The purpose of this exercise is to provide insight into the use of symbolism in First Nations art. Artistic expression, tightly integrated with daily life, is typical of most First Nations. Decoration is used on everything from moccasins and coats to baseball caps and paintings. However, this decoration is not just added to make things pretty. Based on the Medicine Wheel, it is typically composed of messages from symbolic pictures. These may be recommended directly by an elder, or they may be passed along through the collective unconscious. Through this exercise, you will apply the use of symbolism in producing something artistic; describe yourself, using traditional Native symbolism; begin to analyze yourself with your own strengths, weaknesses, and desires; and look at your core symbolism to further investigate who you are, thinking in the terms of the circle.

CAUTION: You have been invited to use these symbols to increase your understanding of Indigenous worldviews. If you are a non-Indigenous person, before you complete this exercise, consider what boundaries you might place around it to avoid cultural appropriation.

1. A peace shield is a personal object that was used traditionally during ceremonies. It looks like a shield used for defence in that it is a round frame with eagle feathers falling from it. However it is made with delicate leather and fine stitching and would be of absolutely no use in battle. On it is painted a symbolic representation of who the person is, often based on the Medicine Wheel.
2. Do a search online for examples of medicine wheels. Search also for the types of symbols that are often used to communicate particular meanings. Here are few examples of Indigenous Cultural Symbols.
3. Make a circular drawing of yourself using the symbols presented, or any other set of symbols that are meaningful to you. You can do this using a draw program to create an electronic image or using paper and art supplies.
4. Add three or four feathers to the bottom of the peace shield, representing major accomplishments in your life that required effort, for example, finishing a degree, completing a difficult job, accomplishing a physical feat, bringing up a child, etc.
5. Reflect on the meaning you attach to your peace shield.

As a non-Indigenous practitioner how might you respectfully invite Indigenous clients to connect with their cultural worldview, recognizing that Indigenous symbols, metaphors, or other cultural healing practices should not be integrated into your counselling practice except as brought forth by the client or through your own training and supervision with Indigenous teachers or guides?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#peaceshield]

Picture yourself in the second week of your practicum or your first job as a counsellor. Then, consider each of the following scenarios. The information has been gathered by the intake person at the counselling organization. Attend to your thoughts, feelings, and embodied responses as you read through each one. [Note: Where I have used gendered pronouns below, individuals identified as male or female on the intake form.]

• Elise identifies as a Hari Krishna devotee. She is single, lives in a communal house with other group members. She has worked in a provincial government office for the past two years. She recently received a poor performance assessment (the second in row), and she believes she is being discriminated against for her spiritual beliefs.
• Adam is a major league hockey player, separated, and a father of two young boys. His wife recently took out a restraining order against him that also prohibits unsupervised visits with his children. He has suffered a number of concussions and is aware that they have impacted his moods. He admits to aggression in his interactions with his family.
• Abila is an international student. She is in her mid-twenties. She has been in Canada for three years and is set to return home to Lebanon in six months. Her family is very conservative and expects her to marry the Lebanese man to whom she was engaged before she came to Canada. She is suffering from depression and anxiety.
• Ethan has spent the last two years in the United States hoping to gain asylum because of the civil war in his home country in central Africa. He recently illegally crossed the border into Canada and has taken refuge in a church that has opened its doors to a small group of refugees in similar positions. His wife died in the conflict in his home country, and he has a three-year old boy, Isaiah, with him. He does not speak English, so he came to the intake session with an interpreter from the church community.
• James specifically requested to see an Indigenous counsellor, but was informed that none are available through the organization. James grew up in the city in a Caucasian neighbourhood and with Caucasian parents, but he has recently started exploring his Indigenous roots along with new his partner, Albert, whom he met through a local Indigenous community centre.
• Sarah was picked up for prostitution and has been mandated to attend counselling. She left home at 14 and is now 23. She does not list a home address on the intake form, only a cell phone number. She does not offer presenting concerns, because she says she is just here to put in her time to satisfy the judge.
• Shigeko wants to talk about relationship issues. Where gender was solicited on the intake form, the options for male or female (consider the noninclusiveness of this from Lesson 2) have both been crossed out. Shigeko works as a community activist for LGBTTQI¹ rights.
• Sergey is married with two children in private schools. He recently lost his job of 25 years because the company moved its operations overseas. He has a part-time position with a political organization; you recognize the organization as associated with strong anti-immigration agendas.
• Anna is in her late 70s and recently lost her spouse of 40 years. She joined a grief group at the organization several months ago and is seeking individual counselling now. She lives with her adult daughter and grandchild.
• Sophia has come for counselling with her 13-year old daughter who has multiple sclerosis. She has been home schooling Isabella for the last few years, but she is feeling overwhelmed as Isabella moves on to high school curricula. Sophia has a high school education and studied in Spanish as a child and adolescent in Columbia.

