15 March 2022 Reflective task 2nd class C.

Pretorius 1285755

 Preparation Task: Critically reflect on how the western view of mental

illness has impacted the lives of indigenous people with reference to the
two readings.

The Western view of mental illness completely dismisses other perspectives around
indigenous people’s mental wellness and cause of disease due to the historical act of
colonisation as the law of mental health and wellness through only a western lens.

The Western perspective holds the individual seen as right to agency whereas the American
Indians and the Maori people see the community as an extension of oneself and not
separate form community. As the article of the Maori healers explains that an individual’s
short comings remains part of their community’s consequences to be paid. One example
used was the genealogy of previous generation to one Maori person being abusive may
stem from the families curse or generation still being on him/her. The Western perspective
in mental wellness does not cater for an integrated and complexity of ancestral or
inclusiveness of the responsibility of community – instead the individual answers to and
hold all responsibility for their actions. Another factor, Western perspective for mental
illness has always derived from the scientific and biological aspect of psychology towards
diagnosis and wellness – at first there seem to have been a mind and body inseperable and
later on separated whereas the Maori people concludes that the mind – (mental) state has
never existed in their culture. Interestingly the lady participants states that the mental
aspect is a messy area – one in which they never struggled with. The American Indians share
the same sentiment in stating that being colonised has resulted their people in being
suicidal – a western aspect they were not used too.

In both articles, it was proven in the study that eliminating the beliefs and customs of
indigenous people causes mental illness within their community. For American Indian
people, isolation, cultural genocide, stripping of identity through loss of native language due
to loosing land and lost crops by the doing of the coloniser which forced the American Red
Indians next generation to attend dominant European schools. Similar to the Maori people
where a treaty was signed, however never manifested in real life, resulting in loss of land
and once again racist notions aroused by forbidding the Maoi language in schools – A good
15 March 2022 Reflective task 2nd class C.Pretorius 1285755

strategy to formalize a ‘one’ language of power that ensures the coloniser to understand
which will keep the hierarchy in power.

It is clear when a western perspective of mental illness is enforced on communities that is

not compatible to the western idea of health and wellness the adaptation that indigenous
people are forced to take is devastating on their future. It is here the discovery of adapting
to alcoholism (which ones were medicine and a respected ritual), drug abuse, loss of
identity, depression and many more diseases have occurred within indigenous communities
due to cortisol levels rising from stress, lack or death. The same proves with Maori people
where it is claimed that their health has been the worst it has ever been.

Culture of a community is vital to their survival – if one takes that away, you wipe away their
existence. Thus in order to survive these two communities proves resilience under the
circumstance and had to adapt under modernization in incorporating healing processes with
western philosophy of healing. Maori people once did not have a mental aspect to the
healing process and to become a healer you were chosen from a child’s age whereas today
you self-identify as a healer. American Indian uses their rituals and spiritual healing
processes however; the adaptation of smoking and alcohol has entered into individual
coping strategies where it once was only used for special spiritual occasions and rituals.

Today, negotiation assists in research that a holistic approach or integrative approach be

used to help assist and try and undo what can be undone in order for healing to proceed
within the indigenous community. In addition, reserve the cultural identity that is left.

These two articles serves as a reflection towards the position South Africa holds with our
own indigenous people serving under the shadows of our history – I am curious to find out
the similarities and differences to these articles that have been read.
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Reference list

Dapice, A : The Medicine Wheel, Journal of Transcultural Nursing

Mark, G.T: Maori healers’ views on wellbeing: The Importance of mind, body, spirit, family,

and land.