In this article “How place names impact the way we see landscapes” by B. Toastie talks about how naming places after people can cause us to view landscapes differently. He believes that places with names that have stories have more meaning than places named after presidents and other ‘white’ names. While Laura Tohe states places have stories, everywhere has a story to tell and these stories live and stay with us in our hearts and minds because it relieves the past and a sense of belonging. Our elders live to tell us stories because they see the good in it and we take that knowledge and pass it down. Memories and stories are connected to our land. Stories are sacred, they have so much meaning it's powerful because you can feel that energy so much because it was that real and not that long ago really it's really interesting if you think about it. 

  Citation: B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster. May 1, 2022 From the print edition “How place names Impact the Way We See Landscape.” pp. 1-8 from the print edition, High County news- know the west, Image credit Tony Abeyta.

In this article “And Then I went to School” by Joe Suina is about boarding schools and the trauma behind it. He talks about how he was 6 years old and so on during those times. Mr.Suina is also from the Pueblo of Cochiti, he lived with his grandmother and was taught by her. She was his home and he was told stories or she would sing to him before bed and he loved her a lot because she cared and loved him as her own. But boarding school changed him and I'm sure others too because the school made them isolate themselves away from our traditional ways of life and that hurt him because he and his grandma were very participant and were involved in many ceremonial settings. He was also taught to be on his best behavior and have appropriate behavior at these events. But throughout the years she taught and showed him to pray and to embrace your culture. 

Citation: Suina Joe, and Joseph H. Suina is an Associate Professor in the Department of curriculum and Instruction at the University of New Mexico. “And Then I Went to School.” Rethinking schools, 22 June 2021.

In this article "Indian Assimilation Overview" by Jon Allan Reyhner talks about the trauma and pain Native children endured during the assimilation era. Also, mentions how the government allowed Native children to be taken away from their homes forcefully and put into the Indian boarding schools after parents and grandparents resisted to let their children be turned into "white people". The Europeans wanted their way of life and beliefs to be superior to others and forced the American way of life on Native children where they were forced and expected to talk the English language, dress the American way and to adapt to a new culture, the Native children were also expected to forget their Native identity; traditions, culture, language and their homes. This impacted tradition, culture, language and themselves negatively.

Citation: Reyhner, Jon Allan. "Indian Assimilation Overview." Education and Language Restoration, Revised Editions, Facts on Fire, 2019. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=185148. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.

In this article "Senate passes Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation Act" by Beverly Bidney talks about an act that's used to help Native Americans strengthen and nourish their Native languages by creating and developing programs to preserve the languages and culture which is a huge part of Native identity. In Native communities both parents, grandparents and children were required to participate in these Language programs. Parents and grandparents attended weekly adult language classes and were expected to communicate using words and commands in the household. Children using the language to communicate in everyday conversations with teachers, elders and each other strengthened the language in non-verbal babies who later became very fluent in the language.

Citation: Bidney, B. (2017, Dec. 29). Senate passes esther martines native languages preservation act. Seminole Tribune Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/senate-passes-esther-martinez-native-languages/docview/1987676236/se-2 

In this article "Report Outline deficiencies in education for Native American students" by Seminole Tribune talks about a lawsuit that was filed against the State of New Mexico for failing to meet State and Federal laws regarding the education of students of color, Native Americans and hispanic students. The state also failed to provide funds for programs and services for students to learn and thrive in school. The 'Impact Aid credit' was from the state's public education funding affected school districts negatively while impact aid districts could decide for themselves what to spend additional funds on facility needs, instructions, tribal collaboration activities or tribal education departments. New Mexico school districts are still unable to provide programs and support for students and some districts were forced to cute basic programs provided for students. 

Citation: Report Outlines deficiencies in education for Native American students. (2021, Jan. 29). Seminole Tribune Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/report-outlines-deficiencies-education-native/docview/2489353376/se-2

In this article "Academic Anxiety" talks about how academic pressure causes stress on students during school. Academic pressure is the result of feeling of being distressed, fearful or stressed. Being worried about going to school the next day and stressing out about assignments, stressing about a presentation or speech you need to present in front of a class are all related to academic stress and the pressure of trying to meet you school or teachers high expectations. Healthy stress is the normal feeling of stress students experience because of tests, quizzes and assignment. It can also help them perform better. The fight or flight response helps people perform at the top of their game during the stressful period. In healthy doses, anxiety about doing well is what makes you study for a test and complete your assignments on time. Healthy stress can motivate you to do better if it's temporary. Unhealthy stress can cause the mind to seize up and overreact to school pressure and can cause a bodily reaction making them perform horribly. Being overly worried causes the brain to be out-of-control sending signals to the body to keep chemicals circulating through the system, tricking the body into thinking its still in danger causing the fight or flight response to keep going when the situation is over. The emotional and physical feeling anxious stays with someone even though the stressful situation is over, causing other unhealthy behaviors to begin.

Citation:

"Academic Anxiety." Teen Health and Wellness, Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. March 2023, teenhealthandwellness.com/article/28/academic-anxiety. Accessed 29 Nov 2023.

