October 31, 2022 | urmc.rochester.edu
Course aims to teach students the real histories of American Indian and Alaska Native people, and how many health disparities remain today due to injustices and trauma of the past.
As our University works to expand its commitment to indigenous studies, Dean S. Seneca (pictured above), a Buffalo native whose family origins lie with the Seneca Nation of Indians in Western New York, will help shape our future public health leaders by teaching real histories of indigenous peoples. The CEO and founder of Seneca Scientific Solutions+, Dean Seneca has taught a similar course at the University at Buffalo; the new class will be open to undergraduate and graduate students at UofR this spring.
Students will take a close look at key eras and significant legislation passed in indigenous history to better understand the resulting public health impacts. The course will go through events such as the Removal Act of 1830 – the “Trails of Tears” in which thousands of American Indians were forced to move from the southeastern United States to west of the Mississippi River.
Such events resulted in a long history of chronic health issues for Native Americans, as well as a much higher rate of substance abuse compared to the general U.S. population, according to American Addiction Centers.
“We’ve survived this trauma, but we’ve never healed from it,” says Seneca. “By the end of the class, I’ve created ambassadors to Indian health. I’ve created advocates.”
Through exploring the social determinants of health, intergenerational trauma, and health equity, Seneca hopes this information will help future public health professionals improve the lives and well-being of indigenous people.
“I’m so thankful and appreciative of the University of Rochester for bringing a course like this to the university,” he says. “We as a state and as a region are going to be much better off for it.”
Source: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/news.aspx
