Roundtable - Walk in Beauty: Suicide Prevention & Intervention in Indian Country
Dr. Melanie James, Yá’át’ééh shik’éí dóó shidine’é Shí éí Melanie James yinishyé To’aheedliníí nishłį́ Todích'íí'nii báshíshchíín. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́. Born water flowing together for the bitter water clan, Melanie is Navajo with a quarter Shoshone Bannock from Southeastern Utah. Melanie is currently a first year PhD candidate at Harvard University, planning to enroll and assist in instructing the Negotiation Mastery Program for the department of Social Sciences.
Graduating from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s in psychology, Melanie began her clinical studies at the University of Oregon, receiving both her Masters and acceptance into their Doctoral Program for Philosophy. Melanie graduated with her Doctorate in June 2023, with distinctive honors and as the sum cum laude. Upon which Melanie became a board member for the APA-JHF fellowship committee.
During off time, Melanie is investigating the phenomenological silencing of Native American identities in educational systems. Finding the correlation between said research and its relation to the high suicidality rate amongst tribes in Canada and North America.
Melanie holds a position as Crisis Clinician Shift Lead for the Native and Strong Lifeline. A non-profit organization specializing in crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and providing behavioral health resources to clients.