The Bureau of Indian Education recently extended a five-year contract of a program that provides additional mental health resources for tribal youth, impacting more than 100 tribal schools in the Mountain West.
The Behavioral Health and Wellness program allows for both Indigenous students and staff from both schools and universities to access the resources. Some of those resources offered by the program include telehealth counseling, a 24/7, BIE-focused crisis hotline, and on-site crisis support. Teresia Paul, the program lead and a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota, believes it is a “gamechanger” for Indigenous communities.
