Mental Health in the Indigenous Community
Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 19 of this newsletter. This is our second consecutive week talking about Mental Health. Today we turn our attention to the Indigenous communities of the United States. The native community in America has endured the traumas of foreign disease, discrimination and genocide. Let’s discuss a brief history of their experiences and talk through some statistics. Let’s get into it!
Key Words
American Indian, Native, Native American, Indigenous American: All of these terms are acceptable. The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or indigenous American are preferred by many Native people.
Historical Trauma: This theory purports that some Native Americans are experiencing historical loss symptoms (e.g., depression, substance dependence, diabetes, dysfunctional parenting, unemployment) as a result of the cross-generational transmission of trauma from historical losses (e.g., loss of population, land, and culture). The current problems facing the Native American people may be the result of “a legacy of chronic trauma and unresolved grief across generations” enacted on them by the European dominant culture.
Let’s Get Into It
A Brief History
Boarding Schools for Native Children
For the last 500 years, individuals from the dominant European cultures have engaged in behaviors that have resulted in the purposeful and systematic destruction of the Native American people (Plous, 2003). Native Americans have been subjected to traumas that have resulted in specific historical losses. These losses include loss of people, loss of land, and loss of family and culture.
The population of Native Americans in North America decreased by 95% from the time Columbus came to America in 1492 and the establishment of the United States in 1776. (TPC)
Mourning practices were disrupted when an 1883 federal law prohibited Native Americans from practicing traditional ceremonies (Brave Heart, Chase, Elkins, & Altschul, 2011). This law remained in effect until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was enacted. This disenfranchised grief has resulted in the Native American people not being able to display traditional grief practices. As a result, subsequent generations have been left with feelings of shame, powerlessness and subordination (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998).
President Andrew Jackson approved the Indian Removal Act of 1830, forcing the relocation of as many as 100,000 Native Americans.
By 1876, the U.S. government had obtained the majority of Native American land and the Native American people were forced to either live on reservations or relocate to urban areas. Being relocated to urban areas removed Native American people from all the lives they were familiar with. Leaving their domestic lands led to a decline in socioeconomic status as they were not able to provide for their families, and the families became dependent on goods provided by the U.S. government. These relocations resulted in the death of thousands of Native Americans and the disruption of families. (TPC)
The intent was to force the Native American people to fully assimilate to the dominant European-American culture and completely abandon their own culture. In 1871 the U.S. congress declared Native Americans wards of the U.S. government, and the U.S. government’s goal became to civilize Native Americans and assimilate them to the dominant White culture. (TPC)
Government and church-run boarding schools would take Native American children from their families at the age of 4 or 5 and not allow any contact with their Native American relations for a minimum of 8 years. In the boarding schools, Native American children had their hair cut and were dressed like European American children. All sacred items were taken from them and they were forbidden to use their Native language or practice traditional rituals and religions. Many children were abused physically and sexually and developed a variety of problematic coping strategies (e.g., learned helplessness, manipulative tendencies, compulsive gambling, alcohol and drug use, suicide, denial, and scapegoating other Native American children). (TPC)
The removal of children from their families is considered one of the most devastating traumas that occurred to the Native American people because it resulted in the disruption of the family structure, forced assimilation of children, and a disruption in the Native American community. (TPC)
Given the substantial historical traumas Native Americans have experienced, experts believe they would be at greater risk of developing physical and emotional concerns related to re-experiencing these traumas. (TPC)
Lack of Culturally Appropriate Messaging
The Western concept of mental health illnesses may not correspond with the beliefs and interpretations of Native cultures. The words “depressed” and “anxious” are absent from some native languages where alternative expressions such as “ghost sickness” or “heartbreak syndrome” are present. (ADAA)
Many Indigenous tribes embrace a worldview that encompasses the notions of connectedness (with the past and with others), strong family bonds, adaptability, oneness with nature, wisdom of elders, meaningful traditions and strong spirit that may serve as protective factors when it comes to mental health. (ADAA)
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Native/Indigenous people may express emotional distress in ways that are not consistent with standard diagnostic categories.”
Native people who meet the criteria for depression, anxiety, or substance abuse disorders are much more likely to seek help from a spiritual and/or traditional healer than from specialty or other medical sources. (ADAA) This reminded me of the connection between the church and the Black community as a solution to mental illness facilitated by the community.
Lack of awareness about mental health issues and services that are available and a lack of programs and providers that are sensitive to native and indigenous culture can prevent Indigenous people from receiving treatment.
Facts & Figures
Approximately 1.3% of the U.S. population, or roughly 4.2 million Americans, identify themselves as having Native American or Alaska Native heritage. (Mental Health America)
Native/Indigenous people in America report experiencing serious psychological distress 2.5 times more than the general population over a month’s time. (Mental Health America)
Suicide rates among Native Americans are 3.2 times higher than the national average. (TPC)
Native/Indigenous people in America start to use and abuse alcohol and other drugs at younger ages, and at higher rates, than all other ethnic groups. (Mental Health America) Native American adults reported that in the last 30 days, 44% used alcohol, 31% engaged in binge drinking, and 11% used an illicit drug. abuse of alcohol by Native individuals may be related to loss of cultural identity, history of abuse and neglect, self-medication due to feelings of hopelessness, and loss of family and tribal connections. (TPC)
Compared to non-Hispanic whites, nearly 3 times as many Native/Indigenous people had no health insurance – 5.9% compared to 14.9%. Approximately 43 percent of Native/Indigenous people in America rely on the Medicaid or public coverage. (Mental Health America)
Domestic violence and physical and sexual assault are three-and-a-half times higher than the national average in Native American communities. (TPC)
Fewer Native Americans have a high school education than the total U.S. population; an even smaller percentage has obtained a bachelor’s degree: 11% compared with 24% of the total population. (TPC)
Almost 26% of Native Americans live in poverty compared to 12% for the entire U.S. population. (TPC)
Action Steps
Learn about the Indigenous community! If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that a lot was missing from our grade school textbooks, and the atrocities committed against the Native community has been, and continues to be, heinous. Learn about what has happened in the past and what continues to happen to these vulnerable communities today.
Next week, we close out of conversation on mental health by discussing the Latinx community. As a Puerto Rican and Dominican person—Black, Spanish and Indigenous Taino—I find myself at the intersection of all of these identities and am really glad we focused on each specific group in more detail. See you next time!
