Examining Two Facets of American Indian Identity: Exposure to Other Cultures and the Influence of Historical Trauma

Abstract

SUMMARY Specialized content about factors that influence the cultural identity of Native people must be included within the social work knowledge base to increase practitioners' effectiveness with this population. This article explores some of the factors which shape cultural identity for Native people and the implications of Native cultural identity for social work practice. The authors begin by recounting theoretical perspectives on culture, then report the findings of two studies that examine different factors which impact upon identity. The first study examines the impact of exposure to more than one culture on a sense of identity among Native youth in the Northeastern United States. The second study examines historical trauma and unresolved grief among the Lakota. Implications of multicultural exposure and historical unresolved grief for social work practice with Native people are discussed.