Module 5
Mastery: Historical Context
Handouts
Story of Rock
In the beginning,The Creator was lonely and decided to create
the Mother Earth, and upon her the plants, fire, water, the four-leggeds,
winged ones, those that swim, and then finally the two-leggeds,
The People. The Creator said "there is something different
and special about the two-leggeds, because they will have strong,
deep feelings and thoughts, but also this will mean they will
feel intense pain, sorrow, and hurt." In The Creator's wisdom,
he/she knew there would be times when the pain, sorrow, and hurt
become too much for The People, and they feel that they can no
longer carry these feelings with them. The pain would be too great.
So the Creator gave the two-legged something strong, something
durable, something so solid it was strong enough to take and carry
the pain for the two-legged. The Creator gave them Rock. It is
strong, durable. You can put Rock into the fire and it remains
the same. You can throw Rock in the water and still it holds together
strong. Rock will be strong enough to carry those messages back
to The Creator when the pain becomes too heavy for the people.
Creator said, "This is my gift to The People, you don't have
to carry your pain alone. Give it to Rock and Rock will carry
that pain and give me the message to help with you healing."
Ethnicity and Cultural Background
1. What was your primary racial and cultural background?
2. What were the spiritual beliefs you were raised with?
3. Do you follow those beliefs in your own life as an adult?
4. Were you raised in a city, town reservation or village?
5. What was the neighborhood like you grew up in? Was it a close
community?
6. What are the things in your culture that you have found are
the most powerful in helping you live your life today?
7. What were appropriate sexual roles in your culture?
8. What were the most important core values you were raised to
follow?
9. What was defined as problem behavior?
10. What were beliefs regarding alcohol and substance abuse?
11. To whom did people in your culture usually turn for help?
12. How were people of different ages viewed? (Children, adolescents,
adults, elderly)
13. What power did men and women have in the family and in the
world?
14. What one thing do you value most today in yourself that your
culture gave you?
15. What one thing do you value least about the culture in which
you were raised?
16. Was responsibility in life viewed as belonging to the self
or outside the self?
17. How did those in your culture explain illness? Physical, Emotional?
18. Who had the responsibility of caring for those that became
ill, the individual, family, community or doctor?
by Jane Middelton-Moz--Cross
Cultural Prospective
1
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