Thursday & Friday, April 23 & 24, 2026
Doubletree by Hilton Phoenix Mesa
1011 W Holmes Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

ABOUT THE EVENT

Each year we hold a convening to bring together community members, behavioral health staff, service providers, school support staff, and youth service organizations to discuss and strategize how to reduce deaths by suicide among urban American Indian youth and adults. Through these convenings, service providers discuss and share areas of service around suicide prevention so that efforts between providers are known and can be better coordinated.

The Annual American Indian Suicide Prevention Convening is seeking workshop proposals for breakout sessions on April 23 & 24, 2026. In-person workshop content should be culturally relevant, educational, engaging, and reflect experience and expertise in the following tracks: Clinical, Cultural, and Youth & Families.

The theme of this year’s convening is Threads of Life: Weaving Hope and Healing.

In many Indigenous cultures exists the cultural tool and artform of a basket. A basket serves many purposes and needs for the community, both functionally, culturally, and even spiritually. Many tribes utilized baskets in their daily lives with diverse and unique designs, protocols, techniques, and teachings passed down from one generation to the next. Excellent weavers could create baskets woven so tight that they could hold water, without letting a single drop fall through the fibers. This is what we envision for our community. Each fiber can be viewed as an individual, a community organization, a resource, or a thread of hope and healing. A strongly woven community, interconnected and interdependent with one another, can hold each other together and keep our vulnerable relatives from falling through.
BREAKOUT SESSION TRACK: CLINICAL

Clinical and behavioral health professionals play a vital role in addressing the layers of historical and intergenerational trauma that contribute to suicide risk, while also promoting culturally responsive, strength-based, and community-driven approaches to wellness. This track emphasizes the need for healthy equity: by weaving together clinical knowledge and Indigenous knowledge to merge evidence-based practices with traditional teachings, kinship, and cultural identity. This interwoven approach helps strengthen the relationship between clinicians and the populations they serve by addressing the needs of the community and building systems of care that are culturally responsive and rooted in mutual respect.

SESSION SHOULD ADDRESS TOPICS IN:

· Integrating Indigenous healing practices and evidence-based behavioral health approaches

· The trauma transmission process and its relationship to suicide and/or co-occurring disorders.

· Population-specific mental health and their unique experiences of trauma (i.e., youth, adult, elder, maternal, 2SLBGTQ+, men’s, veterans, etc.)

· Navigating dual worldviews in a clinical setting

· Successes and challenges when implementing projects in tribal communities

· Building trust between clinicians and communities

· Developing a trauma-informed approach

· Addressing systemic barriers and social determinants of health

BREAKOUT SESSION TRACK: CULTURAL

The cultural track uplifts the knowledge, traditions, and teachings that have sustained Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. We look to address wellness holistically by connecting individuals to their identity, community, language, and land through culture. When Indigenous spirituality and practices were outlawed, so were the tools Indigenous peoples used for grief and healing, forcing the adoption of unhealthy coping mechanisms. By reconnecting and revitalizing these traditions, we ensure that our ways of being continue to support and nurture future generations. This track welcomes knowledge keepers, storytellers, artists, practitioners, and community leaders whose work utilizes culture as a central aspect of healing and suicide prevention.

SESSION SHOULD ADDRESS TOPICS IN:

· Culturally based resiliency factors and the importance of traditional cultural practices in healing. #CultureIsPrevention

· The importance of kinship, community networks, and collective healing in suicide prevention

· Loss of (cultural) identity as a risk factor to suicide.

· Reclaiming Indigenous foods and traditional ecological knowledge for holistic wellness

· Honoring grief and loss through culturally grounded healing practices

· The impact of colonization on cultural practices and the ongoing process of cultural resurgence

· Tribal and non-tribal collaborations in suicide prevention

· Alternative methods to healing (e.g., art therapy, animal-assisted therapy, or other holistic practices, non-traditional therapies, etc.)

· Social networks
BREAKOUT SESSION TRACK: YOUTH & FAMILIES

This track is designed to uplift youth, families, and youth-serving organizations & initiatives that utilize kinship and community networks as a foundation for wellness. For generations, Indigenous kinship systems have been central to nurturing & facilitating emotional wellbeing, belonging, and purpose for all community members, especially youth. These traditional parenting practices and teachings were disrupted by policies such as boarding schools, resulting in the intergenerational loss of these protective factors. As communities reclaim and strengthen these same relationships, they once again contribute to family and community wellness. Presenters are invited to explore programs, teachings, and lived experiences that uplift youth while empowering families as partners in prevention, healing, and cultural continuity.

SESSION SHOULD ADDRESS TOPICS IN:

· Youth- and family-led approaches in suicide prevention

· Peer-to-peer support initiatives

· Mentorship & community leadership

· Intergenerational knowledge exchange between elders and youth

· The impact of social media on mental health & connectedness

· The role of family engagement in prevention programs & efforts

· Balancing traditional lifeways with the realities of modern Native youth & families

· Creating safe, inclusive, and affirming spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ and Two Spirit youth

· Youth perspectives on mental health stigma

· Honoring youth voices in defining what wellness, healing, and hope look like today

· Recognizing and validating the unique experiences of on and off-reservation youth

· Action and community leadership

Cultural practitioners or consultants, youth, and professionals who work in Education & Prevention, Social Work, Health & Human services, or a related field that would like to share their expertise and experience are encouraged to complete this online form. The convening attendees represent:

· Community members

· Behavioral health staff

· Service providers

· School support staff

· Youth service organizations

Sessions should contain traditional Indigenous and/or contemporary knowledge to create suicide-safer communities for American Indian families.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Please read all information carefully.

2. Fill out the online application form below before or by Sunday, January 25, 2026.

3. A member of our staff may contact you if they have any questions about your application.

4. You will be notified if you are or are not selected to speak at the Suicide Prevention Convening.

* Indicates Required Response

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* 1. Personal Information

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* 2. Personal Information cont.

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* 3. Workshop Title

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* 4. Workshop Description (please include learning objectives, brief agenda, and how your session addresses this year’s theme and topic(s))

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* 5. Which track are you submitting your proposal for?

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* 6. Biography (tribal affiliation if applicable, relevant education, personal, and/or work experience)

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* 7. Please upload a headshot photo

Please consider the following best practices in submitting your workshop proposal:

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