Finding resilience within community
Michele A Pinkham is no stranger to climate effects. She was in high school when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and buried her home in ash. “We had to wear masks and were stranded in our homes for a week. It was not safe to go outside. It was like we were in an apocalypse,” she recounts. Since then, she has continued to feel the compounding impacts of climate change.
From devastation to resilience
Oregon’s 2020 wildfire season was devastating for the state. Over 100,000 acres burned, 40,000 people evacuated, 500,000 people in evacuation warning areas, and thousands of homes destroyed. In response, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO), and United Way of the Columbia Willamette (UWCW) partnered to establish the Disaster Resilience Learning Network (DRLN). The goal was to bring together culturally specific and culturally responsive community-based organizations (CBOs) to help those disproportionately impacted by disasters, especially Latinx and Tribal nations of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) communities. This was guided by a model that brought together social resilience and trauma-informed care that was culturally grounded and centered on healing. Recognizing that resiliency does not end at strengthening infrastructure and protecting natural resources, the DRLN seeks to nurture relationship building, center cultural ways of healing, and reimagine disaster response strategies.
Michele, who identifies as Two-Spirit and a member of the nimíipuu (also known as the Nez Perce Tribe), is the Development and Community Engagement Director at the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, Inc. (NARA NW). One day she was invited to join the DRLN to collaborate on delivering resources and messaging to underserved, marginalized communities after the wildfires. The invitation came with a request: bring a special object or photo to the first meeting. Michele brought a photo of her grandmother dressed in regalia perched on her horse, sharing how her grandmother taught young Michele how to travel with the seasons. In that first meeting, Michele heard many meaningful stories.
Storytelling as healing
Storytelling is a common healing method that naturally arises during DRLN meetings. “It’s something that has always expanded my scope. Growing up in my culture, the handing down of oral traditions is how I learned to listen. These days, I hear from communities of how climate disasters affect them in ways I never would think of. For example, how migrants and seasonal workers’ displacement were and continues to be exacerbated from wildfires,” Michele shared. Michele uses stories from the DRLN to create outreach strategies when she transitions back to NARA NW. For example, a recent DRLN workshop focused on preparedness and how everyday objects can be used during an emergency response. She integrated these lessons at a weekly dinner held every Tuesday for Pineewas elders at the community center, showing them how to use Ziplock bags to store important documents and how permanent markers can be used to identify people in cases of an evacuation.
DRLN group at Oregon Prepared 2023
In addition to the power of storytelling, Michele also feels empowered by the network because “people have actually been listening.” Recently, the DRLN had been invited to speak at Oregon Prepared 2023. It took place during winter and due to weather, the conference had to end a day short. This happened to be the day which the DRLN was scheduled to present. As the only Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) panel, the members convinced the conference to let them be the closing speaker and received a magnitude of positive feedback. “As a network of people who were never seen or heard, we made sure we were heard that day,” says Michele.
NARA and the DRLN
The DRLN has grown since its conception in 2021 and currently consists of 21 participating CBOs and has 32 active representatives. Initially, the first cohort explored personal and collective power with the intention to create systemic shifts rooted in wholeness and relationships. Through network member surveying, the developed curriculum facilitated seven learning circles:
- Introduction and Community Building
- Personal and Community Wellness and Healing
- Climate Health and Disasters
- THRIVE Model (3) and Grant Introductions
- Adverse Community Experiences and Disaster Resilience
- Storytelling and Community-Public Health Partnerships
- Linking Dialogue with the Public Sector
After an evaluation from the pilot, members since transitioned from the planning circles into three workgroups:
- Membership and Infrastructure
- Disaster Preparedness and Inclusive Messaging
- Wellness and Education
While the DRLN continues to grow, it remains true to the core mission: to create a supportive space for reflection, co-learning, and collective healing.
Michele sees the DRLN as something that is here to stay as the world is every evolving. Out of all the groups she is involved in, she practices her beadwork at DRLN gatherings because Michele finds she is “at peace in my heart. It’s a good time for me to do beadwork because I’m putting that energy into the work. We cannot bead when we are hurt, grieving, or mad. The people in the DRLN give me strength. It is a place for me to gather and collect peace and re-energize with my family. I look forward to our quarterly meetings because I know my heart will be in a good place.”