Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
Native American people are often overlooked, considered extinct, romanticized, forgotten, ignored and bear the burden of negative stereotypes. Belonging to a socially invisible community has consequences beyond being misunderstood and stereotyped. It can lead to much more dire outcomes – specifically, the public disregard of the epidemic of violence against Native American women and girls reflects passive cultural genocide.
As a healer are you grounded to be present with pain? Can you be comfortable being on the outside of a group and still maintain your self-confidence? What is the preferred terminology when addressing the original people of this land? Is it OK to say “Indian”? Do you know the history of the people you serve?
Protesters being marked with numbers, put in dog kennels and shot with rubber bullets. These do not sound like events that should occur in modern day America. Unfortunately, according to media reports, these are some of the first-hand accounts of what is happening in North Dakota as protests escalate over the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Psychology Benefits Society 