Effects of changing native American cultures on child development

Dislocation of native American tribes and pueblos and the alteration of traditional ways of earning a living, with ensuing poverty, on dislocated reservations has had a major impact on many native American communities. Poverty, hopelessness, and the attractiveness of Anglo possessions have led to reducing the importance of tradition and ancient culture in the everyday life of many American Indians. Under these circumstances, adult alcoholism reduces the capacity to parent infants and children and results in developmental deviations. Child abuse and neglect result in developmental problems noted in poor school performance, depression, adolescent alcoholism and suicide, etc. Efforts of a few American Indian communities to emphasize the teaching of traditional ways and to deal with community problems in new ways are described. They are encouraging. These pilot efforts, which emanate from the tribe or are encouraged and helped along by mental health consultants, begin to alter the status and sense of well-being of the adults and adolescents. Some pilot projects described here deal with altering the young, “high-risk,” adolescent woman's image and understanding of herself and with her subsequent parenting of children, with its profound effect on newborn infants and their development. The effort of these projects is to reverse the maldevelopment of the young in the hope that more integrated, competent, and creative native American adolescents and adults will enhance the teaching and learning of tradition—that these efforts will help more native Americans to find ways of using the tools of modern Anglo society so they do not do away with the ancient customs and traditions and their healthy impact on daily living.