大象传媒

For much of his early adulthood, Mike Duncan, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Mendocino County, California, wrestled with unhealthy ideas about masculinity that devalued women and child-rearing. Among Duncan鈥檚 chief regrets from that time are how he behaved toward the mother of his older children, and the negative example he presented to his kids.

鈥淚 was 鈥� trying to be right, trying to be masculine, you know, 鈥業鈥檓 the man, listen to me,鈥� type of mentality,鈥� says Duncan, speaking during an online workshop on parenting he鈥檚 held regularly during the pandemic. 鈥淚t was all just part of the sickness, the belief system that I grew up with.鈥�

For many years, Duncan cycled in and out of jail and battled with alcoholism, neglecting his health, and abandoning his responsibilities of fatherhood. Now 14 years sober, he is trying to change that belief system that he sees infiltrating Native American communities like the one he grew up in in Sacramento.  Duncan believes it contributes to substance abuse and domestic violence. This misogynist belief system didn鈥檛 originate in Native American cultures, he says, but arose from centuries of colonialism and the trauma it continues to cause. 

Unhealthy cultural norms for male behavior, referred to as , are widespread. In a recent statewide survey by the  of almost 2,000 Californians from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, a majority of respondents said they felt 鈥渙ur鈥� culture (interpreted as either mainstream White culture, or their own culture), pressures men to conform to gender norms such as being aggressively competitive and dominating or being in charge of others.

Duncan is founder of Native Dads Network, a Sacramento-based nonprofit that runs workshops on healthy parenting and relationships throughout Northern California, primarily for Native Americans. The workshops draw on traditional Indigenous teachings and cultural practices about the value of life, the role of parents, and the sacredness of women. The network is one of a growing number of programs across the state that seek to address high rates of domestic violence and family dysfunction in many tribal communities by using Native American people鈥檚 traditions and history as a guide.

Colonization and historical trauma 鈥渋s what contributed to our mental health issues, substance abuse issues, domestic violence in our families,鈥� explains Dr. Carrie Johnson, a clinical psychologist who oversees a program for survivors of domestic violence at United American Indian Involvement, a behavioral health and social service provider for Native Americans and Alaska Natives living in Los Angeles. 鈥淭hat has really torn apart who we are.鈥� 

Johnson says that for Native peoples to heal, they need to 鈥渇ind a way back to who we were: our beliefs in our culture, our beliefs in our Native women.鈥�

High Rates of Violence

Native Americans and Alaska Natives are  than almost any other racial or ethnic group. More than half of Native American women experience sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the . Inter-partner violence is also high for Native men, although they are less likely than their female counterparts to experience physical and sexual abuse. Native women also face murder rates more than  in some areas of the country. 

Some of this violence is perpetrated by non-Native people, a problem that has garnered increased attention in recent years as tribes seek greater authority to prosecute such crimes. Poverty, isolation, and high rates of substance abuse and mental distress鈥攁ll byproducts of colonization鈥攍ikely also contribute to the prevalence of domestic violence in Native American communities, .

Healing Through Tradition

Native Americans have endured a long history of trauma, including conquest, , displacement, and the forced removal of children from their families for  between 1860 and 1978, where many report they were physically and sexually abused. The  stripped Native children of their cultural identities and the opportunity to learn healthy parenting skills, Johnson says. Some of the domestic violence survivors her agency serves have parents or grandparents who were in boarding schools. Many experienced abuse as children and grew up thinking violent relationships were normal. 

Over the past five years, Johnson鈥檚 program has been offering domestic violence survivors paths to healing that incorporate Native American cultural practices and beliefs into programs. The organization runs beading, dancing, and drumming classes, and informs survivors about how Native societies traditionally  connected to Mother Earth. Many tribes were also matrilineal, tracing their member鈥檚 lineage through mothers rather than fathers.    

Although traditions vary by tribe, the underlying philosophies are often similar, Johnson says. Also, in urban areas like Los Angeles, many Native American residents are disconnected from their tribes of origin and welcome the opportunity to engage in Native American traditions, even if not specific to their ancestry.

