August 2010 Communique

Introduction We Bear the Fruits of Our Histories Bertha G. Holliday We bear the fruits of our histories. Indeed, our post-modern world is shaped and defined by the contacts that Europeans initiated with other cultures throughout the world during the 15 th through 19 th centuries. Those contacts were not merely adventuresome and exploratory: They were deliberate conquests of land, resources, people, and cultures with the intent of transforming and using all of these for the benefit of the conqueror and his/her and enrichment and empowerment.

Such intents, as conquerors are well aware, are always met with resistance — hence the need for oppression of “conquered” people and cultures. We now recognize that the scars and wounds of oppression on descendants of both the conquerors and the indigenous people and cultures “conquered”, as well as their multi- racial/ethnic/cultural descendants , are profound and multi-generational, resulting in continuous enactments of micro and macro symbolic and psychological vignettes of the original conquest/resistance. We bear the fruits of our histories.

We further have come to recognize that despite oppression and its historical trauma, globalism, instant world communication, Madison Avenue — people and their cultures are durable, resilient, and persistent yet adaptable. And it is these characteristics — in the face of the legacies of conquests, trauma, and social-historical transformations, — that are at the nexus of health and well-being. Cultural beliefs and practices, family, kingroup, and ancestors are the “source” to which many return for centeredness, authenticity, and strength.

And nowhere is this more vividly clear than in the responses of the world’s indigenous peoples to their current challenges related to psychological healing and well-being.

This special section seeks to increase psychologists’ understanding of such issues. Three months ago, OEMA disseminated a call for brief articles: W e seek papers from psychologists that address 2 or more of the following issues: (a) the history and culture of an indigenous culture; (b) the contemporary challenges faced by that culture and related effects on mental illness and well-being; (c) traditional indigenous perspectives on mental illness, mental health and/or other "special" populations (e.g., lesbian/gay/bisexual, elders, persons with disabilities, etc.); (d) contemporary culture-specific practices (i.e., those that are responsive to traditional beliefs and practices) for the treatment and/or promotion of well-being of persons with mental illness or other "special" populations; and, (e) related implications for psychological research, training and practice.