[Music] when you're focusing on a craft you're not thinking of those negative thoughts that you're constantly hearing or imagining [Music] my name is amelia simiano i am from kodiak island i teach sewing beading cultural activities to youth and adults i work at a thc alaska native tribal health consortium we'll get together and do some drumming for mental health awareness month i started working with nthc back in 2016. that's when i started working with grandma rita blumenstein [Music] she is the first traditional healer that was recognized by the governor here in alaska she worked with many different programs she's a real good student she follows everything [Music] i tried it [Laughter] i was just mostly taking care of her schedule and one of our meetings she was like i think it would be really good if someone teaches alaska native arts you can't say no to elders so i was like i'll do it i know how to bead i know how to make things so that's where my journey began when i teach beading i just tell them it's okay if you haven't beat it before it's okay if it's not perfect we were doing hearts and this lady she was having trouble sewing was all different and there was not shown and then when i helped her over here it got better and better and better and she was the one that recognized like that's my heart this is how it was before i got here and this is how i'm gonna be when i leave so she saw that her heart was hurt she saw that she's gonna heal it herself you can't teach someone that it has to come within [Music] when you're not doing anything with your hands or you're playing like harsh video games and like someone's talking just mad trash now with tick-tock and everything um it's not bad but it kind of gets to you you got to remember to be gentle with yourself it could be depression that you're going through or maybe you're having suicidal thoughts but if it's coloring if it's painting if it's carving anything you got to keep your hands moving so you keep your mind from being in that dark spot [Music] so i learned four years ago how to uh do the talking circles it's a training circle for others to let go of that grief a way to love yourself again yourself to the drum and then back we'll say it's okay if you don't want to share but you hearing someone else's story i'm like oh that's similar to mine they heal too that is healing because you're releasing it many years ago i used to smoke cigarettes i used to drink alcohol one time i wasn't feeling good and i was like i'm sorry i drank and grandma rita she's like it's okay you made a choice she didn't punish me for that she said it's okay it happens people drink don't dwell on that so from then i went on more healing and forgiving myself and others to prepare myself for that role like i quit drinking i quit smoking so i could be a better role model for myself and for others i want to be better than i was yesterday no one else just myself how i was yesterday because it's going to be hard it's going to be bumpy and there's going to be emotions you just go day by day you don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow you just worry about the moment you are right now take time to slow down and recognize and like okay i'm going to do this differently [Music] uh