Native Americans

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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.

Traditional Native American Cultural Values vs. Contemporary America
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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

Common Problems
The greatest challenges Native Americans face is their sense of identity. They also seek counseling for, but not limited to: Many also struggle with poverty since their unemployment rate is as high as 85%.
 * Historical trauma
 * Alcohol abuse
 * PTSD
 * Depression
 * Suicide

Session Structure
What to incorporate into the first Session: about their culture and themselves will make them more likely to return
 * Establish really good report
 * Over 50% of clients fail to return after first session. Allowing clients to articulate stories


 * Expect that family members will be involved


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

asked gently
 * 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

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


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

Be encouraging, not pushy. Use appropriate humor
 * Offer suggestions and choices, but not directions.

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

Effective Witnessing
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