cultural Psyc 800 words

Summarize all three aboriginal groups’ methods of resilience (approx. 150 words fro each group).

Reflect and discuss resiliency in terms of the psychological universals and levels of analysis). What lessons can you learn about resiliency in their cultural groups? (approx. 120 words for each group)

Make sure to include two scholarly sources.

With no intro and conclusion

Mi’kmaq Resilience: The Spirit of the Treaties

The Mi’kmaq are indigenous people of Atlantic Canada and currently number about 40,000. British colonization of Eastern Canada resulted in a process of progression marginalization, usurpation of lands, and decimation of the population. Despite the devastating impact of colonization, residential schools, and forced assimilation, the Mi’kmaq in many communities have continued to speak their language and to practice traditional customs in daily life. The Mi’kmaq language is a rich repository of knowledge about local ecosystems but also of indigenous concepts of conflict resolution. Through collaboration and cooperation based on traditional values, the Mi’kmaq have been able to respond to the challenges of colonization and maintain their cohesiveness as a people for centuries.

From a contemporary Mi’kmaq perspective, a source of Mi’kmaq resilience lies in the treaties with the British Crown, negotiated from the late 17th century until the signing of the Watertown Treaty of 1776. Although intended by the colonizers as vehicles for containment and displacement of the indigenous population, the Mi’kmaq understood these treaties as agreements to share their knowledge with the Europeans. As expressed in the language of these treaties, Mi’kmaq believed that a true human being was one who could live in peace and friendship. According to oral tradition, at the signing of the 1,752 Treaty, the first words the Mi’kmaq chief said to the representative of the Crown were: “I never truly believed you to be human.” In signing the treaty, Mi’kmaq formally recognized the European colonizers as human and brought them under the protection of the Treaty, to show the newcomers the path of peaceful coexistence to live in the spirit of community. In this sense, the treaty was meant to affirm a system of beliefs and values that went far beyond any material benefits it established.

This broader spiritual meaning of the treaties is central to contemporary self-understandings of Mi’kmaq, not as a people dispossessed of their lands but as equal partners in political arrangements with Canada. At an individual level, this is strikingly illustrated by the actions of a group of Mi’kmaq construction workers who, in the wake of the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center, decided to go to Manhattan to assist in the rescue efforts expressly because they wished to honour the treaties.

The spirit of peace, friendship, and reciprocity that Mi’kmaq found in the language of the treaties is also expressed in traditional Mi’kmaq notions of conflict resolution and forgiveness associated with one of the most powerful and sacred words in the Mi’kmaq language, apisiktuaqn.48 The closest English translation of apisiktuaqn is forgiveness or reconciliation. Apisiktuaqn is a verb that refers to a sacred process reserved for times when peace and friendship are disrupted.

When there was a dispute within a family, community, or nation, the parties involved in the dispute were assembled in a circle around a fire by the Kinup—the ritual leader deemed the most holy among them. Everyone in the community who might have been affected by the offence, whether directly or indirectly, participated in the gathering. The gathering began with prayer to invoke the spirit of Wise Council to restore the spirit of community. The offended person sat on one side of the circle with their family, while the offender and their family sat on the opposite side. The ritual involved 4 phases, beginning with a process of recognition or acknowledgement. The Kinup led a discussion to reveal the sequence of events and to help everyone to agree on all of the circumstances that led to the offence. The next phase was restitution, which involved a discussion regarding what action was most appropriate to compensate for the offence. The offender was expected to carry out the restitution.

A process of reconciliation would then occur. This was symbolized by the offender crossing the circle to stand in front of the offended where he would drop to one knee to kiss the cheek of the offended. The offender then would stand up and say, “I’m sorry for having offended you; would you please forgive me [apisiktuwi]?” Once having returned to their spot in the circle the offended person would repeat the same process of reconciliation, requesting apisiktuaqn from the offender before returning to their side of the circle.

The Kinup would then rise to recount the entire process for everyone to hear, beginning with the circumstances surrounding the offence. The process of reconciliation was described and the Kinup asked the crowd assembled if they had anything else to question or to add. Once that final round was concluded, the Kinup would describe how everything had been restored to harmony and the incident or offence was not to be discussed again in the future. The Kinup then led prayers to complete the restoration of harmony before everyone left the circle.

This traditional process for re-establishing harmony is now rarely seen as a formal event. Today, apisiktuaqn is usually practiced only between individuals. In the Mi’kmaq communities of Eskasoni and Unama’ki on Cape Breton Island, apisiktuaqn is still sometimes practiced to resolve conflicts for a person who is dying. However, the spirit of reconciliation explicit in this formal process of forgiveness and reconciliation is an important source of resilience among contemporary Mi’kmaq and has informed efforts to develop alternative forms of sentencing and restorative justice.49 It is part of a moral consciousness, stemming from the treaties, that imbues life with meaning and dignity.

Mohawk Resilience: Resistance and Revitalization

Our team also has worked with partners in Kahnawake, 1 of 8 Mohawk communities located throughout Quebec, Ontario, and New York state that make up the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk–People of the Flint) nation. The Mohawk are 1 of the 6 nations of the Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse). Originally more than 50 000 acres, Kahnawake’s land base has been gradually depleted through land cessions, including those associated with the construction of the St Lawrence Seaway, the Mercier Bridge, a rail bridge, railways, highways, and Hydro Quebec power lines.50 Today, Kahnawake exists on a land base of 12 000 acres with a population of 7389 on-reserve (about 1200 households), and 2066 off-reserve.

