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Discrimination and Participation in Traditional Healing for American Indians and Alaska Natives

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Abstract

Contemporary American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) who live in urban areas today face the daunting task of navigating an urban landscape while maintaining the facets of their respective Native cultures. While AIs/ANs continue to grapple with the intergenerational trauma associated with forced assimilation, relocation movements, and boarding schools, these traumas have manifested themselves in elevated rates of psychopathology. AIs/ANs have elevated rates of domestic abuse, poverty, suicide, and substance misuse. Furthermore, AIs/ANs, like many other minority cultures often face discrimination in their everyday lives. In light of the aversive experiences they face, AI/AN people have followed the tenets of ritual and traditional healing to address imbalances in the body, mind, and spirit. For providers working with AI/AN clients, it is important to understand who is using traditional healing and why they are using alternative services. Secondary data analyses of survey data from 389 urban AIs/ANs were utilized in order to determine the relationship between experiences of discrimination and traditional healing use. Analyses indicated that experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings were significantly associated with participation in traditional healing. Analyses also indicated that nearly a quarter of the sample reported discrimination in a healthcare setting, roughly half of the sample had used traditional healing, and that the majority of those who had used traditional healing were women, and ages 35–44 (27 %). This study calls attention to the socio-demographic factors implicated in traditional healing use by urban AI/AN people, in addition to the clinical and demographic characteristics of this sample.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the Detroit, MI urban American Indian and Alaska Native community who willingly participated in the collection of data for this project. We also thank the following Bemidji Area Advisory Committee members from the Detroit area: Mona Stonefish, Kay McGowan, Elizabeth Chapleski and the Executive Director of American Indian Health and Family Services, Inc., Jerilyn Church. We thank the Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board; and the Division of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention Tribal Epidemiology Center Program. We would like to acknowledge the contributions and direction of Drs. Nicole Prause and Michael Campos, and Mr. Christopher Biely. This project was funded by the Indian Health Service Bemidji Area Office and Division of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jacquelene F. Moghaddam

  2. Gambling Studies Program, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room 38-181, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Jacquelene F. Moghaddam & Timothy Fong

  3. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Room 2374, 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Sandra L. Momper

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  1. Jacquelene F. Moghaddam
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  2. Sandra L. Momper
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Correspondence to Jacquelene F. Moghaddam.

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Moghaddam, J.F., Momper, S.L. & Fong, T. Discrimination and Participation in Traditional Healing for American Indians and Alaska Natives. J Community Health 38, 1115–1123 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-013-9721-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-013-9721-x

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