Ethnostress

Ethnostress

            Historically, Indian people have been forced to continually renegotiate their environments, including the communities in which they resided. Ethnostress is caused by a disruption in the development of cultural beliefs and personal identity.  Stereotypes can carry a lot of weight in relationship to self-perceptions.  They may influence social relationships through the creation of an illusion of reality. 

Today, many people have the freedom to express their cultural identity and move beyond past oppression.  Many Native Americans have fallen into a trap of internalizing the stereotypes, such as filthy and/or drunken Indians, that have been placed upon them for centuries. As a result of these false perceptions, Native American people of the United States and Canada have had and continue to have the highest rates of suicide, alcoholism, family breakdown, and other family and individual difficulties than any other ethnic group.  These points are being repeated over and over again; however, they are important points that need to be addressed.

            “Response patterns” associated with ethnostress include feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness caused by an act or acts committed by the people in power.  Interactions with people from their own culture and interactions with people from other cultures are negatively influenced by ethnostress. One of every two tribal adults has personally dealt with alcoholism during the twentieth century.  Researchers have not conducted studies exploring the correlation between the high rates of alcoholism with the attendance of the residential and boarding schools. 

Indian people were forced onto reservations and their livelihoods were taken away, which exacerbated confusion about their own identities.  Thus, they became reliant on the government to provide for some of their basic needs, such as clothing, food, and shelter because in the past they were hunters and gatherers.  However, other basic needs were neglected and pushed aside.  For example, the voices and concerns of the Indian people were not heard, and only the need to conform was considered paramount by the dominant culture. As a result, these needs were not met:

·         Being heard in communication.

·         Being seen.

·         Knowing their communication is accepted and believed.

            ·         Knowing that others have faith and trust in them.

·         Being allowed to take a place of honor in the world.

·         Feeling secure about, and at peace with one’s self.

·         Feeling that one’s existence is not detrimental, but beneficial to the important people in one’s  life.[i]

            It is important to consider the differences between wants versus needs, and the magnitude in which the desire to place wants before needs has caused a vast amount of damage. Wants are usually short lived in their importance.  Needs are essential for survival throughout the course of a person’s lifetime.  Trauma can seriously damage an individual’s psychological and emotional well-being and, in turn, can negatively impact survival.  The unmet needs, such as feeling a connection to others, have impeded a vast amount of people of all races of securing feelings of a healthy emotional well-being.  In order to address the problems caused by historical trauma, communication between all parties must be established.

 

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[i] Antone, R., Miller, D., and Myers, B. (1986).  The Power Within People.  Ontario: Peace Tree Technologies, Inc., 8.