In addition to collective trauma and losses associated with the eradication of the riverfront with the creation of the St Lawrence Seaway, the shrinking of Kahnawake’s land base, and the challenges posed by changing definitions of community membership, the Oka crisis in 1990 can be identified as a turning point for the Kanien’kehá:ka in the reawakening of nationalism, and pride in the language and culture. The mobilization of the community to oppose the appropriation of sacred land led to a renewed sense of political agency and engagement.51 It also increased awareness of historic injustices in the larger society, giving impetus to a sequence of responses including the establishment of Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the official apology of the government for the residential school system, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Indian Act and subsequent government policies suppressed traditional government by prohibiting the use of the Kanien’kéha language and cultural practices and placing political authority in the hands of the Minister and the D e p a r t ment of Indian Affairs. The community has responded to these challenges by working to revitalize language and culture, and reassert control over health services, education, economic development, and community services, while strengthening links to sister communities throughout the Iroquois Confederacy.

Pre-contact, the Haudenosaunee were bound together through a powerful democratic covenant, the Great Law of Peace (Kaianere’kowa) with a world view based on a cosmological belief system connecting humans with nature in the supernatural realm. The orally transmitted Creation Story taught how humans came to live on Mother Earth. The Creator gave direct instructions for beautifying the earth and making it more pleasing for human habitation, and enjoined humans to see to it that Mother Earth is taken care of for the next 7 generations (a generation that will never be seen by the present generation).52 Thus the Creation Story conveys core cultural values and outlines a moral system. The extended time perspective symbolized by 7 generations suggests the forward-thinking outlook common among the Iroquois.53 Culture and language provide resources for resilience, not only for the individual but also for the whole community, the Mohawk Nation, and the Haudenosaunee. For the Mohawks of Kahnawake, responding to challenges has resulted in tenacity, dignity, resourcefulness, and hope, and currently directs community efforts to strengthening links with a proud heritage and rebuilding communal institutions based on the values and principles contained within the Creation Story and the Kaianera’kó:wa (The Great Law of Peace).

Métis Resilience: Self-Reliance and Débrouillardise

The Métis are indigenous people who trace their ancestry to First Nations and European (mainly French) colonial ancestors.54 Over 300 000 people self-identify as Métis, most living in urban settings or peri-urban communities across Canada.55 Unlike their First Nations cousins who, after the imposition of the Indian Act, were placed in geographically defined communities or reserves, the communities that make up the Métis Nation are spread over a wide range of geographical areas. This made for a distinct resilience process promoting self-reliance and autonomy.

Historically, Métis have faced discrimination because of both their indigenous origins and their mixed heritage, which presents a threat to other groups’ definitions of boundaries. The identity of the Métis people was forged from 2 or more ancestries, a process termed métissage.54,56–58 The resultant identity is not a patchwork but an integrated whole that is distinct from its constituent parts. Because the sources of Métis identity vary across the country, the Métis are themselves a culturally diverse nation.

Although different Métis groups derive their culture and traditions from different ancestries, one cultural value that links Métis across diverse communities is the emphasis on self-reliance, autonomy, and independence.59 Métis pride themselves on being independent from their European cousins, their First Nations brothers and sisters, and even from other Métis groups, communities, colonies, or settlements.

Although ties and relationships with other groups are of great importance, the Métis value doing things their own way, which is a way of expressing their distinct identity. This emphasis on independence has fostered self-reliance and a strong work ethic, enabling the Métis to adapt to many of the challenges they have faced. With this self-reliance, the Métis have also been able to build strengths in many different arenas, establishing a network of resources from which other Métis individuals and communities can draw.

Related to the Métis notion of resilience through independence is the concept of débrouillardise. Discussing research on resilience, one of the senior members of a francophone local of the Manitoba Métis Federation commented, “C’est d’la débrouillardise ça, la résilience, c’est d’être débrouillard” [That’s resourcefulness, resilience; it’s being resourceful]. Although débrouillard can be translated as resourceful, the English word lacks the colloquial tone and symbolism it has in French or Michif (a language derived from French and Cree spoken by some Métis in the Midwest). Being débrouillard refers to a combination of being good at finding solutions, creative, having a lot of street smarts (or country smarts), being a jack of all trades, and being able to make a life for oneself and one’s family.60 Most importantly, it also refers to perseverance and willingness to carry on in the face of challenges or setbacks. In other discussions, people often refer to a resilient person as un capable [French; a capable person], referring to the person’s ability to harness their resourcefulness for the betterment of their family and community. To be débrouillard and un capable means that one can draw from all of the physical, ecological, and psychological resources available to get the job done. Although, in this example, we use the Michif word débrouillard to refer to the concept, other Métis likely use other words or metaphors to refer to the same essential concept.61

Débrouillardise refers to a psychological, physical, and spiritual way of being that has contributed greatly to the Métis’ survival and resilience. As mentioned earlier, it is related to the concept of independence in that one must be débrouillard if one chooses to be independent and do things one’s own way. In combination, both concepts have allowed Métis to make a virtue of their hybridity and enabled individuals to maintain their unique identities while flourishing as a people.