Module 6 1A

Question 1

Living in Relationship:

Step 1: Draw circle, dot in center.
Step 2: List relationships (people, animals, plants, places, objects, senses).
Step 3: Reflect on how these shape your “personality” and the impact of gratitude.

Answer 1

This exercise encourages you to map out and reflect on all your relationships (with people, animals, places, objects, and senses) and how they shape your personality, considering the impact of gratitude.

Question 2

Jagged-Worldview’s Colliding:

Colonialism forces a singular social order, erasing diverse worldviews (Leroy Little Bear).

Leroy Little Bear:
Blackfoot educator, advocate for Indigenous rights.
Key in Canada’s constitutional changes and treaty negotiations.
Emphasizes Indigenous worldviews in reconciliation.

Answer 2

Founding member of Native American Studies at University of Lethbridge.

Question 3

Aboriginal Philosophy:

Existence is energy, everything in motion (Little Bear).
Holistic, cyclical view, focusing on patterns.
Language reflects societal thought; many Indigenous languages are action-oriented.
Indigenous languages highlight interrelationships, not dichotomies.
Creation is continuous and renewed through ceremonies and stories.

Question 4

Aboriginal Values and Customs:

Traditions reflect the group’s philosophy (Little Bear).

Values:
Wholeness: Group over individual.
Relationships: A web within the community.
Responsibility: Contribute to the whole.
Independence, respect, non-interference.
Sharing, honesty, kindness.

Question 5

European Values:

Western values are linear, static, and objective (Little Bear).
Key Aspects:
Time: Linear progression.
Singularity: One true answer, specialists.
Static Thinking: “That’s the way it is.”
Objectivity: Measurable, physical, materialism.
Social hierarchy prefers bigger, faster, newer.
Focus on measurement, neglects the subjective.

Question 6

Ideal Personality (Little Bear):

Strong physically and spiritually.
Generous, kind, and group-oriented.
Generalist with survival skills and wisdom.
Knowledgeable in spiritual and ritual practices.
Friendly, harmonious, suppresses anger.
Brave, resilient, adaptable.

Question 7

Gone (2019):

Joseph Gone: Indigenous psychologist (Aaniiih Gros Ventre, Harvard).
Focus on integrating Indigenous psychologies in clinical and community practices.

Argument:
Psychologists overlook the power of thought in Indigenous cultures.
Misinterpretation occurs when viewed through Western lenses.
Community psychology can correct these misrecognitions.

Question 8

Gone (2019):

Joseph Gone: Indigenous psychologist (Aaniiih Gros Ventre, Harvard).
Focus on integrating Indigenous psychologies in clinical and community practices.
Argument:
Psychologists overlook the power of thought in Indigenous cultures.
Misinterpretation occurs when viewed through Western lenses.
Community psychology can correct these misrecognitions.

Answer 8

respecting the power of thought in Indigenous cultures can lead to different ways of understanding the mind and mentality.

Question 9

The Problem, Research Setting, and Purpose:

Postcolonial Issue:
AI distress needs mental health services, but non-AI services often don’t match AI experiences (Gone, 2019).

Answer 9

Research Setting:
Aaniiih Gros Ventre, Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana.
Focused on problem drinking and depression.

Key Interview:
Traveling Thunder: Middle-aged, English-speaking traditionalist.
Examined 4 excerpts blending Western psychology with Aaniiih cultural views.

Question 10

Four Interview Excerpts:

Ceremonial Participation:
Ceremony involves sacrifices to ask the Creator for a clean mind.

Ceremony and Strong Mind:
Ceremony isn’t needed if one has a strong mind; some overcome problems alone.

Ceremonies and Problems:
Some ceremonies, like peyote, are seen as harmful, like Western drugs.

Western Mental Health Services:
Western services help by considering past, history, and future, but some seek approval from Western society.

Question 11

Aaniiih Cultural Psychology:

Power of Thought:
Thought shapes reality; the Supreme Being controls through will (Cooper, 1957).

Examples:
Medicine men harm with their will; collective thought is stronger.

Thought influences health, hunting, and outcomes.

Belief:
Thoughts create reality, and wishes can heal or harm.
Thought-wish impacts battles, contests, and stories.

Question 12

“Our Culture is Our Treatment” – Aaniiih Cultural Psychology and Healing:

Answer 12

Healing Belief:
Traveling Thunder reflects the Aaniiih view of thought-wish healing (Gone, 2019).

Therapeutic Implications:
Therapists should respect cultural views on mind.

Tribal members distrust Western therapies, preferring prayer and ceremonial petitions.

Western methods may be hard to understand.

Ceremonial Petition:

Ceremonial petition restores a “clean mind” and strengthens thought-wish.
Peyote harms the mind, and Western psychiatrists promote a mentality that ignores thought-wish.