Latina/o Healing Practices

Mestizo and Indigenous Perspectives

Brian McNeill, Jose M. Cervantes, Brian McNeill, Jose M. Cervantes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780415954204
• eBook ISBN: 9781135919603
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

This edited volume focuses on the role of traditional or indigenous healers, as well as the application of traditional healing practices in contemporary counseling and therapeutic modalities with Latina/o people. The book offers a broad coverage of important topics, such as traditional healer's views of mental/psychological health and well-being, the use of traditional healing techniques in contemporary psychotherapy, and herbal remedies in psychiatric practice. It also discusses common factors across traditional healing methods and contemporary psychotherapies, the importance of spirituality in counseling and everyday life, the application of indigenous healing practices with Latina/o undergraduates, indigenous techniques in working with perpetrators of domestic violence, and religious healing systems and biomedical models. The book is an important reference for anyone working within the general field of mental health practice and those seeking to understand culturally relevant practice with Latina/o populations.

Part One
MESTIZA/O AND INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES

Chapter One
What Is Indigenous About Being Indigenous? The Mestiza/o Experience

JOSEPH M. CERVANTES

The rise in immigrant populations over the past ten years has caused an increase in awareness of the differences in values, beliefs, health style patterns, religions, and spiritualities of several distinct ethnic and cultural groups (Carmarota, 2001; U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; Yeh, Hunter, Madan-Bahel, Chiang & Arora, 2004). Incorporated within these differences is a growing familiarity with the term indigenous. The term indigenous is a reference to those populations who, by historical origin, were the original inhabitants of a designated land or nation. As such, indigenous healing is defined as those beliefs, traditions, and strategies that originate within a culture or society and are designated for treating members of a given cultural group (Helms & Cook, 1999). In addition, indigenous will refer to a state of consciousness and personal awareness that views life as cyclical, interconnected, and interlingual. Consequently, this recognition and/or development of an indigenous attitude suggest that life events evolve and transform yet maintain a critical relationship to one another (Bezanson, Foster, & James, 2005). In addition, these life events have particular meaning and a communication pattern that respects human spirit and elemental forces (earth, water, fire, air; see Cohen, 1998; Kremer, 1997; Torrey, 1972; Yeh, Hunter, Madan-Bahel, Chiang & Arora, 2004). Among Latinas/os, (in particular, Mexicans and Mexican Americans) ancestral histories are embedded in the mestiza/o experience—namely, the forging of several different racial and ethnic backgrounds that have contributed to their unique identity (Cervantes & Ramirez, 1992; Morones & Mikawa, 1992). The mestiza/o experience and the indigenous backdrop are interrelated, and consequently form an essential basis toward a critical identity for many Mexican and Mexican-American groups.

This chapter will explore the indigenous nature of Mexican Americans and why this understanding and awareness may be an important aspect of personal and cultural identity. Consequently, the term mestiza/o will be used herein to designate the unique interrelationships among identity, indigenousness, and spirituality. A philosophical and psychospiritual understanding of what it means to be indigenous is the primary intent of this chapter. It will begin with an overview of history relevant to the understanding of indigenousness, followed by a discussion of the Mesoamerican worldview. The relevance of mestiza/o spirituality and indigenous knowledge will then be discussed), as will the role of indigenous wisdom, a relevant epistemology, and the indigenous paradigm for the new millennium. The chapter will conclude with specific directions for the counseling professional.

WHAT DOES INDIGENOUS MEAN, AND WHY IS IT RELEVANT?

The term indigenous refers generally to those who were born in their country of origin and whose ancestors were native to their land. However, more particularly, the term refers to those groups of people or communities who have been designated as of the First Nations, or the people who originally inhabited the land before colonization (Costantine, Meyers, Kindaichi, & Moore, 2004; Yeh, Hunter, Madan-Bahel, Chiang, & Arora, 2004). As Maybury-Lewis (2002) has noted, indigenous peoples maintained their own languages, cultural and tribal histories, and a distinct spirituality that was non-Christian. In addition, indigenous people have historically been viewed as subordinated and marginalized, and often dominated by domineering or conquering groups that claimed jurisdiction over them. Acuña (1988, 1996) discusses the history for the indigenous people of the Americas and the exploitation that was involved in their loss of language, culture, and way of living. These populations, now referred to as communities of Mexican origin—or, simply, Mexican Americans—come with centuries-old histories that were long ago embraced by their ancestral families. Duran and Duran (1995) have commented on how native peoples have suffered a 500-year history of forced colonization and genocide. In brief, wars, geographic relocations, boarding schools, and disease have all contributed to the decimation of American Indian communities and the subsequent impact of intergenerational trauma. Similar observations have been made by León-Portilla (1972), Montoya (1992), Tello (1998), and countless others regarding mestiza/o peoples, most of whom have their origins in Mesoamerican ancestry regardless of which side of the borderlands of the Americas they are from (Anzaldúa, 1987).

The concepts of indigenousness and healing have characteristically been used interchangeably, with each defining the other relative to ethnicity, health status, well-being, and the allegiance to a group’s spirituality (Koss-Chioino & Hefner, 2006; Moodley & West, 2005). This chapter advocates the idea that indigenousness is a state of mind that is typically learned as part of socialization and cultural referencing; continuous exposure to select attitudes, behaviors, and relational style; and an internalized belief in an “Old World” (i.e., precolonial) culture. An added perspective is provided by Kremer (1997), who states:

Recovering indigenous mind is, actually, the development of the social imagination of sustainability in places where the connections with the ancient indigenous understandings of sustainability have been severed… an integration of the past for the sake of the future, not for the sake of the re-creation of the past or going back to it in some way. (P. 32)

In brief, the understanding of what it means to be indigenous involves the weaving of present knowledge into the past in order to develop a broader perspective relative to one’s existential space within one’s community.

