Diné (Navajo) school psychologist Elvina Charley, co- chair of the Multicultural Affairs Committee of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), will deliver the keynote, “Resiliency in Cultural Identity: In Beauty it Shall Be Restored,” on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. in the Native American Forum adjoining HSU’s Behavioral & Social Sciences Building.
Charley will discuss the importance of recognizing students’ cultural strengths in concert with the Navajo “Beauty Way,” which refers to achieving a healing balance among the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual dimensions of life. She will also highlight the importance of recruiting Indigenous school psychologists.
School Psychology Awareness Week was developed by the NASP to raise national awareness of the profession of school psychology and its role in K-12 school communities. This year’s theme is “Know Your Own Strengths – Discover Them, Share them, Celebrate Them.”
A framework for encouraging the educational attainment of Native American children is posted at http://www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/positionpapers/EffectiveServiceDeliveryforIndigenousChildrenandYouth.pdf.