Module 4
Mastery: Starting the Path
Trainer Resources



Legend of the Origin of Baskets

Long ago, there was a young woman whom we would call in our language "aiyaiyesh" meaning "stupid" or "lazy." While all the other young people of her age helped their elders, the aiyaih girl would sit beneath the Cedar Tree, day after day and all day long, watching the world go by. Finally, the Cedar Tree could not stand it any longer, and spoke to her.

"You're so aiyaiyesh" the Tree said. "Now watch and I will show you how to do something." The Tree showed her how to take its roots, coiling their cool moist paleness into circle upon circle, fashioning the first hard­root cedar basket in the Pacific Northwest. Circles are very sacred to Native people . . . the wind moves in its strongest power in a circle . . . the circle represents the world, which turns in a circle. When she completed this first basket, the Cedar Tree approved of it but pointed out that it was naked and that a basket to be really finished required patterns--designs.

The aiyaiyesh girl began crying for she knew no patterns. The Cedar Tree told her to start walking, keeping her eyes, her ears, and her heart open, and she would discover and so it was she traveled, and different beings would speak to her . . . the rattlesnake showed her its diamond­shaped designs; the mountains showed her the shape of triangles; the salmon showed its gills . . . all around her were the designs of shadows and leaves and colors. And when she had learned to put all of these designs into her baskets, she returned to the village where she taught her relatives and her friends how to make these baskets. And she wasn't aiyaiyesh anymore. Ana cush nai.

--Traditional Sahaptin Legend

This story can be understood as a central paradigm for the way in which many Native Americans conceptualize relationships, responsibilities, learning, and teaching; in short, the core elements of family therapy.

It is an erroneous assumption on the part of many mental health professionals that Native Americans are "just like everyone else" and that if there ever were relevant differences, they disappeared along with the buffalo; any problems in therapy arise from socioeconomic deprivation, i.e., the "culture of poverty." In fact, research overwhelmingly supports the continuation of Native cultural differences that can enhance or impede treatment (Axelson, 1985; Manson, 1982; Sue,. 1981; Tafoya, 1989).

It should also be emphasized that there are over 300 tribes in the United States, as well as over 50 in Canada (Deloria, 1977; Tafoya, in press a; U.S. Congress, 1987). The Indian population has consistently been on the increase since the late 1800s, and a significant number of the Native population is under the age of 18 (Tafoya, 1989; U.S. Congress, 1987; U.S. Indian Health Services, 1978). There are over 2,500 laws and regulations which affect American Indians and Alaskan Natives and yet do not apply to the general American public (Sanders, 1973). The complications of Native history in connection with Federal and State governments is mind­boggling.

Instructions

The Boston Family Chronological Chart provides a way of tracking individual life histories and the family system at the same time. It offers a process of recording significant events in each person's life while noting the impact of that event on other family members. Thus, the vertical columns indicate the passage of time in an individual's, life while the horizontal rows represent the family system at a specific time or year.

Vertical Columns

Date: 1) Begin with year of the earliest significant event on the chart; 2) Always write down in the column marked year the year of any event noted in any vertical column; 3) The earliest event in any family is arbitrarily selected as the year the parents met.

Wider Context: 1) This column provides space for the contexts that surround and influence intrafamilial events; 2) Write down the community, national, or world developments that have had an impact on the family. Wars, like WW II and Vietnam, the depression of the 30's, the social unrest of the 60's, polio epidemics, elections, assassinations, and floods all have consequences in the family; 3) Consider the impact of such developments on the individuals and write them in where appropriate.

Family Context: 1) This column is for recording events in the family that involve everyone such as a move, a fire, a money windfall, or a family business that goes bankrupt; 2) Include events in the family network or in older generations, such as the death of a parental grandparent (who is also father's parent and mother's father-in-law) which also affects everybody; 3) Do NOT include events which involve just one of the family members already listed in the individual columns. Use the individual columns for them.

Parents and Household Members include parents, children, adopted and foster children, nurses, maids, relatives, grandparents, and others who lived in the house for a significant length of time. Do not take the biological nuclear family as the only form. Many families have relatives and borders who are part of the daily life of the family and may be extremely important to children. Always include the ages at each event no matter what column in which it is noted.

(D) Parents: 1) Write in the life history of Father with important experiences such as meetings, marriage, education, job issues, health, and retirement; 2) Do the same with Mother and include miscarriages. If step-parents are important, use another column.

(E) Household Members: 1) List siblings, one to each column, in descending birth order including those who have died; 2) Write in important events.

SOME IMPORTANT POINTS:
  1. After an event in an individual's column is written in, ALWAYS FILL IN THE IMPACT of it in everyone else's column.
  2. When an event continues for years--such as illness--note this fact by a vertical line in the individual's column that indicates the years in which it impacted the family.
  3. If you do not know the impact, ask someone who would know. This chart's value lies in making clear what is not yet known, as well as what is known but not yet connected or integrated.
  4. To fill in this chart, one needs to ask questions of all surviving family members.
  5. As the chart is filled in, patterns emerge and more questions will arise.


Most of all, do not lose the individual for the system nor lose sight of the system and contexts in which the individual lives.

Be caringly curious.

Frederick J. Duhl, M.D.
Co-Director, Boston Family Institute

FAMILY CHART

World Events
Native American Events
Family Events
Father
Mother
Child
1850s-1890s

Treaties/Wars

Indian Reorganization Act Parents marry 1st marriage much love 2nd marriage excited

WWI

WWII





Korean War 1953--repeal Indian alcohol prohibition









1950-60 Indian relocation program





JFK assassinated





Vietnam
MLK and Bobby Kennedy assassinations




Alcatraz






Wounded Knee
1970s--Indian spirituality, unity and alcoholism treatment movement




1971--Alask Nation claims Settlement Act




1974--Self-Determination and Education Assistance




1978--Indian child welfare





1980s--Canadian Indian women married to non-Indians reinstated




CHRONOLOGICAL CHART

PARENTS:
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
Date
Wider
Context
Family
Context
Age
Events/
Impacts
Age
Events/
Impacts
Age
Events/
Impacts
Age
Events/
Impacts
              
              
              
 

            


World Events Chart example1

World Events Chart2

--Insert Map--

Reprinted with permission from Terry Tafoya.




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