). The framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT) was used to understand risk factors for IPV victimization and perpetration. Method: In this exploratory sequential mixed-methods study, data were co...

Research indicates that effective disciplinary practices, such as offering praise and teaching acceptable versus non-acceptable behaviour, can act as protective factors against the social and behavioural health disparities experienced by Native Americans (NA). The purpose of this critical ethnographic study (n = 436 qualitative elder, adult, youth...

Prior to the imposition of patriarchal colonial norms, Native American (NA) gender relations were characterized as complementary and egalitarian; however, little research has explored gender relations within NA communities today. This study used a community-based critical ethnography to explore contemporary NA gender relations with a purposive samp...

The invisible labor of household management, including child care, housework, and financial responsibilities, is a contemporary form of historical oppression adding strain and contributing to mothers' role overload, depression, distress, and health impairments. The purpose of this article is to use the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience...

Purpose We examine pilot results for the culturally adapted Weaving Healthy Families (WHF) program to promote resilience and wellness while preventing substance abuse and violence among Native American (NA) families. Methods Results were drawn from paired sample t tests and analyses of variance (ANOVA) with a convenience sample of 24 adults and ad...

Settler-colonialism is founded in environmental racism, and environmental justice is foundational to all forms of decolonialization. Native American groups located in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States are particularly vulnerable to environmental justice issues such as climate change and oil spills due to their geographic location and relia...

This research examines how Indigenous families report experiences of love (a component of family resilience) and its association with the urgent health disparity of alcohol abuse. This exploratory mixed-methods study first identified emergent results from qualitative data (n = 436), which were then explored with follow-up quantitative data (n = 127...

Despite AI women’s cancer disparities being a public health concern, a dearth of research on this populations’ spiritual coping poses a barrier to redressing such disparities. The purpose of this article was to explore AI women cancer survivors’ spiritual and religious coping. This qualitative descriptive study included a sample of 43 AI women canc...

Objective: Depression and anxiety are comorbid conditions that are disproportionately high among American Indians (AIs) or Alaska Natives. The purpose of this study was to identify potential risk (e.g., low income, intimate partner violence [IPV], adverse childhood experiences [ACEs]) and protective factors (e.g., family resilience, social and com...

Historically, Native American (NA) mothers have proven essential to the survival of their families and communities, yet scant research has examined their roles today. Current gender roles in NA communities are influenced by historical oppression (both historic and contemporary forms) that acted to reverse matrilineal gender norms in favor of patria...

Purpose The top causes of death for American Indians (AIs), including heart and liver disease, are associated with alcohol use. Using the culturally based Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT), the purpose of this article was to examine AI alcohol use from a sex-specific wellness approach, exploring its associate...

This qualitative descriptive study examined the gap in knowledge on American Indian (AI) women cancer survivors’ perceptions of and experiences of AI community support. The sample included 43 AI women cancer survivors in the Northern Plains region. In total, 21% (n = 9) of participants perceived support from their AI community; 69% (n = 29) express...

Indigenous peoples have not only experienced a devastating rate of historical loss of lives, they are more likely to experience mortality disparities. The purpose of this article is to examine Indigenous women’s lived experiences of grief and loss in two Southeastern tribes and the relationship between depressive symptoms and recent loss of a loved...

Cancer disparities among American Indian (AI) women are alarming, yet a dearth of research focuses on the role of family support for such women. The purpose of this research was to examine the composition of AI women cancer survivors' family support networks and the types of support that they provided. We used a qualitative descriptive methodology...

This special issue and introduction focuses on promoting health equity and addressing health disparities among Indigenous peoples of the United States (U.S.) and associated Territories in the Pacific Islands and Caribbean. We provide an overview of the current state of health equity across social, physical, and mental health domains. In Part 1 of t...

Indigenous peoples of the United States are distinct from other ethnic minorities because they have experienced colonization as the original inhabitants. Social and health disparities are connected to a context of historical oppression-the chronic, pervasive, and intergenerational experiences of oppression that, over time, may be normalized, impose...

