This gathering will focus on a strength-based approach to prevention, and strive to emphasize protective factors inherent in native cultural traditions and practices to address the risk factors that adversely impact native people and will take place in-person.

It will be the second year of the gathering and is in line with the strategic initiatives in the Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan, which in part, includes principles that serve as key values and attitudes.

The initiation, planning and implementation of this gathering will lay the foundation for future programmatic work and aid the Department of Health Suicide Prevention Program Unit in better understanding how to foster and sustain more successful collaborations with tribes, urban Indian programs, and other partners.

• Review of existing culturally specific and relevant prevention, intervention and postvention resources, programs, and practices available at the national, state, and local levels with the intention of guiding WA Tribal suicide prevention efforts.
• Engagement of tribal stakeholders and partners at the state and local levels
• Recommendations for implementing culturally informed prevention and postvention programming in schools, workplaces, urban Indian centers, social services agencies, and cultural centers
• Empowering native youth leadership
• Prevention and postvention considerations for vulnerable communities, including but not limited to, youth and transition aged youth (age 24 and younger), older adults, two-spirit communities, and veterans
• Recommendations and guidance for the WA State Suicide Prevention Plan