Module 3 Belonging: Identify with Cultural Strengths Day 1

Overview

Overview	Time
Purpose	Learning Objectives
Major Sections	Equipment, Materials, and Supplies
Room Requirements	Predelivery Preparation
Transparencies	Handouts
Prepared Newsprint	Trainer Resources
Trainer Outline

This module facilitates an opportunity for participants to identify specific attributes significant to the individual and Indian cultural value systems and how they can be both autonomous and interconnected to a whole.

Time

Approximately 2 hours

Purpose

To affirm (through lecture/small group discussion and interaction) how individual uniqueness is valued and is an essential part of diversity which can foster effective team building and healthy communities.

Learning Objectives

Participant will be able to:

Recognize the uniqueness of individual perceptions and how they apply to diversity.
Identify cultural strengths and resiliency factors that have supported the survival of Indian people.
Evaluate personal responses to a diversity activity.
Identify essential values for creating harmony and safe environments for Native communities in healing.

Major Sections

I.	Lecture/Exercise: Mini-Teach and Discussion: "Understanding Our Personal Perceptions: Facilitating the 3F's Exercise or Zea Film"	(15 minutes)
II.	Lecture: Discussion: "Perceptions and Prejudice within Native Communities"	(15 minutes)
III.	Exercise: Native Culture Walk	(60 minutes)
IV.	Closure: Return to full group	(30 minutes)

Equipment, Materials, and Supplies

Video Projector, Films, PA System
Organizing reference sheets/transparencies
Transparencies

Room Requirements

Large group in circle with chairs. Chairs will be pushed back for Culture Walk.

Predelivery Preparation

Have 3F's cards available for each participant
Zea Film available

Transparencies

T-3.0:	Module 3 Purpose and Learning Objectives
T-3.1:	Definition of Culture
T-3.2:	Circle of Culture
T-3.3:	Self Actualization
T-3.4:	Definition of Discernment
T-3.5:	Definition of Prejudice
T-3.6:	Learning Wheel
T-3.7:	What I heard; What I learned Thoughts/Feelings

Handouts

HO-3.1:	Definition of Culture
HO-3.2:	Circle of Culture
HO-3.3:	Learning Wheel
HO-3.4:	What I heard/What I learned
HO-3.5:	"The Two Worlds I Live In"-Article

Prepared Newsprint

PN-3.1:

Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Groups. For optional Mod. 3

Trainer Resources

TR-3.1:	Optional Module 3
TR-3.2:	"The Two Worlds I Live In"-Article
TR-3.3:	"Paradigms and Paradigm Shifts"-Overhead
TR-3.4:	"Learning Style Comparison"-Article
TR-3.5:	Balancing Two World Views
TR-3.6:	Learning Wheel

Trainer Outline

Note To Trainer: At this time trainer(s) can decide whether to use the optional Module 3. (See TR-3.1)

I. Lecture: Mini-Teach and Discussion: "Native Cultural Values and Perceptions" (15 minutes)

T-3.0 Module 3

Purpose and Objectives Creating this system takes time-Identify resiliency (factors) events that will be charted in Module #4

Note To Trainer: Three options are provided here. The 3F's Exercise, the Zea Film, and a mini lecture on dilemmas about each can be accomplished in 15 minutes, but advance planning is needed to ensure the Zea film or 3F cards are available from the logistics team. In either case, the exercises should begin with no prior explanation, to ensure participants fully experience the differences of perceptions through the exercise.

Option #1: 3F'S Exercise

A. Exercise

Facilitating the Three F's Exercise:

This exercise assists participants in the discussion of how our perceptions influence our thought and behaviors, and can contribute to our cultural values and beliefs.
To set up the exercise you need a CARD for each participant that is printed about the following size with the following sentence:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS OF EXPERTS.
1. Every card is the same; however, this is not information given to the participants until the exercise is completed.
2. Facilitator: Gives each person a card and tells participants not to read it yet. Once everyone has a card, the facilitator asks them all to take a few seconds to read it and count the number of "F's" in the sentence.
  
  Then the facilitator asks the group to raise their hand if they see 3 F's, 4 F's, 5 F's, 6 F's, or 7 F's.
3. For most groups there will be a break out of about 60% who see 3 F's and 40% who will see either 4 F's, 5 F's, 6 F's, or 7 F's. You can be creative with the group on processing the exercise. For example, have three people who saw 3 F's trade cards with three people who saw 7 F's. Have them reread their new card and count the F's. They will see the same number again.
4. Eventually explain that they all have the same card.
5. With the following diagram, an overhead, or prepared newsprint make the points as you discuss the diagram.

