Someone watching?
Hit the ESC key at any time to hide this site. Privacy Tips
Call 1-844-762-8483
7NATIVE

Or Text 24/7

If you send a text, you will immediately receive a response notification that you will be texted back from a secondary number.
Standard text rates may apply.
Your information will be kept anonymous and confidential.

StrongHearts Celebrates Seven Years of Advocacy

Posted

Seven years of culturally appropriate support and advocacy has been reached at StrongHearts Native Helpline, where advocates were brought to fruition through the hard work and sacrifice of survivors and grassroots advocates.

“March 6, 2024 marks the seventh anniversary of StrongHearts advocacy,” said CEO Lori Jump, StrongHearts Native Helpline. “It is not our way to boast or brag, but it is our way to teach what we have learned. As an organization steeped in Native American and Alaska Native culture and tradition, we use seven principles as a guide and seven generations to measure how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.”

To date, Stronghearts advocates have helped more than 50,000 contacts and tallied more than half a million visitors to its website. The main need being met by advocates is peer support and that requires the lived experience of being Native American.

“Native people need to be able to trust the assisting advocate,” explained Jump. “Our advocates are Native and provide a service that no other agency can simply due to the historical distrust of non-Natives.”

As a testament to the unique challenge of being Native, three StrongHearts advocates shared their stories about the importance of culturally appropriate support and advocacy.

Addressing Colonization

Advocate 1: “When assessing cultural abuse and using traditional methods for self-care, I connect what colonization did and how it ties into abuse and the mistreatment of Native women throughout history. Reclaiming and reinforcing our indigenous culture can make us stronger as a community.”

Addressing A Form Cultural Abuse

Advocate 2: “I actually spoke to someone on the phone who was from my Tribe. She was white presenting and all her life was told that she was white and she should not be allowed to access Tribal resources or even refer to herself as a Native woman. We talked a lot about colonization, blood quantum, and I offered her a lot of validation and a little bit of information about our Tribe and available domestic violence resources.

[We also talked about] how she could begin to reconnect with heritage, reclaim her language, and how that could be really validating and healing for her as well. When she called in she was feeling hopeless, crying or on the verge of tears. By the end of our call she was laughing and excited to grow her knowledge about our culture. She felt a sense of community and knew that she was not alone on her healing journey and she had not only a resource, but relatives, that she could rely on.”

Addressing Lived Experience

Advocate 3: “I draw from my upbringing. Of course, there is the training, but if a contact inquires about where I'm from or what I know about being Native I tell them. Nine times out of ten, they are seeing if I "get it," and it takes nothing for me to simply speak to them in a way they are used to or share with them like their relatives do.”

Guiding Principles

Not only does StrongHearts as an organization see through the lens of seven generations, it also uses seven guiding principles to navigate culturally appropriate support and advocacy. In brief, those guiding principles include:

  1. Culture is the heart of our existence connecting and honoring diversity.
  2. Balance is rooted in traditional lifeways and the equality of mind, body and spirit.
  3. Interrelatedness to honor each other, our ancestors and the earth.
  4. Humility to learn from all lessons with empathy - even those that are difficult and non-traditional.
  5. Bravery to face unique challenges and prejudices with mental and moral strength and courage.
  6. Resilience enough to adapt in the face of adversity in our work as Indigenous peoples.
  7. Trust is the duty to our ancestors and to future generations to honor our commitments.

“Our ancestors have taught us these principles and so we shall continue in that tradition,” concluded Jump. “We’ve known all along that our relatives need: to trust, to speak and to heal. It's a reciprocal exchange between our advocates and their contacts where we feel a sense of hope and find a mutual path toward healing.”

Resources Resources

More from the press room....

Triumph Over Trauma Justice Is Restored
StrongHearts Native Helpline Commends the Supreme Court's Decision to Maintain Gun Control Law Further Protecting Domestic Violence Victims and Survivors
PRIDE FOR TWO-SPIRIT AND LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY
StrongHearts Advocacy Critical In Indian Country
Vital Funding Increases Culturally Appropriate Support and Advocacy
Love Languages For December
StrongHearts Receives $100,000 Giving Tuesday Grant from San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
StrongHearts Honors Native American Heritage Month
StrongHearts Announces New Positions
StrongHearts Native Helpline: Six Years of Evolution
ICWA Upheld By SCOTUS Despite Claims of Reverse Discrimination
StrongHearts Supports Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act
StrongHearts Embraces Blue Campaign Partnership
StrongHearts Raises Elder Abuse Awareness
StrongHearts Celebrates Six Year Anniversary
StrongHearts Responds To Gun Violence
StrongHearts Stands With The Black Community
Women's Right To Safety Denied
January Is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Stalking Awareness Month Aims To Educate
Roe v. Wade: Our Work Is Not Done
StrongHearts Native Helpline Issues DVAM Statement
Impacts of the Roe v. Wade Decision
Two Donations Support StrongHearts Native Helpline
Showing Up in Support of Indigenous 2S+/LGBTQ+ Survivors for Pride Month
StrongHearts Native Helpline Publishes State Reports on Intimate Partner Violence Impacting Native Americans and Alaska Natives
StrongHearts Native Helpline Honors Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives on May 5
Supporting Indigenous Survivors and Advocates for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
StrongHearts Native Helpline Statement on the Violence Against Women Act of 2022
StrongHearts Native Helpline Observes Five-Year Anniversary with more than 20,000 Contacts
StrongHearts Native Helpline Welcomes Three Tribal Advocacy Programs
February Is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Joint Statement: Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Stalking Awareness Month Statement
StrongHearts Native Helpline Announces New Board of Directors
Native American Heritage Month 2021 Statement
StrongHearts Native Helpline Becomes Independent Organization
Joint Indigenous Organizations Statement About the Gabby Petito Case
Indigenous Advocacy Organizations Issue Joint Statement in Support of Survivors of Violence for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
StrongHearts Native Helpline Statement for 2021 Domestic Violence Awareness Month
StrongHearts Native Helpline Releases One Year Sexual Violence Advocacy Report
StrongHearts Native Helpline Launches Project in Michigan
Assistant Director Position Open at StrongHearts Native Helpline
StrongHearts Native Helpline Releases Chat Advocacy One-Year Report
Call for Justice is Answered by New MMIW Unit
Joint Statement: STANDING AS RELATIVES WITH INDIGENOUS SURVIVORS AND ADVOCATES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH
StrongHearts Native Helpline Launches Text Advocacy
StrongHearts Native Helpline Marks Four Year Anniversary
StrongHearts Native Helpline Announces Launch of 24/7 Operations
StrongHearts Native Helpline Receives 10,000th Call
New Tribal Division Speaks To Needs Of Tribal Nations
StrongHearts Native Helpline receives 2020 Heroes In Health National Impact Award From National Indian Health Board
Native Advocacy Organizations Release Joint Statement Recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month This October
StrongHearts Native Helpline Honors October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month
SCOTUS Affirms Reservation Upholds Jurisdiciton to Protect Native Women
Stacking Up The Numbers
International Day Against Homophobia Commemorated
StrongHearts Native Helpline Announces Addition of Online Chat Sessions with Advocates