Discovering Our Cultural Values and Identity

“The point of the journey is not just healing.

It’s also recovering the truest, most

spontaneous, joyful, and

creative core of ourselves.”

Gloria Steinem

We establish a sense of belonging by learning about our cultural roots leading us down a path of discovery. We can meet others who are on the same paths as we are and they can provide us with positive support and encouragement. Sometimes people can be their own worst enemy and do the opposite of what is needed. For example, many Euro-Americans have lost touch with their cultural origins. A person of European descent once said “What about the white people? We left our families of origin to move to this country and forego our cultural ties to the communities we left behind. We have suffered also.”

            Yes, many Euro-Americans did suffer. All of the people in the world resided in some form of tribal community during the distant past. For the sake of becoming mobile societies, a multitude of people have lost valuable connections to their cultural roots. The results of the Aboriginal Healing Project in Canada demonstrated the importance of returning to our cultural heritage. Cultural intervention has been associated with successful healing practices concerning overcoming the harmful effects of historical trauma. 

            Activities aimed at renewing and reviving Native American cultures have contributed to individual, family, and community healing. These activities include Elders’ teachings, storytelling, language programs, activities involving nature, feasts, Pow Wows, learning traditional art forms, harvesting medicines, drumming, singing, and dan-cing. Culture is connected to the collective values and worldviews of all people. Culture is the shared set of beliefs derived from the group’s practice of a shared lan-guage, behaviors, customs and knowledge and a common understanding of reality, history and future for a specific group. Cultural interventions tend to be collective activities and these activities promote a sense of belonging.

Many of us have merely existed in limbo trying to figure out who we are and what is really important to us. Take note about what is important to you and make a list of your values. Explore where these values came from; for example if you know you are of Indian descent, what is the significance as far as your own personal belief system. We need to place importance on our values and to remind ourselves that those who forsake their values to please others pay a high price. Our cultural values strongly repre-sent who we are. We would be hard pressed to find many people who can say they are 100% Native American or any other ethnic group for that matter in this country. The United States is a melting pot of diverse ethnicity. We need to consider other factors as well when questioning our cul-tural values and making the determination about what is important to us. 

The following exercise is designed to help us en-hance our cultural awareness. We can meet with family members and/or work by ourselves to examine responses to the following questions in our effort to explore our own culture:

·         Who took care of us when our mother or caregiver was away from home? At what age were we left alone? At what age were children in our family given responsibility to care for the other children in the family?

·         What form of discipline or punishment did our family use most often? Did this form of discipline effect how we felt about our parents? How so? Were there any kinds of discipline or punishment our parents wouldn't use because they felt it was harmful to us?

·         What were the family rules about meals? Did everyone sit down at the table together? Who cooked? Did our family cook regular meals every day? Could we eat whatever we wanted, when we chose? What kind of food did we eat most?

·         Did our family have different expectations for specific children in the family? Older or younger children? Boys and girls?

·         Who made what kinds of decisions in our family? Which were made by our mother, our father, or other family members? Any joint decisions? What influence was there from extended family, grand-parents, others living in the home? What decisions were children permitted to make for themselves?

·         Who did our family turn to for help and support in times of need or trouble? Did we help ourselves?  Did we turn to immediate or extended family? Did our family have a wide range of extended family and friends? A church group? A community? Did we turn to professional helpers such as a plumber, electrician, counselors, and/or the bank for exam-ple?

·         Did adults other than our parents care for us for a period of time or have a strong influence on our development? How did we feel about being cared for by people other than our parents? What was our relationship with relatives? What part did aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, non-blood family members play in our lives?

·         What were our family's values and beliefs con-cerning the following:

Respecting our Elders

Formal education

Finances, money, and the importance of money and success

Rites of passage

Religion and spirituality

Codes of Conduct

The role of reciprocity (a mutual interchange of        favors and privileges)

Appreciation for diversity (learning valuable            lessons from other cultures)

The major life goals our families had for us

·         What family values and patterns of behavior do we still adhere to and which have we changed (Institute for Human Services, 2008)?

            The practice of cultural interventions cannot be considered the entire part of our healing, but it will open the door to more intensive healing by creating a sense of identity, pride, and belonging. It can lead to developing a better sense of underlying values such as wholeness and balance. Healing is sacred and there are various forms of cultural practices that may enhance our healing process.

            Ways in which to explore our cultural heritage may include meeting with other family members and ask what ethnic groups our family came from before coming over to this country if we are not only of Native American descent. If you are of Indian descent, again meet with elders, attend cultural events such as Pow Wows and read books about the Indian and other cultures you may be connected. Again, many of us have several lines of descent from European, Native American to Asian.  Explore your heritage by using the internet. Your exploration and discovery of your cul-tural values and identity will prove to be very rewarding.