April 25: Center for Rural Behavioral Health Lecture on Practices for Wellness through Indigenous World View

Thursday, April 25, 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Centennial Student Union Ballroom

Mankato, Minn. – Two national public speakers will deliver a free public lecture titled “Indigenous World View and Deep Nestedness: Practices for Wellness” on Thursday, April 25 from 1-3 p.m. in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Centennial Student Union Ballroom.

The speakers include Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), Ph.D., an author who is currently a professor in Fielding Graduate University’s Educational Leadership for Change program, and Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D., an author and professor of psychology emerita at the University of Notre Dame. Additional biographical information on the speakers is available on the event webpage.

This event is the second annual lectureship for Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health.

The following is a preview of the lecture provided by the Center for Rural Behavioral Health:

“Wellness-promoting societies have existed for millenia. Wellness was humanity’s default way of organizing communities and was essential to our ancestors’ survival. Wellness-informed communities focus on meeting the basic needs of their members. Humanity’s evolved nest is a system of care, provisioned by the community, that aligns with the basic needs and maturational schedule of the developing child. For all our deep ancestors and traditional Indigenous Peoples, nested wellness entailed respect for ancestors and future generations, deep connection to Earth and cosmos. Nested wellness was based in the Indigenous worldview, Indigenous-based spirituality and trance-based learning. The speakers will discuss these topics and offer tools for transformative practice.”

Members of the media with questions may contact Elizabeth Harstad, clinical education coordinator in the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, by email at elizabeth.harstad.3@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-1005.

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health is part of the University’s College of Allied Health and Nursing.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,635 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.