Mindfulness in Indian Country meeting
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
February 20 & 21, 2014
Bonnie Duran Dr.P.H., Associate Professor
U. of Washington--School of Public Health
and Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
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Definitions and uses of mindfulness in
health and wellness
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Reflect on one history of mindfulness in
Indian Country
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A short history of my journey-
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Two sources of Mindfulness theory and
practice
 Buddhist study and practice
 Western Medicine & Education
In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn
adapted Mindfulness into a
secular (now known as
“applied”), 8-week
program format
“Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction” (MBSR).
 It was initially offered in a
hospital setting for people
with a variety of health
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Mindfulness is a potential quality of human consciousness characterized by an
accepting awareness of and enhanced attention to the constant stream of lived
experience.
Being mindful increases engagement with the present moment and allows for a
clearer understanding of how thoughts and emotions can impact our health and
quality of life.
Mindfulness can be cultivated through meditation practice. Mindfulness
meditation practices have been formalized in programs such as (a) MindfulnessBased Stress Reduction (MBSR),(b) Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
(MBCT), and (c) Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP)(b) as well as
other programs .
Although mindfulness is an inherent human capacity that has been examined
introspectively for millennia, scientific interest in mindfulness is burgeoning in
the fields of medicine, psychology, social work, and business, as well as other
areas.
From http://www.mindfulexperience.org David Black MPH, PhD
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Includes:
 a database of research publications
 measurement tools to assess mindfulness
 the evidence base for mindfulness interventions
 centers conducting mindfulness research
@
http://www.mindfulexperience.org
Bishop, Lau, and colleagues (2004) offer a two-component
model of mindfulness
1st Component involves the self-regulation of attention so
that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby
allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the
present moment.
2nd component involves adopting a particular orientation
toward one’s experiences in the present moment, an
orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and
acceptance.
“As a mental quality, sati represents the deliberate
cultivation and a qualitative improvement of the
receptive awareness that characterizes the initial stages
of the perception process. Important aspects of sati are
bare and equanimous receptivity, combined with a
broad and open state of mind.
 One of the central tasks of sati is the de-automatization
of habitual reactions and perceptual evaluations.
 Sati thereby leads to a progressive restructuring of
perceptual appraisal, and culminates in an undistorted
vision of reality “as it is”.
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The element of nonreactive watchful
receptivity in sati forms
the foundation
for Satipatthana as an
ingenious middle path,
which neither suppresses
the contents of experiences
nor compulsively reacts to
them.”
http://www.watflorida.org/
American Indian/Indigenous
Retreats- New Mexico
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Taught by Baraz and Brach, The Community
Dharma Leaders program includes
comprehensive training and competencies
to:
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Bring Dharma values and sensibilities into
leadership within lay practice, professional,
secular, and community venues;
Lead sitting groups; Teach beginning
classes and daylong retreats;
Develop community-based Sanghas and 
dharma organizations;
Embody the skills needed for attunement,
empathy and sensitivity to the role of
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teacher, the communities being taught and
within the context of team teaching.
Facilitate rites of passage and
develop competency with
Buddhist ritual; and
Explore community outreach to
people and communities
heretofore underrepresented.
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4- year course of trainingapprenticeship (SR 10/16-26)
JK, WKZ
Sponsors: Western
Theravada Tradition- Spirit
Rock, Insight Meditation
Society, Insight Meditation
Center, etc…
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East Bay Meditation
Center—Annual
Indigenous Presence
Meditation benefit for
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POC retreats at IMS
and SRMC
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Chris Charles- Seattle
Insight Teen
Meditation Group
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UCLA MARC Center- Dr. Renda Dionne
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Stanford Compassion Training Center
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Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP)
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U Mass – MBSR
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Compassion Institute in Univ. Winnepeg
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Others??
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Develop “Indigenous Presence” intervention
for TCU or Tribal Behavioral health and
treatment settings
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Integrated into teaching
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What else?