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Behavioral Health Services “Don't Work for Us”: Cultural Incongruities in Human Service Systems for Alaska Native Communities
Author(s) -
Wexler Lisa
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/s10464-010-9380-3
Subject(s) - indigenous , health psychology , sociology , human services , context (archaeology) , public relations , community psychology , ethnography , social work , cultural diversity , environmental ethics , public health , service (business) , social psychology , political science , psychology , nursing , medicine , anthropology , ecology , geography , business , philosophy , archaeology , marketing , law , biology
Community psychology emphasizes the importance of context in the study of people's lives, and culture influences this in profound ways. To develop programs that effectively address diverse communities' problems, it is essential to recognize how Euro‐American human service systems are understood and responded to by the many different people being served by them. The article describes how some broadly defined social services—conceptualized and implemented within a Euro‐American framework—are ill suited for the everyday realities of Alaska Native villages. The cultural discontinuities are illustrated through ethnographic vignettes. The article concludes with suggestions for developing more culturally‐responsive ways to conceive of and do programming for Alaska Native and possibly other Indigenous and minority communities.