November is Native American Heritage Month and at Stop Stigma Sacramento we wanted to celebrate this month by highlighting a local Native leader who works to address the mental health needs of this traditionally underserved community. We sat down with Albert Titman, who has decades of experience in the space, to discuss the unique barriers facing this community and how he is working to bring relief. He is currently the Deputy Director for the Native Dads Network and formerly was the Associate Director of Cultural Integration and Development at Sprenger Behavioral Medicine for the TeleWell Indian Health MAT project and spent 15 years as the lead SUD counselor and 5 years as Behavioral Health Dept Manager at the Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNACH).
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Stop Stigma Sacramento: Please describe your Native American heritage. Which tribe(s) are you or your family affiliated with, and how has your cultural background influenced your identity? How have your tribal affiliations and cultural traditions shaped your identity?
Albert Titman: My tribal heritage is Miwok, Nisenan, and Maidu on my father’s side, and Madesi Band of the Pit River Nation on my grandmother’s side. On my mother’s side, I’m a descendant of Chichimeca people from Mexico. My ancestors experienced significant historical trauma, including forced migrations to reservations or rancherias, abuse at Indian boarding schools, and more. I was born and raised in Sacramento, which is the original homeland of my people, along the river systems. Growing up, I was mostly raised with my mother’s Latino heritage.
What I know now, after doing some research about identity, is how important it is to know who you are and what your truth is. I’ve come to learn more about my Miwok heritage. The people who helped me find a path to healing did so by combining Western approaches with cultural practices. They taught me the importance of reclaiming that part of my identity—embracing it, being proud of it and not hiding it. When I was a child, I felt ashamed of my heritage, but now I understand how vital it is to own and celebrate it.
SSS: Growing up, how were mental health, wellness, or substance use challenges discussed in your family or community?
AT: In the community, there was a lot of ugliness happening that, when you’re young, you see as glamorous and exciting—partying, gang influence, and substance use. It started to affect my life. I realized at a very young age, ‘This is affecting my life, I want to change.’ But by that time, I didn’t know how to change, and there was shame, which I now recognize was linked to continuing to numb out and escape. In my 20s, I came to a point where I knew I needed to change, but I resisted. I started to experience depression and anxiety, though at the time I didn’t understand what was happening. All I knew was that I didn’t like how I felt, and without realizing I might have underlying issues, I turned to drinking and smoking to escape that pain and continue living in that world. There was also a lack of trust in traditional Western mental health treatment – many felt those institutions didn’t care about our community.
SSS: How did traditional cultural practices play a role in your healing?
AT: My whole life, I knew I was native, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant. Ultimately, I came back to my culture. When I started going to ceremonies, I met relatives who introduced me to cultural healing practices, like the sweat lodge ceremony, which our relatives here had adopted as a way to purify our physical and spiritual selves. These experiences have truly shaped my life today.
SSS: How did you start Native Dads Network and how do you incorporate cultural traditions and values to support mental health and addiction recovery?
AT: My friend came to me with a vision to start a non-profit that helps and serves Native men. There were not, and still aren’t very many resources for men and their children. We were seeing a lot of single fathers coming in, looking for housing or treatment, but there was nothing to offer at the time. So, in 2014, Native Dads became a nonprofit in Sacramento. Over the years, Native Dads Network has expanded and grown, building on the foundation of culture, spirituality, ceremonial practices, customs and tradition, which are at the core of all of our work. We deliver our work to tribal communities across all of California, as well as Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and more recently, Arizona. It’s been a fruitful journey ever since.
SSS: Do you see any unique cultural factors that impact mental health in Native American communities (such as historical trauma, connection to land, or cultural loss)?
AT: My whole life, I knew I was native, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant. I had no clue until my mental health was impacted by what we now know as historical trauma or intergenerational acts. As I began researching culture, had my first children, and made changes in my life, seeking therapy and support, I realized that this wasn’t just about quitting substances. It was about taking a holistic approach and learning what it truly means to be a Miwok man.
SSS: How did you first become involved with the Stop Stigma Sacramento/”Mental Illness It’s Not Always What You Think” project? Why did you decide to participate in the project’s original creative messaging (billboards, tip cards, gas toppers etc.)?
AT: My relationship with mental health started as a personal journey. Early on, I accessed some of the resources available through the county. To be honest, I was a consumer of those services. During my healing process, I had the opportunity to go back to school, and afterward, I was invited to intern at the county level. Later, while working at the Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC), we built strong relationships with the county.
SSS: What impact have you seen in your community as a result of participating with Stop Stigma Sacramento?
AT: Personally, we didn’t expect to see our images on billboards. We thought it would be something just for tribal communities, so I was a bit thrown off by it. But later on, it became fruitful. I would be at gatherings, and it would be a conversation starter. Normally, we wouldn’t talk about these things, but having it visible around ceremony and at our campsites gave me the opportunity to talk about mental health, mental wellness, and cultural healing.
SSS: In what ways do you feel stigma toward mental illness manifests specifically within Native American communities? As someone with a personal and professional connection to Native American communities, what advice or insights would you give to Native individuals struggling with addiction or mental health challenges but hesitant to seek help due to cultural or social barriers?
AT: Growing up, the stigma around seeking help and Western care was somewhat validated by their experiences of trauma and abuse. What was passed down were these beliefs that they didn’t want to help – they just wanted to medicate and numb you from the truth, because that’s what they experienced. Fast forward to now, when I worked at the clinic, 100% of our department consisted of indigenous clinicians, counselors, and case managers – even the CEO.
We started to break down some of those stigmas and barriers, creating a sense of safety for our relatives and letting them know they could trust us because we were them, and they were us. When you came in, you saw a native counselor, which helped dismantle the generational trauma and stigma. You couldn’t go to Kaiser or another program down the street and receive smudging or a song – a connection to the land and our ancestors – but at the clinic, you could. Western medicine was interwoven, but the core of it was the sense of safety in the culture. Whether it’s the Native American Health Center in Sacramento or the Native Dads Network, we provide that foundation of cultural healing. We absolutely encourage it, and we collaborate with one another. Now, our program is statewide, growing like a managed fire!