American Indian youths experience a variety of conditions related to mental health functioning. These include alcohol and drug abuse, depression, anxiety, suicide, and dual axis diagnosis (Flynn, Clark, Aragon, Stanzell, & Evans-Campbell, 1998). This is compounded when one adds the pressures of growing up in an urban environment in which the struggle to define oneself as an Indian person is difficult, especially if one is of mixed heritage. In large part, it appears that many of these issues stem from greater social, economic, and sociocultural problems within the community, including the intergenerational trauma that impacts all Native people.
A Nation is not defeated until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or how strong its weapons.-Cheyenne Proverb omestic violence is a problem that faces many communities across the nation. The impact this violence has on the American Indian population has proven devastating. It is believed that the root to this violent behavior can be found in the history of the Indian people and the impact that history has had on the generations that followed. In this chapter, we explore some of the historical causes of domestic violence as well as offer solutions to end the cycle. We also discuss the power-and-control issues related to violence that may be unique to Indian people and the effects of domestic violence on children.
Violence StatisticsAccording to the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), in their report American Indians and Crime (USDOJ, 1999), American Indians have a violent crime victimization rate that is 2.5 times higher than the national rate (124 violent crimes per 1,000 vs. 50 per 1,000, respectively). Further, 101
any Indian people, as a result of factors such as internalized oppression and multigenerational trauma, have lost the cultural parenting that once dominated Native society. Prior to the cultural genocide that followed the "discovery" of North America, Indian children were valued and cherished; women were considered sacred and honored; and men cared for and provided for their families and tribes. This all changed after colonization, and Indian people have been struggling to resolidify what was once strong. In this chapter, I examine ways mental health practitioners can help parents regain the cultural parenting that was lost as a result of cultural trauma, incorporate traditional American Indian parenting with mainstream parenting techniques, and explore how family therapy and community responsibility can heal the wounds of the past.
Traditional Family SystemsStrong family ties are important in American Indian culture and must be maintained across the different family systems within the diverse community of tribes and nations.
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