There are four courses in the Indigenous Healing Perspectives Certificate program. Students will receive their certificate upon satisfactory completion of all four courses and should expect to spend 3 hours per week in class, with additional time spent on coursework outside of class. Each course is conducted over an eight-week period, with the entire certificate program designed to be completed in nine months.
Native American Health Trends; Trauma and Mental Health in Indian Country
Throughout this course, students will learn about Native American history and immerse themselves into native mindsets on health, wellness, life, and healing. Students will become familiar with native lifestyles and ways of communicating, increasing their understanding of how native communities view and access Western medicine and their ability to communicate with native communities.
Course Start Date: August 24, 2026
About the Instructor: Jerry Crowshoe
Jerry Crowshoe is an enrolled member of the Piikani Nation (Blackfoot Confederacy) from Brocket, Alberta, Canada. Mr. Crowshoe grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, and graduated from Mary Walker High School in Springdale, WA.
Native American Health Perspectives
In this course, students will gain cultural competence through openness to varying perspectives, cultivate cultural humility to nurture listening skills, and increase their capacity for a strength-based worldview of Native American communities.
Course Start Date: January 11, 2027
About the Instructor: Dr. Melodi Wynne
Dr. Melodi Wynne is a member of the Spokane Tribe and resides on her ancestral homelands on the upper Columbia Plateau. She holds a doctorate in Community and Cultural Psychology and a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Melodi speaks on behalf of ancestral plant foods and medicines whenever called to do so, including in middle and high school classrooms, local university programs, Indigenous podcasts, coalition meetings, and conferences.
Traditional Piikani Knowledge as a Pathway to Professional Cultural Safety
This course will apply traditional Piikani knowledge education methods to establish a conceptual framework for cultural safety. Learners will experience the impact of storytelling, observation, and repetition integral to knowledge transmission in Oral culture. This course will highlight the importance of reconciliation to promote culture safety for all.
Course Start Date: March 15, 2027
About the Instructor: Heather Crowshoe
Heather Crowshoe is a Piikani Nation member from Brocket, Alberta, Canada, an accomplished professional in health service delivery and a Piikani Ceremonialist. As a professional nurse, she remains dedicated to addressing health disparities and promoting continuity of care for Indigenous people, their supporters, and communities. Ms. Crowshoe is part of the stewardship of traditional Piikani knowledge and steward to the snake design tipi. Heather enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, and making couture clothing. She owns and operates Heather Crowshoe Couture and studied the discipline of “couture” as it most closely resembles the traditional Piikani clothing practice.