American Indian women experience disproportionately high rates of cervical cancer morbidity and mortality, yet cancer screening services tend to be underutilized. Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) with a survey of American Indian women (N = 286) in South Dakota, findings indicate that only 59% received Pap test within the past 2 years. Significan...

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to explore how food and other cultural traditions promote wellness, cultural continuity, enculturation, and family resilience within tribal communities in the U.S. Method: Using the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT), this critical ethnography examined Indigenous people...

This study examined predictive models of utilization of mammograms among Indigenous women adapting Andersen’s behavioral model. Using a sample of 285 Indigenous women residing in South Dakota, nested logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess predisposing (age and marital status), need (personal and family cancer history), and enabling f...

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine mental, sociocultural, behavioral, and physical risk and protective factors related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related outcomes among U.S. Indigenous peoples. Methods: A total of 51 articles met the inclusion criteria of research focusing factors for CVD among U.S. Indigenous peo...

American Indians and Alaska Natives experience pervasive mental, behavioral, and physical health disparities, yet access to culturally relevant and evidenced-based programs (EBPs) are severely limited. The purpose of this research is to describe the process of conducting a rigorous and culturally sensitive research approach, which was used to infor...

To promote safe and positive health outcomes by utilizing culturally relevant evidence-based interventions for immigrant and refugee women survivors of intimate partner violence, their active participation in research is critical. With 43.6 million immigrants and refugees living in the United States, there is a need for research studies to eliminat...

This article uses the culturally grounded Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) to examine the experiences and impacts of hurricanes on indigenous (i.e., Native American) family members in the Gulf Coast and to identify how experiencing hurricanes and natural disasters, family and community support, adverse child...

Indigenous coastal communities are interdependent with the environment and families are vulnerable to the environmental changes that disrupt culture, continuity, and livelihood. The purpose of this study was to elucidate meaning from shared cultural perceptions of experiencing repeated disasters and other environmental changes among a United States...

Almost no research specifically explores resilience among Indigenous women of the U.S. who experience cancer. A qualitative descriptive study included a sample of 43 Indigenous women from the Northern Plains region of the U.S. Almost 90% (88%, n = 37) of participants indicated personal growth in response to having cancer, indicating they valued rel...

Given chronic experiences of historical oppression, Indigenous peoples tend to experience much higher rates of depression than the general US population, which then, drives disproportionately high rates of suicide and other health disparities. The purpose of this research was to examine the core components of the culturally grounded Framework of Hi...

Related to a broader context of historical oppression, Indigenous peoples of the USA are overburdened with the mental health challenges that social workers tend to treat, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide and substance use disorders (SUD). The purpose of this systematic review is to use the Framework of Historical...

The purpose of this article is to introduce the Family Resilience Inventory (FRI) and present findings on initial efforts to validate this measure. The FRI is designed to assess family resilience in one's current family and in one's family of origin, enabling the assessment of family protective factors across these generations. The development of t...

Objective: Depressive symptoms have been identified as a primary predictor of quality of life among cancer patients. Depression and cancer are co-occurring and disproportionately elevated for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women. The purpose of this article is to examine American Indian (AI) women cancer survivors’ coping mechanisms for...

Cancer is the leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women, and depressive symptoms have been linked to higher mortality, but research on depressive symptoms among AIAN cancer patients has been scant. The purpose of this exploratory study was, using the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence...

Indigenous peoples of the United States tend to experience the most severe social, behavioral, and physical health disparities of any ethnic minority. This critical ethnography uses the framework of historical oppression, resilience, and tran-scendence to examine indigenous peoples' perspectives on and experiences with subsistence living, investiga...

Background: Despite cancer and depression being disproportionately high for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women, such cancer survivors’ help-seeking practices and perceptions related to depression are absent in extant research. A broader context of historical oppression has set the stage for unequal health outcomes and access to quality...