5.1 Concepts of Self and Community

Native American perspectives on self and community offer a unique worldview that contrasts sharply with Western individualism. These perspectives emphasize interconnectedness, holistic integration, and a relational self-concept deeply rooted in communal ties and spiritual dimensions.

This approach to identity formation highlights the importance of collective consciousness, reciprocal relationships, and land-based connections. It showcases how Native American cultures prioritize community well-being, cyclical time orientations, and intergenerational knowledge transfer in shaping personal and collective identities.

Native American Perspectives on Self and Community

Native American worldviews of self

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Top images from around the web for Native American worldviews of self

• 

  Mental Wellness – Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Wellness View original

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• 

  Indigenization Guide: Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being – BCcampus View original

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• 

  The Web of Cultural Identity: How we are who we are View original

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• 

  Mental Wellness – Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Wellness View original

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• 

  Indigenization Guide: Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being – BCcampus View original

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• Holistic worldview integrates all living things in harmony with nature and cosmos (Medicine Wheel)
• Relational self-concept defines identity through relationships, roles, kinship, and clan affiliations (Lakota Oyate)
• Spiritual dimensions of selfhood connect to ancestral spirits and deities through vision quests and spiritual experiences (Ghost Dance)
• Cyclical view of time and existence sees self as part of ongoing life-death cycle, some tribes embrace reincarnation beliefs (Hopi kachinas)

Interconnectedness of individual and community

• Collective consciousness shaped by shared values, beliefs, and oral traditions (Navajo creation stories)
• Reciprocal relationships establish individual responsibilities to community and community's nurturing role
• Tribal governance structures use consensus-based decision making and service-oriented leadership roles (Iroquois Confederacy)
• Land and place-based identity connects to ancestral territories and emphasizes environmental stewardship (Sacred Black Hills)

Native vs Western concepts of self

• Communal focus prioritizes collective well-being vs Western emphasis on personal autonomy
• Holistic self integrates spiritual, physical, and emotional aspects vs Western compartmentalization
• Relational self-construal defined through social connections vs Western focus on individual achievements
• Circular time orientation views life and identity cyclically vs Western linear personal development

Community's role in personal identity

• Rites of passage mark life transitions and establish age-based roles and responsibilities (Lakota Inipi ceremony)
• Intergenerational knowledge transfer through elders and storytelling shapes identity formation
• Collective healing practices involve community in addressing individual trauma and restorative justice
• Shared language and cultural practices influence worldview and self-concept through traditional arts and ceremonies
• Social support networks extend through family structures and clan systems influencing personal identity (Tlingit moieties)