Support for your next step

Stories can remind you that you don’t need to take that next step alone.

Sharing your stories

These stories were shared with care and with permission. This website will not ask you to sign up, share your name, or leave anything behind. You are welcome to read, take what helps, and move at your own pace.

  • Stories and photos are used only with permission.
  • Names may be changed to protect privacy.
  • Some details may be kept private.

What stories still need room to be told?

Why stories matter

Stories can carry comfort. They can make hard topics feel less scary, like screening or quitting commercial tobacco. They can remind us that we don’t have to walk alone.

  • They bring comfort and hope.
  • They help people understand screening and quitting.
  • They build community and support.

Want to learn more? Visit Lung Cancer Screening or Quitting Support.

Teachings and experiences can be different across Tribes, families, and communities. Take what helps and leave the rest.

Here are a few stories we carry with us.

A large stainless-steel statue of a Native woman with long braids, holding out a star quilt inset with blue diamond panels, against an open sky.

Finding my way back

Do you really know where you came from?

I grew up Sioux but never close to any of it, until two Native veterans at the Elders' center opened the door back to my own people. What I found wasn't a guarantee of answers, just a direction: help the next person who has less than you do.

This is about: Reconnection

Next step: Learn more about medicine bags

When stories help us stay connected

Prayers up, tobacco down

Don't let the stories burn the way the totem poles did.

I grew up hearing “prayers up, tobacco down” before I fully understood what it meant. Family memories, songs, blankets, and potlatch stories helped me understand how teachings can stay alive.

This is about: Traditional tobacco and stories carried through generations

Next step: Learn about traditional tobacco

Opening the door

That's the door I want to open.

I didn’t understand my own heritage until I was older. Now my daughter and I help others learn what our traditions mean, including how traditional tobacco is different from commercial tobacco.

This is about: Teaching, reconnecting with tradition, and understanding tobacco

Next step: Learn about traditional tobacco

When healing looks different for each person

Sound is medicine

There’s nothing like a grandmother’s love, and I never got that piece of it.

I lost many of my Native ways before I had the chance to learn them. Over time, sound, stories, drumming, flute, and community became ways to reconnect with culture and make space for healing.

This is about: Reclaiming hidden heritage, teaching what was withheld, and understanding commercial tobacco

What I carve, I keep

I represent my grandchildren every time I make a choice.

Smoking was part of my life for a long time, especially during stress and change. Over time, I started thinking about the example I wanted to leave for my children and grandchildren.

This is about: Family, long-term health, and carrying culture forward

Next step: Learn more about lung health

Take what helps and leave the rest.