In this article "Mental Health, Suicidality, and Connectedness among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic- Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, Jan-June 2021." talks about a survey that was given and taken globally during the pandemic. The data recorded grades 9th-12th to assess U.S high school students mental health and suicidality. The data also indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the mental health of many children and adolescents. During thee pandemic, mental health was affected by school closure, school isolation, family economic hardship, fear if family loss or illness, and limited access to health care (hospitals, clinics, etc.) Adolescent mental health during the pandemic significantly increased in depression and anxiety. The widespread of poor mental health and suicidality was high across students of all sex, sexual identity, and racial and ethnic groups; however poor mental health, constant feeling of sadness or hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors were less common among those who felt close to people at school and were virtually connected with others during the pandemic.

Citation:

Jones SE, Ether KA, Hertz M, et al. Mental Health, Suicidality, and Connectedness Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic- Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January-June 2021. MMWR Suppl 2022; 71(Suppl-3):16.21.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/1015585/mmwr.su7103a3

In this article "The CDC says teen mental health is in crisis. Who is most at risk?" talks about how mental health among high school students is worsening. Between 2019-2021 the percentage of high school students experiencing continuous feeling of sadness or hopelessness increased significantly. It was recorded that 13% of female students and more than 20% of LGBTQ+ students in 2021 had attempted in the past year along with that 3% of students in 2021 experiences unstable housing. Unstable households and other social and economic factors can significantly impact teens and their well-being. The data found that there was a higher percentage of Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native and black students were experiencing unstable households compared to Asia, Hispanic and white students. Also compared to years before, high school students reported high rates of poor mental health during the second year of the pandemic. But with quality health education, school connectedness, and creating a safe and supportive school environment can help improve mental health issues, risky behavior, high-risk substance abuse and more.

Citation:

"The CDC says teen mental health is in crisis. Who is most at risk?" USAFacts, 4 Oct  2023.

usafacts.org/articles/the-cdc-says-teen-mental-health-is-in-crisis-who-is-most-at-risk/.

In this article "The COVID-19 pandemic increased poor lifestyles and worsen mental health: a systematic review" talks about how the Coronavirus has significantly impacted and changed the daily lifestyle of people around the world. In many cases more health problems such as decrease in physical activity, more screen time and unhealthy eating. Due to isolation people spent less time doing physical activities like running, walking, swimming, and gym-training which all have health benefits. Sedentary behavior however is concerning because your lazy, not wanting to do anything but stare at a screen which isn't good for you or your health since lack of exposure to natural light disrupts your "body clock" which controls sleep-wake cycles. Sleep disturbances and unusual sleeping patterns are due to reduced exposure of natural light and physical activity. Also due to isolation and having limited access to fruits, caused consumption of junk foods and convenience foods leading to obesity, diabetes and other harmful related effects. Individuals affected by Covid-19 experience more anxiety, depression, stress, panic, irritability, PTSD and suicidal behavior. Isolation may trigger these.

Citation:

Zhao, Zhe et al. "The COVID-19 Pandemic Increased Poor lifestyles and worsen mental health: a systmatic view." American Journal of Translational research Vol.15, 5 3060-3066. 15 May 2023.

In this article "Impact of COVID-19 on Smallholder farmers- insights from India" by Deepa Maggo talks about how the pandemic significantly impacted harvesting, and their community since almost half the population in India depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Why is India important to food production? its 40% of the countrys grain production and over half of its fruits, vegtables, oilseeds, rice, wheat and other crops as well. The pandemic lockdown created challenges and threats because it happened around the same time as the harvest season for winter crops, creating labor and equpiments shortages so they could harvest crops of cereal and oilseeds. Long supply food chains were deeply affected because of transport restrictions, so some drivers left truck loads full of produce in the middle of interstate highways causing markets to run low on supplies. Prices rose significantly where supplies were limited because consumers resorted to panic so they were buying and hoarding essentials like flour, rice, sugar and oil. Smallholder farmers are high vulnerable to crisis as result of their limited access to resources, credit and basic health care needs and facilities. Social distancing and isolation were a huge challenge because they rely on daily labor and wages for their livelihood. 

Citation:

World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Maggo, Deepa "Impact of COVID-19 on Small holder farmers in India." WBCSB- World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 2 Jun 2020.

https://www.wbcsb.org/overview/New-Insights/WBCSB-Insights/impacts-of-covid-19-on-smallholder-farmers-in-India

In this article "COVID-19: A heavy toll on health-care workers" talks about how vulnerable health care workers/professionals  are when a crisis like this happens and also talks about risks, fear and loss. Health care workers continue to provide care for patients regardless of exhaustion, personal risk of infection, fear of transmission to family, illness or death of friends and colleagues, and the loss of many patients. The fear of transmitting COVID-19 to family caused many health professionals to isolate themselves from their families for months. In overwhelmed hospitals health care workers traveled to provide patient care, but some who volunteered in unusual clinical areas were put into the pandemic ICU with poor skills and training they had because the training of health care workers was interrupted, leading to loss of tuition fees, missed learning opportunities, missed exams and delayed certification. Health professionals cared for colleagues who were ill, offered comfort to dying patients who were isolated from loved ones while informing and comfroting patients family members remotely. Health care workers are at risk tp anxiety, depression, burnout, insomia, distress and PTSD. Long term affects on health of psychological distress related to caring for patients with Covid-19 is still seen today. 

Citation

COVID-19: A Heavy Toll on Health-Care Workers- the Lancet, www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS22132600(21)00068-0/fulltext. Accessed 5 Feb 2024.