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North American Culture Essay
Kelly Jouett
Grand Canyon
University
BHS-330
Ashley Huffman
March 31, 2024
, 2
Native American Versus European Culture
The term “Native American” refers to indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere.
This term is usually used when speaking about the first people to inhabit the American continent.
One who is Native American can identify as one as long as they have one-fourth or more in their
DNA or are enrolled or a registered member of a tribe (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). Native
Americans have and still face significant injustice, systemic racism, and genocide ever since
Europeans came and took over the American continent (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). Although
Native Americans have been put through these horrible things, they were able to keep their
culture alive. They still have their traditions, languages, some of their territories, and their
beloved values and beliefs. By looking into Native Americans' past a behavioral health
professional can take that knowledge and use it to help treat Native Americans. Native
Americans have their own scale that these professionals use called the Native American
Acculturation Scale. They use this scale to see how having two different cultures may affect the
individual (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). For Europeans, there is a comparison to the fact that not
all Europeans have the same religious beliefs or traditions which have been put to the back of the
line until recently. Now Europe has put an emphasis on the importance of religious identity,
political ideals, differing languages, and variation in food making them essential to their cultural
ideas (Center For The Study of Europe, n.d). This is how Native Americans and Europeans
compare. Both cultures still have their core traditions, values, and beliefs. These aspects can
affect behavioral health because of how the clients identify culturally and religiously. Those two
aspects alone are important to the client and can alter the way they approach and handle their
day-to-day lives. which may become an important part of their lives and possibly affect how they
approach obstacles in life. As a behavioral health professional, taking in the background of each
North American Culture Essay
Kelly Jouett
Grand Canyon
University
BHS-330
Ashley Huffman
March 31, 2024
, 2
Native American Versus European Culture
The term “Native American” refers to indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere.
This term is usually used when speaking about the first people to inhabit the American continent.
One who is Native American can identify as one as long as they have one-fourth or more in their
DNA or are enrolled or a registered member of a tribe (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). Native
Americans have and still face significant injustice, systemic racism, and genocide ever since
Europeans came and took over the American continent (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). Although
Native Americans have been put through these horrible things, they were able to keep their
culture alive. They still have their traditions, languages, some of their territories, and their
beloved values and beliefs. By looking into Native Americans' past a behavioral health
professional can take that knowledge and use it to help treat Native Americans. Native
Americans have their own scale that these professionals use called the Native American
Acculturation Scale. They use this scale to see how having two different cultures may affect the
individual (Garrett & Pichette, 2000). For Europeans, there is a comparison to the fact that not
all Europeans have the same religious beliefs or traditions which have been put to the back of the
line until recently. Now Europe has put an emphasis on the importance of religious identity,
political ideals, differing languages, and variation in food making them essential to their cultural
ideas (Center For The Study of Europe, n.d). This is how Native Americans and Europeans
compare. Both cultures still have their core traditions, values, and beliefs. These aspects can
affect behavioral health because of how the clients identify culturally and religiously. Those two
aspects alone are important to the client and can alter the way they approach and handle their
day-to-day lives. which may become an important part of their lives and possibly affect how they
approach obstacles in life. As a behavioral health professional, taking in the background of each