The practices empower survivors, she continues, giving them 鈥渕uch more strength to get out of those (violent) relationships.鈥�

Revisiting Ancient Beliefs

At Native Dads Network, Duncan also focuses on Indigenous traditions as he speaks with both men and women working to overcome addiction, improve their relationships, and become better parents. He encourages participants to learn more about their tribes and to connect with their roots through prayer and ceremony. He also discusses the impact of historical violence, intergenerational abuse, and colonial attitudes toward women to help participants better understand the origins of some of their challenges. 

鈥淲e have to take responsibility for our behavior, but you have to understand that鈥檚 not who we are, it came from somewhere,鈥� Duncan says.  鈥淚f we change our beliefs, we get different results鈥攁nd it鈥檚 not really changing our beliefs, it鈥檚 re-understanding our (traditional) beliefs.鈥�

Native Dads Network classes are based on curricula created by Albert Pooley, founder of the Arizona-based nonprofit Native American Fatherhood and Families Association. They focus on seeing fatherhood and motherhood as sacred and strengthening relationships between generations. Pooley, a marriage and family counselor born to Hopi and Navajo parents, says his curricula don鈥檛 espouse any specific religion or tribal tradition. Instead, they incorporate universal Native American principles such as the presence of a Creator, the importance of prayer, and the notion of sanctity. He said he created them after realizing that many Indigenous people he鈥檚 worked with didn鈥檛 connect with standard therapeutic approaches.

鈥淣ative people understand the sanctity of so many things,鈥� Pooley says. 鈥淢ountains are sacred, rivers are sacred, animals and eagles are sacred, burial grounds. We鈥檝e identified all these things to be sacred, but we鈥檝e missed the mark by not identifying two of the most sacred things on Earth鈥攜our role as a mother, your role as a father.鈥�

Pooley鈥檚 curricula have generated interest from tribal communities and professionals working with Native Americans across the country, including mental health practitioners, child-welfare agencies, schools, and county jails. More than 370 people have been trained as facilitators in California alone.

Reshaping Intervention

Meanwhile, the Yurok Tribe in Northern California has developed its own culturally rooted 52-week intervention program for perpetrators of domestic violence. Called Skuy-ech-son, or 鈥渢o heal oneself,鈥� the program is open to both Native and non-Native people in Del Norte County, which had the  in 2018, the latest year data is available. Most participants are referred by a judge. 

Lori Nesbitt, a Yurok tribal probation officer and program facilitator, said the program seeks to move past punishment and making people feel bad about themselves, because most already do. Many of the perpetrators have faced poverty, a lack of access to education, and behavioral health challenges. The program works to help them recognize where they went wrong, and to build a more positive identity and connection with those around them. 

Activities draw on foundational principles in Yurok society鈥攖he importance of family, cultural traditions, and elders. Participants are encouraged to create a family tree and talk about family members or others in their communities who are important to them. They鈥檙e also asked to learn about their cultural heritage, values, and traditions, whether those are Yurok, Irish, or from another culture, and to share them with the class. Another activity involves interviewing an elder about their relationship experiences, and how they resolve conflicts. 

鈥淲e work on making them feel like they belong,鈥� Nesbitt says.

Culturally Rooted Help

Nationally, the StrongHearts Native Helpline provides culturally sensitive support to Native American and Alaska Native survivors of domestic, sexual, and dating violence. The hotline launched in 2017 after staff at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a general helpline for domestic violence survivors, realized they received very few calls from Native Americans, and that a more culturally responsive helpline was necessary. Although the StrongHearts helpline is based in Minnesota, its highest call volume is from California, said director Lori Jump. About 1 in 8 callers to the helpline are from California.

StrongHearts Native Helpline operators identify as Native American or Alaska Native themselves, and they understand Native cultures, historical trauma, and issues facing Native survivors seeking justice on tribal lands. In addition to connecting survivors to resources, they can talk about ways to take care of themselves through healing practices at home or through community ceremonies. 

鈥淭radition and culture are really at the core of who we are,鈥� says Jump. 

That鈥檚 how they heal, Jump explains. 鈥淭hese spiritual practices help us to mend our spirits. … At the end of the day, not only do we want people to be safe, but we want them to heal.鈥�

This story was produced in partnership with the  and .

Anyone experiencing domestic violence can call the  at 1-844-7NATIVE (1-844-762-8483). Operators are available daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will also respond to messages left after hours.