Being indigenous implies the role that generational stories serve in acknowledging the relationship of one to the larger whole, highlighting the relevance of prayer and ceremony, and understanding one’s connection to nature and to the earth. Other writers, like Cohen (1998), comment on the necessity of Native American medicine to facilitate the significance of prayer, ritual, meditation, and relationship to the earth, thus bringing healing to communities and advancing relevant changes in one’s consciousness. Bastien (2003) provides an additional perspective indicating that the meaning of life is rooted in experiences grounded in the sacred relationships of alliance. Her ideas reflect a belief that the identity of people and the role of human development are based on a framework of moral and ethical relationships. In similar fashion, the concept of relational consciousness proposed by Hay and Nye (1998), while not employing a reference to indigenousness, ascribes to related ideas in social awareness and responsibility to others. Hay and Nye make reference to critical connections among the embracing of one’s spirituality, a groundedness in one’s being, and a desire to serve others. Consequently, a psychology of social justice is a natural extension of the development of indigenousness that leads invariably to the protection of the earth and its resources (Duran, 2006; Garrett & Wilbur, 1999; Rodriguez, 2002).

It is proposed herein that being indigenous incorporates the embodiment of an earth-based spirituality—namely, the recognition that all life is interconnected, and that this awareness influences and guides responsible action toward appropriate moral and ethical behavior and a commitment to the well-being of others (Cohen, 1998; Krippner, 1995). The recovery of past cultural history is less relevant than the incorporation of spiritual tools and appropriate ritual that can increase personal awareness and highlight prayer and ceremony in one’s development (Kremer, 1997). Being indigenous serves as the necessary platform toward becoming a person of integrity and wisdom (Montoya, 1992; Poonwassie & Charter, 2005).

THE MESOAMERICAN INDIGENOUS WORLDVIEW

The exploration and “discovery” of the Western Hemisphere, later to be called the Americas, has been the subject of many texts, commentaries, and histories (Barreiro, 1992; Josephy, 1991; León-Portilla, 1972, 1973; Wolf, 1982). The view from the other side—namely, the varied perspectives of indigenous people from the Americas—has historically understood that the 1492 invasion by Christopher Columbus promoted 500 years of myth-making and the creation of mixed-race people who long after continued to live in cultural repression and internalized psychological rejection. The “discovery of America” set a foundation for how the continent would think about its people and their respective interrelationships, and whose voices and narratives should be listened to and whose ignored. (Barreiro, 1992) However, this “discovery” led to a lost spiritual awareness of the continent as “Mother Earth—she who gives life” (Duran & Duran, 1995).

It is against this historical background that Mexican Americans arose as a unique blend of several ethnic and racial groupings, but primarily the intermingling of the Spaniards and native, indigenous peoples. Cervantes and Ramirez (1992), Morones and Mikawa (1992), and Ramirez (1983, 1998) describe this syncretic process of merging values, religious and spiritual beliefs, worldview perspectives as resulting in the personality character of the mestiza/o. Ramirez (1983) refers to the mestiza/o perspective as a dynamic, synergistic process developed from the amalgamation of peoples, philosophies, and cultures bridging the European continent and the Americas: the intermingling of physical, psychological, cultural, and spiritual ties between the Spaniard and the Indian. As noted by Ramirez (1983) and others (see, e.g., Carrasco, 1990; Ortiz de Montellano, 1990; Vasconcellos, 1925; and Vigil, 1998), the indigenous people of Mexico responded to this tension through dynamic adaptation; however, they did not yield their central core beliefs about spiritual presence. This blending and amalgamation of genotypical and sociocultural dimensions did not come without religious and political struggle, a struggle initially evident in the conquest history of the Americas (Carrasco, 1990; Todorov, 1985; Ortiz de Montellano, 1990; Menchu, 1985), and in the significant psychological and spiritual upheaval that was to impact future generations of indigenous and mixed-race communities residing in the Americas who were attempting to incorporate a common identity (Acuña, 1996; Anzaldúa, 1987; Garcia, 1998; Goizueta, 2002; Mirandé, 1985; Paz, 1961).

Mestiza/o Identity

The incorporation of a mestiza/o mind set and the subsequent identity that this label held prompted a need to effectively navigate the multilayered and racially stigmatizing contexts of being mestiza/o (Paz, 1961; Ramirez, 1983). Acuña (1996) and Vigil (1998) have described this racial grouping as an intermixture of Spanish, Indian, and African peoples with underlying psychodynamics that emphasize oppressive life narratives and psychological inferiority. Morones and Mikawa (1992) highlight religion, spirituality, and philosophical belief systems as characterizing this population. Ramirez (1983) disc...

Table of contents

• Contents
• An Appreciation of Dr. Michael W. Smith (1960–2006)
• Contributors
• Introduction
• Part One MESTIZA/O AND INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES
• Part Two INDIGENOUS AND MESTIZA/O HEALING PRACTICES
• Part Three CONTEMPORARY ASPECTS OF MESTIZA/O AND INDIGENOUS HEALING PRACTICES: RECLAMATION AND INTEGRATION
• Part Four EPILOGUE
• Index