Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
American Indian Demographics - CORRECT ANSWER -defining "Indian": by genetic
definition—having a certain percentage of Indian blood as established by the Federal Register of
the United States; by community recognition—being recognized as Indian by other Indians is
paramount, because federal and state governments do not recognize all tribes; by enrollment in a
recognized tribe; and by self-declaration, the method used by the Census Bureau.
-2.5 million people identified themselves being American Indian, with another 1.6 million
reporting they were Indian and of another race
-562 federally recognized tribes
American Indian family structure & Obligations - CORRECT ANSWER -cousins are all
referred to as brother and sister
-primary relationship is not the parents, but grandparents
-Families make no distinctions between natural and inducted by marriage family members once
one marries into an Indian family (no term for in laws)
-relationship, not blood, determines family role
-individual tribe determines roles and family obligations.
-Two-Spirit is the contemporary name for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Native
Americans
American Indian The Spiritual Relationship of Man and Nature - CORRECT ANSWER -
Mitakuye Oyasin, Lakota for "To all my relations," is a salutation and a saying one commonly
hears at the end of prayer
-acknowledges the spiritual bond between the speaker and all people present, affirms the
importance of the relationship of the speaker to his or her blood relatives, the forbears' tribe, the
family of man, and Mother Nature. It bespeaks a life-affirming philosophy that all life forces are
valuable and interdependent
-sacred beings may include animals, plants, mountains, and bodies of water
,American Indian genocide - CORRECT ANSWER -During the 1950s and 1960s the
federal government developed a termination and relocation plan, taking many Indians from their
homes and families and relocating them to urban centers
-suicide, violence, and homicide all increased to epidemic proportions. School dropout rates, teen
pregnancies and high rates of unemployment all became markers of a legacy of trauma
experienced throughout this country by Indian people
-whites victimize native americans
American Indian Tribal identity - CORRECT ANSWER -Each tribe's customs and values
are critical to individual identity and affect family dynamics
-think in "we" terms, not "I"
-all tribes have distinct world views and practices
-diversity can lead to conflict
-Each nation has legends about its own warriors, heroes, medicine men, and medicine women.
American Indian communal sharing - CORRECT ANSWER -Indians accord great respect
to those who give the most to other individuals and families, and then to the band, tribe, or
community
-notion of sharing can make it hard for business to succeed on tribal land
-families share liquid assets
American Indian therapy issues - CORRECT ANSWER -family therapy model "Indian
way," consists of extended families and often entire tribal groups working together to resolve
problems
-When Indian clients enter a clinician's office, they will more likely look for behavioral
indications of who the therapist is rather than for a particular diploma on the wall.
-must be aware of impact of genocide, understand the differences between the dominant culture
and that of American Indian clients, and consider each individual client and family's level of
assimilation
NATIVE AMERICANS TODAY: ROSE P.'S STORY - CORRECT ANSWER -lives in
shame and feels oppressed (frustrations of being Native American)
, -That raised fist is what comes to mind first when I think about being a Native American in
America today. I have been scorned and squashed down because my culture, my traditions, and
my identity are different from mainstream America's
-teachers and bosses look at her with disgust, only pick people with blonde hair
-government made promises (jobs, security) to her parents, but didn't follow through
-did not grow up enriched in Native culture as a result.
DOCUMENTING OUR HISTORICAL LOSS AND THE DYNAMICS OF UNRESOLVED
GRIEF - CORRECT ANSWER -at a crossroads, and actively remembering our past and
the historic trauma that is our legacy is one way we can recover a happy, healthy, and productive
existence as a separate and distinct ethnic/cultural group.
-trauma included the destruction of native language and culture (dynamics of unsolved Grief and
trauma response listed in text)
-within the last two decades that historians have begun to detail the legacy of oppressive and
racist federal policies that were aimed at forcibly and nonnegotiably assimilating and/or
annihilating the indigenous peoples of the North American continent
LIFE BEFORE CONTACT BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANAND EUROPEAN CULTURES
- CORRECT ANSWER -Prior to any contact with Europeans, the tribes of North America
existed with an intact community self-awareness and purpose that included a complete
educational system for raising their children
-each group lived in isolation from each other, most tribes had a name for themselves in their
own languages that
-other native groups were not always recognized as people; rather, they were identified as a
source of contamination or sometimes as a source of trade goods, slaves, different foods, and
other ways of life. Some tribes were more receptive to the cultural ways and innovations of other
people
-all tribes required that certain skills be mastered before a youth was accepted as an adult
member of the tribe (requirements: (1) knowledge of cultural heritage, (2) spiritual/religious
practices, and (3) economic survival skills)
-Cultural continuity was ensured by the accumulation of stories told each winter as a child grew
up
-Economic/survival skills were passed on through stories and through direct, hands-on
instruction with supervised practice throughout the year