B. Processing

When we begin to work with our communities on the prevention of substance abuse, or wellness and healing, we must first examine our own perceptions. These perceptions influence our thoughts, behaviors, and values.
Do you remember encountering conflicts in the perceptions of different community people about substance abuse prevention? (Give some examples).
These perceptions reflect our personal experience, environment, or teachings in life so far.
Influences to our perceptions can be our formal education, our culture, our relatives, the media, our religion, and other factors in our environment.
Other influences are not so tangible, like our spirit, our racial memory, our conscience, our intuition. For an example of racial memory, we might think about an Indian person who may have been removed from learning about some of their tribal rituals or ceremonies and they may find themselves feeling strong emotions when they hear drum for the first time or a ceremonial song may bring them to tears.
We are influenced in nanoseconds and our thoughts and perceptions are determined almost immediately. An example of a nano-second is how long it takes our computer to respond after we push the button (assuming it's working the way it's supposed to). Our behavior is determined by our thoughts and perceptions.
We may stereotype certain people because of what we have learned from our experiences and environment. For example, if we were taught that purple people are "all lazy and on welfare" and we are a blue person working with purple people, we may not be giving the support and respect that each person deserves.
In our perception, we may only notice when these people are "not working" or "hanging around the water cooler," and we may not notice the 7 hours they spend at their desks working.
Explain that all the cards we hold in our hands were the same, but our perceptions influenced how many F's we saw. For example, we may only have seen 3 F's, because in the English language we have been conditioned to not see the F when it makes a "V" sound, as in the word "of." So we may only acknowledge the words that have a hard "faaa" sound like in "finished".
Explain that some of our perceptions are based on what is real and some may be false or unreal.
Facilitator: Summarize that we all have our own perceptions, and this influences our behavior. We see, based on our teachings and our beliefs of the world around us. Our perceptions are filtered through the lenses of our own reality.

Option #2: ZEA Film

Directions

A. Inform participants that their first task in becoming effective leaders of multicultural organizations is to examine some of their perceptions of people of different cultures. Therefore, we are going to begin by taking a look at our perceptions of people who are different from ourselves. Say noting else at this point.

B. Show "Zea."

Note To Trainer: In this film, we illustrate that perception itself is natural, that perception, in and of itself, is not a problem. In the lecture that follows, you will explain that it is what happened to our perception that causes difficulties in how we deal with difference. Do not say anything about the film before showing it. Introducing it in any way ruins it.

C. Process the film.

Directions

Ask participants what they found themselves doing as they watched the film. (The answer will be that they were trying to figure out what it was they were watching.)
Ask what some of their guesses were.
Make the following points:

Content Points

Zea shows how we deal with the new or unfamiliar. It demonstrates that when we are unfamiliar with something, we try to understand it in terms of our previous experience.

We fill in the blanks with our own experiences and then project those experiences onto what we see and hear in order to make sense of the world.
The purpose of showing the film was to illustrate that it is inherent in our human makeup to try to make sense of the things we perceive-that our brains are wired to do that automatically.
1. Thus, our attempts to make sense of the world, to make judgements about the things we perceive, is totally natural. It's called discernment. Discernment is the process by which we attempt to make sense of the things we perceive through a rational process of applying facts and experience. To prejudge, on the other hand, or to be prejudiced, is to judge the thing perceived without applying facts and experience. It is to judge the thing perceived based upon, for example, hearsay or emotions.
T-3.4: Definition of Discernment

T-3.5: Definition of Prejudice
Discernment is natural. What is unnatural is what sometimes happens to our ability to discern as we tried to make sense of the world. Our natural discernment in many cases slowly becomes premature judgement (i.e., prejudice, which literally means to "prejudge") about people who were different from us. This premature judgement developed because early in life, we were misinformed about such people. From relatives, friends, teachers, parents, textbooks, and the media, we received stereotypes and other negative information about people who are different from us. It is impossible, therefore, to grow up in this culture and not have at least some negative baggage about people who are different from ourselves.
That baggage has resulted in our being "on automatic" with each other, i.e., responding to people who are different, with emotions, words, and actions that are almost automatic. The very first step in becoming skilled in effectively leading a multicultural organization is to accept that fact without self-blame or judgement. It is just a fact.

Directions

4. Ask participants for some examples of "prejudgments" or stereotypes of their own racial group.

5. Ask participants how, as leaders of their partnerships, their decisions about who gets certain information, certain responsibilities, and certain amounts of power would be affected if they subconsciously held some of those prejudgments or stereotypes about particular groups of people.

6. Tell participants that we do not have to be powerless victims of the unconscious attitudes that underlie those kinds of actions. With sustained effort, we can get off of automatic, and we're going to look specifically at how to do so later.

7. Ask participants if the point of the Zea is clear to them. If not, briefly restate the purpose of showing the film (Point 3.b above).

Note To Trainer: The following is the transition between Zea and the rest of the workshop. Clearly making the segue is crucial to the participants' understanding of the flow of the Institute.

Content Points

We have just briefly identified some of the effects of unconsciously held prejudgments. Generally speaking, those judgements and stereotypes have two basic effects:
- They often result in our unconsciously saying and doing offensive things; and
- They may ultimately result in an unconscious discomfort in sharing power with those about whom we hold the prejudgments and stereotypes.

