Cultural Identity Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youth: Implications for Alcohol and Drug Use

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Abstract

<p class="first" id="P1">American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth exhibit high rates of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, which is often linked to the social and cultural upheaval experienced by AI/ANs during the colonization of North America. Urban AI/AN youth may face unique challenges, including increased acculturative stress due to lower concentrations of AI/AN populations in urban areas. Few existing studies have explored cultural identity among urban AI/AN youth and its association with AOD use. </p><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S1">  </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4993185e123">Objectives</h5> <p id="P2">This study used systematic qualitative methods with AI/AN communities in two urban areas within California to shed light on how urban AI/AN youth construct cultural identity and how this relates to AOD use and risk behaviors. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S2">  </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4993185e128">Methods</h5> <p id="P3">We conducted 10 focus groups with a total of 70 youth, parents, providers, and Community Advisory Board members and used team-based structured thematic analysis in the Dedoose software platform. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S3">  </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4993185e133">Results</h5> <p id="P4">We identified 12 themes: intergenerational stressors, cultural disconnection, AI/AN identity as protective, pan-tribal identity, mixed racial-ethnic identity, rural vs. urban environments, the importance of AI/AN institutions, stereotypes and harassment, cultural pride, developmental trajectories, risks of being AI/AN, and mainstream culture clash. Overall, youth voiced curiosity about their AI/AN roots and expressed interest in deepening their involvement in cultural activities. Adults described the myriad ways in which involvement in cultural activities provides therapeutic benefits for AI/AN youth. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S4">  </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4993185e138">Conclusions</h5> <p id="P5">Interventions that provide urban AI/AN youth with an opportunity to engage in cultural activities and connect with positive and healthy constructs in AI/AN culture may provide added impact to existing interventions. </p> </div>

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Historical trauma in American Indian/Native Alaska communities: a multilevel framework for exploring impacts on individuals, families, and communities.

Teresa Evans-Campbell (2008)

Over multiple generations, American Indian communities have endured a succession of traumatic events that have enduring consequences for community members. This article presents a multilevel framework for exploring the impact of historically traumatic events on individuals, families, and communities. The critical connection between historically traumatic events and contemporary stressors is also discussed at length.

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The historical trauma response among natives and its relationship with substance abuse: a Lakota illustration.

Maria Brave Heart (2016)

Historical trauma (HT) is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma experiences; the historical trauma response (HTR) is the constellation of features in reaction to this trauma. The HTR often includes depression, self-destructive behavior, suicidal thoughts and gestures, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, and difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions. It may include substance abuse, often an attempt to avoid painful feelings through self-medication. Historical unresolved grief is the associated affect that accompanies HTR; this grief may be considered fixated, impaired, delayed, and/or disenfranchised. This article will explain HT theory and the HTR, delineate the features of the HTR and its grounding in the literature, offer specific Native examples of HT and HTR, and will suggest ways to incorporate HT theory in treatment, research and evaluation. The article will conclude with implications for all massively traumatized populations.

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Cultural mosaics and mental models of nature.

Douglas Medin, Anneli M. Bång, Scott Atran (2007)

For much of their history, the relationship between anthropology and psychology has been well captured by Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Wall," which ends with the ironic line, "good fences make good neighbors." The congenial fence was that anthropology studied what people think and psychology studied how people think. Recent research, however, shows that content and process cannot be neatly segregated, because cultural differences in what people think affect how people think. To achieve a deeper understanding of the relation between process and content, research must integrate the methodological insights from both anthropology and psychology. We review previous research and describe new studies in the domain of folk biology which examine the cognitive consequences of different conceptualizations of nature and the place of humans within it. The focus is on cultural differences in framework theories (epistemological orientations) among Native Americans (Menominee) and European American children and adults living in close proximity in rural Wisconsin. Our results show that epistemological orientations affect memory organization, ecological reasoning, and the perceived role of humans in nature. This research also demonstrates that cultural differences in framework theories have implications for understanding intergroup conflict over natural resources and are relevant to efforts to improve science learning, especially among Native American children.