Culture and Identity in Relation to Mental Wellness for the Haudenosaunee Community
Abstract
Since the arrival of European settlers, Indigenous peoples have experienced immeasurable adversities. The intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and legislation aimed at cultural desecration has contributed to mental health concerns. Assimilation policies that made cultural practises illegal pushed knowledge and ceremonies underground and led to cultural and spiritual disconnection. The effects of colonization are as pervasive today as they were in the past. Western models of psychological intervention are antithetical to Indigenous worldviews and ways of knowing. As a result, mainstream mental health services have had limited effectiveness. Existing mental health literature on Indigenous peoples is largely rooted in a deficit framework, identifying individual psychopathology and social problems. There is a need for culturally responsive care that integrates the inherent strengths and resources within Indigenous nations. Namely, Haudenosaunee healing models are holistic and attend to the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual domains of wellness. The Good Mind model embodies harmonious living with all life and grounds the Haudenosaunee way of being. This qualitative project explores the experiences of Haudenosaunee peoples in the context of cultural revitalization and collective meaning-making of cultural identities, in relation to mental wellness.