About the Nughejagh Project
A Digital Database to Preserve Alaska Native Traditional Healing Practices
The Nughejagh Project was founded by an emerging Indigenous Scholar, Jessica Ross to develop culturally responsive and trauma-informed health practices specifically for Alaska’s tribal health organizations. As the research expanded, student and tribal community involvement became an integral part of the project.
The project seeks to expand culturally responsive and trauma-informed healing methods in Alaska Native tribal community health centers in part through the use of traditional healing activities. Such activities incorporate art, song and music, dance and movement, and storytelling, as well as ceremony, to promote healing in its most holistic expression involving mental, physical, spiritual, and community health, linking health outcomes and traditional health activities.
Faculty and students from across the UAA and the University of Alaska Fairbanks collaborate with community partners including the Ekutna Community Clinic Health Center, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the Anchorage Museum. These diverse partners work together to identify traditional healing activities then catalog the information digitally through a database that incorporates visual formats like video, photography, and artwork for representing Alaska Native traditional healing activities. The goal is to create a publicly accessible database and online catalog.
About the Founder
Professor Jessica Ross is Dena'ina Athabascan and a tribal member of the Native Village of Eklutna. Professor Ross is also a Dental Hygienist, Cultural Activist, and Researcher who has served the Anchorage, Alaska community for over twelve years.
In those years, she has taught classes in the University of Alaska Anchorage's Dental Hygiene program, where she developed a Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed curriculum for her dental hygiene students. The curriculum was significantly well received, so much in fact that Professor Ross is now working on efforts to make the curriculum available to all College of Health students through her work in the Human Services Department.
Professor Ross has studied adult pedagogy through her work on her Master of Education, Teaching and Learning degree and is now working on her PhD in Indigenous Studies with a concentration on Healthcare Leadership. Professor Ross is excited to continue to develop her work on Culturally Responsive Healthcare approaches but also on researching the healing impacts of Indigenous cultural practices.