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American Indians are many who seek mental-health help each year
Posted to NDN AIM by ErthAvengr
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Nov 24,2002
RAPID CITY -- Many of the thousands of South Dakotans who seek mental-health
help each year are American Indians.
According to 2001 statistics, more than 22 percent of the children served
through state programs were Indians, according to Kim Malsam-Rysdon, director
of the state Division of Mental Health.
Nagi Kicopi (calling the spirit back) is a children's mental-health program
operated by Ethleen Iron Cloud-Two Dogs. The program, aimed to help those
from birth to age 22, is in Porcupine but covers the entire Pine Ridge
Reservation. The program is not part of the state mental-health system.
"Nagi Kicopi is for those who have serious emotional needs and their
families," Iron Cloud-Two Dogs said. "It is based on Lakota cultural
teachings and the wrap-around process."
As an example, she said, "In Western beliefs, when a person hears voices or
sees hallucinations, they are considered symptoms of mental illness. In our
Lakota culture, it is our belief that they may have a spiritual meaning. That
is the first thing we have to find out -- and it can mean there is a mental
illness."
Because of past treatment of Indians, including massacres and other
atrocities, "Our people have been traumatized," Iron Cloud-Two Dogs said.
"Our view is holistic in that we believe the mind, body and spirit can't be
separated (in treatment).
"However, when a person is traumatized, especially young children, the spirit
can separate from the mind and body," she said. "That's why our program is
titled calling the spirit back.'"
Nagi Kicopi mental-illness care coordination is based on Lakota traditional
beliefs, but it incorporates western mental-health practices that are
beneficial. "We don't provide treatment but care coordination, where access
to treatment is part of the services," she said."Our practices are not cures
but part of a process."
The wrap-around process asks children what they need to feel better. "We then
help the child and the family get it," she said.
She said the medical model, used by Western society, is to "do things to
people, such as medicate them. In our society, we try to empower the children
and the family to have a say in what their care plan will look like."
She said mental illness is a stigma in Indian society.
"We've gone away from Lakota teachings where it would require us to be more
tolerant," Iron Cloud-Two Dogs said. "We do need education so those people
can get help and be accepted."
Nagi Kicopi receives financial support from the Substance Abuse Mental Health
Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
Iron Cloud-Two Dogs said the Indian Health Service Mental Health program is
severely underfunded, although Indians and Alaska natives have the highest
rate of suicide in the nation.
Mark Daniels, a psychology professor at the University of South Dakota,
Vermillion, is a member of three tribes.
His research so far has revealed that Indians, depending on the tribe, used
many traditional ceremonies to deal with mental illness.
Some of Daniels' research included post-traumatic stress disorder.
"The Native American society is a war society. Nonetheless, the war
experience is a terribly traumatic experience for people. It's a
life-changing event," Daniels said.
"They see it so differently than European Americans. They see it as a normal
response to unusual events."
He said most Indian tribes had ceremonies for those going off to war and
those coming home from war.
"In these ceremonies, including the sweat lodge, the burden of war is
recognized and, in a sense, released from the person," Daniels said. "The
sweat lodge (and the prayers that take place within) helps a Native American
focus and feel the support of his family and from the community."
Mike Fellner, a supervisory psychologist at Fort Meade Medical Center, said
it is "becoming more acceptable to integrate the spiritual component" in
mental-health treatments for Indians. "It is far more integrated into their
daily lives," he said.
Call reporter Bill Cissell at 394-8412 or e-mail
bill.cissell@rapidcityjournal.com
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