#62 Alex Adams, MD, PhD

This month, Mary had the opportuinity to spend time with Dr Alexandra Adams. Alex is Director of the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Excellence (CAIRHE), an NIH-funded center focusing on building research partnerships with rural and Native communities and mentoring junior investigators. Her research focus is community-based and participatory. She works in close partnership with Native American communities to understand and solve health challenges using both scientific rigor and crucial community knowledge.

Alex has focused her career on the promotion of family and community wellness and healing trauma through community building. Addressing the effects of climate surprises on health has been central to her work. She also uses storytelling, filmmaking, and other strategies to engage communities and support health.

In their conversation, Alex and Mary explored her experience at the interface of Western medicine and rural, American Indian and other indigenous communities. Alex described ways for building healing relationships of trust and sharing - acknowledging the deep wisdom of local communities and of ancestral indigenous knowledge. What Alex describes is medicine at its most responsive. Fully honoring the fact that the health of the land is the health of the people and drawing across the arts to practice what is perhaps the greatest of all healing arts, listening.

You can learn more about Dr. Alexandra Adams by visiting her personal website and substack, Longing for Belonging. and her substack. Also check the website for the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Excellence (CAIRHE) where you can learn more about Alex’s initiatives with that organization. And here's the link to the Turtle Island Tales website and videos Alex described.

Through all of her creative endeavors, Alex lives fully in her relatedness with all beings. This is good medical practice, it’s good art, and it’s solidly consistent with climate repair. Let’s all join her.

MUSIC

Mystical Flute Music. Music by morel dua from Pixabay

Tabla Flute 102. Music by Johnson Cherian from Pixabay

Acoustic Guitar and Flute Fairytale. Music by Denis Pavlov from Pixabay

Original theme music, composed and performed by Gary Ferguson.