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Urban Indigenous Collective's
INDIGENOUS SURVIVORS PROGRAM
The Indigenous Survivors Program is a trauma-informed, culturally grounded direct service initiative designed to support Indigenous peoples, including women, girls, trans, Two-Spirit, and LGBTQIA+ survivors of gender-based violence in Lenapehoking (NYC).
This program has been developed over several years through deep consultation with our community.
About The Indigenous Survivors Program
UIC's Indigenous Survivor's Progeam responds to a critical and well-documented reality: Indigenous survivors in NYC are navigating systems that were never designed for them, systems that often retraumatize, criminalize, or simply ignore them. Many of our relatives experience compounding forms of violence tied to colonization, state surveillance, poverty, displacement, and erasure. In many cases, survivors are not connected to any formal support services, and culturally competent care is virtually nonexistent.
This program does not start from a place of pathology, it begins with our traditional knowledge: healing is relational, ceremonial, and rooted in sovereignty. It braids together modern clinical care with Indigenous ways of healing, offering survivors an affirming space to recover, reconnect, and reclaim their story.
Who This Program Serves
- Indigenous peoples with ancestral ties to Turtle Island, Central & South America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands
- Indigenous women, girls, trans, Two-Spirit, and LGBTQ+ survivors of violence or trafficking
- Families and loved ones of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP/MMIWG2S+)
- Community members who are undocumented, justice-involved, or disabled elders
- Survivors excluded from mainstream systems due to racism, homophobia, or cultural disconnection
- English and Spanish-speaking relatives
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Individual counseling sessions are offered in-person at UIC’s Wellness Room or virtually through ShockTalk, a culturally tailored telebehavioral health platform for Indigenous communities.Our Indigenous clinicians are trained in culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and identity-affirming care, specializing in:
- Indigenized Practice — centering Indigenous worldviews and relational healing frameworks.
- Trauma & PTSD Treatment — supporting survivors in navigating complex and historical trauma.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — addressing thought patterns and behaviors through a strengths-based lens.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) — teaching mindfulness, emotional regulation, and distress-tolerance skills.
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Hands-on support for relatives navigating moments of crisis. Our staff provide individualized safety planning, advocacy, and accompaniment through complex systems — from courts and hospitals to shelters and social services.
We maintain relationships with trusted Indigenous and allied partners, including trauma-informed housing providers, legal advocates, and culturally competent immigration attorneys. Every referral is guided by relational accountability and survivor consent, ensuring safety and care without retraumatization.
Survivor-Led Talking Circles & Art Therapy
Crisis Navigation & Culturally Safe Referrals
Survivor-Led Talking Circles & Art Therapy
Monthly Talking Circles and art therapy sessions are survivor-led and grounded in traditional and ancestral knowledge. Each gathering weaves together storytelling, traditional Indigenous teachings, craft-making, meditation, and song sharing.
These circles affirm that healing is not only emotional but spiritual, culturally guided by survivors and sustained through ancestral knowledge. Sessions are offered in-person in both English and Spanish. Transportation stipends can be provided to applicants of the Flying Eagle Woman Survivors Fund to ensure accessibility for all relatives.
Family & Kinship Healing Circles
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Survivor-Led Talking Circles & Art Therapy
Facilitated family therapy circles co-led by Indigenous therapists to restore harmony through kinship teachings, cultural protocols, and shared accountability. These circles support intergenerational healing, helping families rebuild trust, communication, and connection after experiences of violence or trauma.
Traditional Practices
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Access to sweat lodge and other traditional offerings led by trusted Indigenous cultural practitioners. These ceremonies provide space for release, cleansing, and spiritual renewal, grounding survivors in ancestral healing.
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Land-Based Healing: Held by the Land Retreat
Participation in a dedicated survivor cohort of the Held by the Land retreat — featuring traditional ecological knowledge, kayaking, meditation, breath work, ocean swimming, and storytelling circles guided by Indigenous women and survivors.
This immersive experience reconnects survivors to land, body, and spirit through collective healing and ancestral remembrance. Rooted in the principle of reciprocal healing, survivors are reminded that the Earth and our bodies are intertwined. When we heal ourselves, we heal the land, and the land, in her wisdom, continues to hold, guide, and care for us. Through ceremony, water, and movement, survivors experience renewal as the land reflects back their strength and restoration, honoring the deep relationship between ecological balance and personal transformation.
Direct Support Through the Survivors Fund
Opeqtawmetaemoh (Flying Eagle Woman) Survivor's Fund
The Opeqtawmetaemoh (Flying Eagle Woman) Survivors Fund provides low-barrier emergency assistance and healing stipends for survivors.
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UIC Indigenous Community Wellness Services Survey
Take the UIC Indigenous Community Wellness Services Survey and tell us what you want to see in our future direct-care, traditional, and spiritual wellness programming!