Although the AI/AN people of the New World consisted of diverse cultures with distinctive beliefs, customs, rituals, ceremonies, and territories, they had the shared values of cherishing the family network and extended family relationships, sharing, valuing the wisdom of elders, and respect for nature. Colonization of the New World and its Indigenous peoples brought not only physical violence but also an oppression that attacked the cultural identities, values, and socioeconomic structures and resources through which AI/ANs survived emotionally and physically. This constituted an historical trauma whose effects have been felt among AI/AN families and individuals to this day. Among these traumatic effects are high rates of suicide, domestic violence, substance abuse, poverty, and posttraumatic stress disorder. One of the more promising efforts to address the trauma that pervades AI/AN life is evidence-based treatment practice, which is the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences. It is based in a broad awareness of distinctive issues that impact Native mental health. This perspective has produced recent efforts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to launch healing strategies at the community level. Tribal members have become the key stakeholders and decisionmakers in making changes and addressing critical issues of substance abuse, violence, and mental health. Community coalitions have been formed to address systems change that can improve the socioeconomic life of AI/AN communities and individuals. 1 figure, 5 notes and 60 references