Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk: Advocating for the Mental Health of Indigenous Populations

Our guest is Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk. She is a life-long justice seeker, community builder, and part-time marathoner. She is Two-spirit and a proud tribal citizen of the Seminole Nation, as well as a member of the Pawnee, Iowa, Omaha, and  Creek Nations. She carries the name Ti-tatatsiks-stariiku. Jasha’s advocacy has largely been focused in rural Oklahoma and she has organized around such issues as healthcare access, violence against women, breast/chestfeeding advocacy, body sovereignty and birth justice,  food sovereignty, gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform,  Census & Natives Vote 2020, and as a former political candidate. Jasha’s recent concentration is in the reclamation of birthkeeping and she has been honored to hold space for families and community as a trained  Birthworker and a student midwife. She has recently joined the team at the Tulsa Birth Equity Initiative as a Community-Based Doula &  Native Service Coordinator. Additionally, Jasha has also helped to found Native Breastfeeding Week and is in pursuit of a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous People’s Law at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law. She maintains an active lifestyle with her spouse, Bunky, and their four children.

Om Podcasten

Mental Health Association Oklahoma created The Mental Health Download podcast to share stories each week about mental illness, homelessness, incarceration and suicide, and how each can impact our lives in a profound way. Mental health affects everyone, yet the social stigma attached to mental health issues keeps so many of our family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors silent. Why are we so afraid to talk about these issues? Each week, our host Adi McCasland invites guests to share how mental illness, suicide, homelessness and incarceration have affected their work or lives.