Mental Illness Among Native and Indigenous Communities In The U.S. Part 2

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Mental Illness Among Native and Indigenous Communities In The U.S. Part 2
Thursday, May 26, 2022 by Renee D. Warring

Mental Illness Among Native and Indigenous Communities In The U.S. Part 2

The barriers that the people encounter to mental health treatment will be discussed in this article. There are barriers of rural and isolated locations. Not all indigenous people live in isolated rural areas. The few mental health services that exist for indigenous people are located on rural reservations. This includes clinics and hospitals. The problem is the majority of indigenous people live outside of tribal areas.

Most indigenous people mistrust the government and their services. About 43% of indigenous people in the U.S. are on Medicaid or public coverage. However, as a result of the government’s mistreatment of indigenous people they do not trust the services provided by the federal government. Often health care providers have no connection or experience with the Native population. It is therefore, impossible for them to provide culturally competent services for the people.

Many indigenous people do not have health insurance coverage. About 14.9% do not have coverage, which is over three times more than the white population (5.9%).

Mental health care provided do not have culturally competent treatments for Native people. Many members of this community hold a fundamentally different understanding of mental health than their “Western” counterparts, and therefore may not see value in the treatments offered.

There are very few mental and behavioral health programs that can provide treatment in a culturally, spiritually and traditionally appropriate manner. Part of the issue is due to the lack of clear, consistent and measurable definitions- meaning that programs modified for indigenous communities often do not meet criteria to be designated as “best practices”. Additionally, those who have intent to be culturally competent must have extensive training in spirituality and traditional values taught to them by a qualified Elder which can be a long process. And lastly, changing money for providing services is contrary to traditional practices who provide service for free.

There are language barriers to mental health treatment. Approximately 372,000 Native people speak a language other than English at home. Language traditions are especially strong in the American Southwest and in Alaska nearly 200,000 individuals speak Navajo Yup’ik. There are many areas where differences in language are an important consideration for treatment. For example, words such as “depressed” and “anxious” are absent from Native languages. Many speakers quit communicating when they can’t get the true meaning of what the provider is trying to say.

When indigenous people were removed from their lands, a high rate of poverty among these populations were the results. In U.S. 10.5% of the total population lives in poverty. Of the indigenous population over 26.6% of the people live in poverty. Of those in poverty many live in tents without running water, electricity, or food. Additionally indigenous people are almost twice as likely to be unemployed.

RESOURCES:

nami.org/Your-Journey/identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/indigenous

Signed: Renee D. Warring of Uniquely and Wonderfully Made Ministries