Cultural Variation within the USA Native American Families Issue of being grouped together versus diversity

Native American History Huge drop in population historically. War, disease Early 1800s: Government Goals, Educational system Mid-1800s: Reservations or “sanctuaries.”

History, Cont. Early 1900s: 1924–citizenship. Right to vote determined by state 1960s–Activism. Financial aid More say re: children 1975–Education

Native American Values Harmony with Nature–similar to Schwartz’s idea of harmony versus mastery Mainstream culture: Mastery. Native-American culture: Harmony. Chief Seattle–letter

Native American Values Collectivist (video). Similar to Schwarz’s Autonomy versus Conservatism, Hofstede’s collectivism Lewis & Gingrich (1980): Student’s views of leadership Competition and effort at school Assertiveness and peers’ reactions

Values: Relationships and Family Roles Traditional family organization & child- rearing Fictive kin referred to as Grandpa, Aunt, etc. Thus service workers often need to talk with more than just parent

Children: Self-sufficience & collectivism Age Expected to Accomplish (years) __________________________ Anglo- Afro- Native- American American American _______________________________________ Dress self Do regular chores Go downtown alone Left alone in evening Take care of younger sibling Go on dates

Milestones Milestones not always similar. European-American vs. Native-American

Relationships and Family Roles Elders Roles of Men Roles in family vary according to tribe Men usually involved in socializing and disciplining in some way Participation in military important Roles of Women Vary, as above Single-parent families Family structure and poverty

Beliefs Health Traditional ceremonies versus mainstream health care. Religion

Behavior Communication Silence Respect Indirect speech Marriage outside of cultural group

Behavior-Acculturation Berry: People vary in terms of 1) valuing their culture of origin, and 2) valuing mainstream culture Thus integrated/bicultural, separated/traditional, assimilated, marginal Bicultural families versus marginal families Trends for separated/traditional and assimilated

Value OwnCulture? YesNo Value HostYes Culture?No

A traditional Native-American family whose 2 ½ daughter had a repaired clef lip and chronic otitis media were referred for early intervention services by a community clinic pediatrician. The pediatrician was concerned about the child’s speech and language, as well as the child’s behavior problems. The early interventionist went to the home for the first visit in order to talk to the family and get a case history. She was told the mother and father lived with the mother’s parents and an elderly aunt. During the first visit to the home, the children were very quiet. The elder aunt stayed in the kitchen and the grandparents were in town shopping. The early interventionist introduced herself and explained why she was there. She began to ask questions on the case history. She was confused by the responses to questions regarding the child’s development. The parents did not seem to remember when the child sat up or began walking. Although the doctor stated that the child was using single words to name things, the parents said the child was not talking yet. The early interventionist also asked if the parents had any concerns about the child’s behavior. The parents said, “No”. The early interventionist left after arranging to come back in a week.

The early interventionist went back to the clinic and asked a nurse who had been working in the community for 10 years if she would talk to her about this referral and the home visit. She asked why the parents did not seem to know about developmental milestones. If you were the nurse, what would you tell the interventionist? How should she interpret this behavior? What other questions might she have asked? Next, the early interventionist told the nurse about the pediatrician’s concern about the child’s behavior and the parents’ lack of concern. In advising the early interventionist how to interpret this behavior, what would you tell the interventionist? If the early interventionist was to visit this Native-American family again, what questions would you advise the early interventionist to ask the family? What else would you recommend that she do differently?