Effects of changing native American cultures on child development

Abstract

Dislocation of native American tribes and pueblos and the alteration of traditional ways of earning a living, with ensuing poverty, on dislocated reservations has had a major impact on many native American communities. Poverty, hopelessness, and the attractiveness of Anglo possessions have led to reducing the importance of tradition and ancient culture in the everyday life of many American Indians. Under these circumstances, adult alcoholism reduces the capacity to parent infants and children and results in developmental deviations. Child abuse and neglect result in developmental problems noted in poor school performance, depression, adolescent alcoholism and suicide, etc. Efforts of a few American Indian communities to emphasize the teaching of traditional ways and to deal with community problems in new ways are described. They are encouraging. These pilot efforts, which emanate from the tribe or are encouraged and helped along by mental health consultants, begin to alter the status and sense of well‐being of the adults and adolescents. Some pilot projects described here deal with altering the young, “high‐risk,” adolescent woman's image and understanding of herself and with her subsequent parenting of children, with its profound effect on newborn infants and their development. The effort of these projects is to reverse the maldevelopment of the young in the hope that more integrated, competent, and creative native American adolescents and adults will enhance the teaching and learning of tradition—that these efforts will help more native Americans to find ways of using the tools of modern Anglo society so they do not do away with the ancient customs and traditions and their healthy impact on daily living.

A cross‐cultural examination of Aboriginal and European Canadian mothers' beliefs regarding proactive and reactive aggression

“…Aboriginal peoples, including the Mohawk, are taught to avoid overt displays of positive and negative emotions in order to foster non‐interference with another's independence and non‐competitiveness (Brant, 1990). Thus, although aggression may be perceived as a threat to the maintenance of social harmony and considered an undesirable characteristic among many native groups, including Native American and even Aboriginal Australian tribes (Berlin, 1987; Nelson & Allison, 2000), we predicted that Aboriginal mothers would generally endorse less strong negative emotions than European Canadian mothers regarding aggression.…”

Unikkaartuit: Meanings of Well‐Being, Unhappiness, Health, and Community Change Among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada

“…Narrative-based, qualitative methods are consistent with Indigenous perspectives of knowledge transmission and understanding (e.g., Mihesuah 1998;Smith 1999). Collaborative, participatory methods linked to community action are particularly relevant to the concerns of community psychology (e.g., Brydon-Miller et al, in press;Kidd and Kral 2005;Marshall and Rossman 1995;Kral et al 2011;O'Donnell 2006;Rappaport 2000;Trickett 1996), as is work with Indigenous communities (Berlin 1987b;Gone 2011;Fisher and Ball 2003;Hobfoll et al 2002).…”

Suicide Prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities: A Critical Review of Programs

“…Suicide among American Indians and Alaska Natives is predominantly a phenomenon of the young, especially of young males (Berlin, 1987). In the aggregate, AI/AN suicide rates over the past 40 years have been without exception higher than those of the U.S. general population for individuals between the ages of 5 and 44 years of age (Van Winkle & May, 1986, 1993); however, American Indians and Alaska Natives 45 and older are less likely to commit suicide than others in this age aggregate in the U.S. (Markides & Machalek, 1984; McIntosh & Santos, 1980–81; Shore, 1975).…”