Native Americans

Return to Cultures.

## Historical and Cultural Background

When speaking about Native Americans, this covers a number of different and separate cultures. Native Americans rang from Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, some of Central and Southern America, and spread throughout all the United States from ocean to ocean.

120,000 years ago Native Americans came across the Bearing Land Bridge. Over time this migration of people broke off into different tribes and spread throughout all the Americas. In the 15th century Europeans arrived in the Americas and began to drive the natives away taking their land. Many Native Americans died through wars, disease, and persecution. The US eventually sought to Westernize Native Americans, but it was not until the late 1900's were laws began to be passed restoring some of the Native American's original freedoms.

Since assimilation was forced on many of the Native American tribes, there is a loss of a sense of identity. Today there are 4.9 million Native Americans in the US and they make up 1.6% of the US population making them the 2nd smallest ethnic group. Their highest concentration in the US is Oklahoma, Arizona, and California. As of now there are 562 different tribes with 292 different languages.

## Values and Social Customs

### Family Structure

* Females focus on educating children and are considered the carriers of the culture
* Men typically lead the families
* Family is very interdepended and consists of extended family and non-kin individuals

### Marriage and Divorce

* Marriage ceremonies vary from tribe to tribe
* Free to express sexuality outside of marriage
* Low value on marriage
* Married couples aren't seen as separate from extended family
* Divorce is very easy and not seen as a taboo

## Counseling Methods and Considerations

### Common Problems

The greatest challenges Native Americans face is their sense of identity. They also seek counseling for, but not limited to:

* Historical trauma
* Alcohol abuse
* PTSD
* Depression
* Suicide

Many also struggle with poverty since their unemployment rate is as high as 85%.

### Session Structure

What to incorporate into the first Session:

* Establish really good report
	+ Over 50% of clients fail to return after first session. Allowing clients to articulate stories

about their culture and themselves will make them more likely to return

* Expect that family members will be involved

* Use self-disclosure
* Must consider tribal identification, differences in values, and acculturation of the client

* Create a therapeutic environment:
	+ Sage, sweet grass, and cedar
* Giving advice is not recommended
* Greet gently, firm handshakes are seen as aggressive
* Offering food is seen as a form of hospitality which is highly valued
* Having a quiet time at the beginning of the session is important to help the client orient himself
* Respectfully assess (a) values, (b) geographic origin/residence, (c) tribal affiliation.  Other questions should be

asked gently

* Match client’s eye contact (direct eye contact can be seen as aggressive and

disrespectful)

* Do what you say (breaking promises is a big deal)

* Offer suggestions and choices, but not directions.

Be encouraging, not pushy.  Use
appropriate humor

### Counseling Children

Counseling
Native American children can be difficult since they do
not make much eye contact and they might have exceptionally subtle verbal
responses. Finding something fun to engage the child like balloon animals can be used to encourage
interaction with the therapist. The child is shown respect by giving him or her choice of color and
animal type and the child will feel valued
by the therapist.  This can also help
facilitate teachable moments.  If a
balloon breaks, the therapist can ask the child what he or she might do when
the unexpected happens.  Also, if the
sculpture comes untwisted, the therapist can discuss how there are times when
one thinks he or she is finished with something only to find out it may have to
be fixed.

Another way to help engage children is to include animal puppets that
are meaningful in the cultural stories. These techniques are creative, fun, and
effective.

### Marital Therapy

The Gottman Method works well with Native American couples.

### Additional Counseling Techniques

* CBT
* Solution Focused Therapy
* 12 Step recovery programs

## Additional Resources

File:Heinrich Counseling Native Americans.pdf
File:American Indian Financial Report 2008.pdf