Instructors:

The course would be co-taught by Charlotte McCloskey and Dr. Puncky Heppner.  Charlotte has a broad range of knowledge about Native American cultures, having participated in the Society of Indian Psychologists, From the Four Directions- Native American Student Group, has acted as a representative from the University of Missouri’s Graduate School as recruiter at the Big XII Native American Student Leadership Conference, has worked with the Haskell Indian Health Service and has done extensive research in the area of Native American normative development and health.  Charlotte McCloskey is also Sicangu Lakota. Puncky has acquired knowledge and awareness of Native American cultures through numerous brief immersion experiences primarily in the upper Midwest, Western and Northwestern states, as well as reading and through the arts.  Puncky is also a noted scholar in the field of multicultural counseling and the co-director of the Center for Multicultural Research, Training and Consultation.


Rationale:

In 2004 I was invited to write an editorial for Division 35 on the lack of Native American research at the APA convention. That year there were only six presentations that included Native Americans out of several thousand. I have found in my tenure as a budding psychologist that there is little information available about the normative development of this dynamic racial/ethnic group. If one searches the current psychological literature, most of the research reflects pathology in the form of alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide of Native Americans. This leaves the clinician and the researcher is at a loss of how to work effectively with and for Native populations. Many researchers feel that they are unprepared or unknowledgeable about the experiences of Native people and so the unawareness continues to thrive.

The only way that we can address this critical issue in multicultural counseling psychology is to start training and exposing our graduate students to information about Native Americans.  Most students come into our program knowing very little about Native people and do not feel prepared to work with them as clients. What we can do as a department is provide our students with an opportunity to explore and develop their skills in a greatly needed area.

Course Objectives:

The course would be a problem based one hour credit course. The purpose of this class would be to expose and enlighten the students to this vast and dynamic group of first nation’s peoples.  The course has three main learning objectives: (a) to provide information and a safe environment to expand their awareness and knowledge of Native American cultures, (b) broaden students worldviews of the physical, educational, spiritual, and psychological realms, and (c) enhance counseling skills in working with diverse populations. This class will act as a catalyst for encouraging and supporting further investigation and knowledge development in this area. We are quite aware that it cannot be exhaustive of the knowledge needed for working with all Native American clients.


Learning Strategies:

The class would meet once a week for two hours.  The use of literature, audio/visual media, student presentations, guest speakers and in class discussion would guide the overall curriculum. Some topics covered would be historical aspects of Native Americans, The Indian Health Service, Boarding Schools and Forced Relocation, traditional Mental Health practices, and culturally conscious approaches to working with Native clients. The students would be required to attend each class, participate and come prepared with either watching or reading the weekly assignment, and make a presentation to the class on a Nation or Tribe of their choice. The students would be required to present at the end of the semester on the modern experiences of a particular tribe or nation including demographic information, history, family structure, traditional customs, spiritual beliefs and current resources. This assignment will allow the students to know more about specific tribes since the class will not be able to cover the 500 different federally recognized tribes in North America.

An optional experience would be to enable students to have a hands on experience with a Native culture on a reservation or urban Indian setting.  We would hope that the brief immersion experience would be a way for the students to gain valuable insight that cannot be conveyed in the classroom.


If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at mccloskeyc@missouri.edu.