II. Lecture/Dialogue: "Perceptions and Prejudice Within Our Own Communities" (15 minutes)

A. Discussion

We have perceptions of our own communities. Are these perceptions true or false? Is our perception of the community different from the perceptions of others on our team? Individual perceptions and team values.
We have perceptions about ourselves that might be holding us back from building a strong community prevention team. We might have perceptions about mainstream society that might be holding us back from using other tools or resources to help our communities.

B. Open Dialogue

Using brainstorm or popcorn approach, ask the group to volunteer their answers to the following questions:
- What are some perceptions we have about our community that might be holding us back?
- What are some perceptions about mainstream society that might be holding back our prevention efforts?
- What are some perceptions about our cultural strengths that could help our community prevention efforts?

III. Exercise: Native Culture Walk and Process in Triads and Large Group (60 minutes)

T-3.1: Definition of Culture

T-3.2: Circle of Culture

H0.-3.2 Circle of Culture

A. Setup the activity

Ask everyone (inclusive) to go to one side of the room.
Ask people to spend 2 minutes thinking about their cultural identity and their multicultural identity.
Give participants the following information and instructions:
- The purpose of this activity is to help create awareness about our feelings about our own cultural identity and our relationships with people from other cultures.
- This is a nonverbal exercise. It will enhance the experience if you do not talk during the activity. Focus your own reactions to the experience.
- Trainers will be calling out specific cultural groupings and asking people who are members of, or identify with, this grouping to cross to the other side of the room.
- People have various reactions to this activity. We encourage you to be honest with yourself during the activity and with the group during the discussion afterwards.
- Remind people that anyone has the right to pass on an activity, but that they are asked not to leave once the walk begins and to participate fully if they stay.
- If a participant chooses to walk for a group, she or he should walk completely to the other side of the room.
Ask everyone to close their eyes for 1 minute and think about who you are and those cultures or groups with which you identify.

T-3.3 Self Actualization

B. Run the activity (25 minutes)

Begin the music. Generally an instrumental tape is best.
The cotrainers will alternate calling a cultural grouping and reading the instructions for that grouping exactly as written:
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with being a PARENT please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with INDIAN RESERVATION LIFE OR NATIVE VILLAGE LIFE please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with URBAN INDIANS, URBAN NATIVES, OR THE BIA RELOCATION PROGRAM please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with POWWOW INDIANS please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with INDIAN AND NATIVE BOARDING SCHOOLS OR RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with ALCOHOLISM OR DRUG ABUSE IN THE FAMILY please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . See who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with THE RECOVERY MOVEMENT please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is on this side and who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with PERSONS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with HISPANIC, MEXICAN, LATINO, LATINA, CHICANO, OR CHICANA please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with BLACK, AFRICAN AMERICAN, OR CARIBBEAN culture please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look around and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with WHITE OR EUROPEAN AMERICAN CULTURE please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with GAY, LESBIAN, OR TWO SPIRITED COMMUNITY please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
- Will everyone who is or who identifies with ELECTED TRIBAL OR OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS please walk to the other side of the room. Look around you and see who is in your group . . . Look and see who is not in your group. Now return.
Other trainers should be aware of participants who have strong emotional reactions to the activity and be available to assist.
Trainers need to be aware of anyone who leaves the room during the activity, and one trainer should follow the person out of the room to see if they need any assistance.

C. Process the Activity (25 minutes)

After 30 minutes are up or all groupings have been read, ask participants to form triads.
Encourage participants to find people they do not know well.
Give the small groups 15 minutes to process the activity, using the following questions as guidelines. (It is unlikely a group will be able to cover all of them.)

T-3.7: What I heard

What I Learned

Thoughts/Feelings

Discussion Questions

How did you feel during this exercise?
What was personally powerful for you?

Option #3 Topic: "Dilemmas about spirituality in our communities"

A. Mini lecture: The trainer will discuss the split that occurs in many Indian communities with regard to affiliations with organized religions, and how those community divisions can be traced back to our historical experiences and historical traumas of the tribe or community. The trainer can share personal experiences at this point if that is something that is comfortable for the trainer. It is important for the trainer NOT TO BE JUDGMENTAL ABOUT ANY RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION OR GROUP during this discussion. If a trainer does not feel he/she can be nonjudgmental during this discussion he/she should ask the TC for a reassignment to another module.

B. Popcorn Response: The facilitator will be available through-out the room with microphones to elicit responses and feedback from participants who wish to share their insights or feelings about this topic.

C. TRIADS: Finally, the trainer will ask the group to break-out into groups of threes and discuss how dysfunctional divisions among religious groups on their reservation or within their communities may be interfering with effective community development.

Return to full group

IV. Closure (30 minutes)

A. Instructions

Training coordinator summarizes the day and briefing of tomorrow's agenda.
Process evaluation of "wishes and pluses."
Announce and introduce that the "spirit houses" are available for participants

Continue to next module.