The concept of cultural difference is a social construction, e.g., we create and define difference based on our socialization and personal choices. Consider how your reactions are tied to your personal cultural identities, lived experiences, and possibly your social locations. What competencies (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, or skills) might you seek to develop to prepare to work with those clients with whom you felt the least comfortable or competent?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#whoisdifferent]

There is an implicit irony related to social class worldview: The assumptions, beliefs, and values associated with social class are pervasive and cross boundaries of gender, ethnicity, Indigeneity, age and other dimensions of cultural identity; however, most individuals, including counsellors, lack awareness of differences in worldview across social classes. Understanding of these differences is particularly important because most counsellors come from the middle class; yet, the majority of Canadians belong to the working class or poverty class.

Complete the Nondominant and dominant class assumptions, beliefs, and values exercise. Then, consider the following questions for reflection.

• What are the implications of your assumptions, beliefs, and values for your social class identity?
• To what degree were you conscious of, and reflective about, your class worldview prior to completing this exercise?
• What are the implications for working with clients from other social classes?
• What are the risks of functioning from a position of class unconsciousness in terms of unintentional oppression and marginalization of clients from nondominant social classes?
• How might you actively mitigate these risks by attending to the subjectivity of your worldview?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#socialclassworldviews]

As you listen to this music clip from the Black Lodge Singers, Crow Hop, write a list of descriptors for how Indigenous people have been portrayed in the media.

Now, write a second list of the messages that you have received through your family and early socialization. Reflect on the following questions. If you are a Indigenous counsellor, replace these reflections with your observations and perceptions of non-Indigenous peoples.

• What is your experience in life with Indigenous people?
• What do you know of First Nations music? How does it reflect aspects of the culture?
• What early traditional songs, prayers, pictographs, or archeological sites have you encountered? What did they mean? How are the lived experiences depicted different from today?
• What Indigenous rituals are you familiar with and what meaning do you attach to them?
• What images of Indigenous peoples do you carry forward with you from movies you have watched? How many of these were written and/or produced by indigenous persons?
• How much of your current perception is likely based on stereotypes of Indigenous people?
• Based on your knowledge or lack of knowledge of Indigenous peoples, what potential biases might you need to examine in your professional role when counselling Indigenous clients?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#howdoyouknow]

Complete this short quiz to assess your awareness of the current lived experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Try to answer honestly, rather than giving what you think is the right or acceptable answer.

1. True or False: All Indigenous peoples hold the same basic values, cultural norms, beliefs, and practices.
2. True or False: It is only recently that Indigenous peoples have obtained the same basic rights as other people in Canada.
3. True or False: Although I recognize past abuses, Indigenous peoples are responsible for their situation here and now.
4. True or False: What most people don’t realize is that Indigenous peoples have a lot of money.
5. True or False: Indigenous peoples get a lot of financial support from the government; they don’t have to pay for their housing, education, or medical expenses.
6. True or False: Indigenous peoples have the same obligations to pay taxes as other Canadians.
7. True or False: Indigenous peoples are very adept at interfacing with, and adapting to, life in mainstream Canadian society.
8. True or False: Indigenous peoples have not developed the same work ethic as people from other cultural groups; they have high rates of turnover and absenteeism.
9. True or False: There are many Indigenous peoples who are well qualified for a wide variety of jobs.
10. True or False: Setting out to specifically hire Indigenous peoples is a form of reverse discrimination against other Canadians.

Keep your responses to the completed the quiz open and compare them to the Circles for Reconciliation (2017) Dispelling the Myths About Indigenous People. Finally, read the Executive Summary (pp. 5-7) of the Environics Instititute for Survey Research (2016) Canadian Public Opinion on Aboriginal Peoples, Final Report, and consider the implications for your personal and professional roles in truth-telling related to colonization.

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#mythsindigenous]

Take a moment to consider what it would be like to live in a world without gender, for example, or social class, or religion. Alternatively, imagine a world in which people were organized into social groups and society was stratified based on eye colour, astrological signs, vegetarianism versus fish and meat consumption, or beliefs about having, or not having, animals as pets. How might this affect the worldviews of various dominant and nondominant groups? Consider the following YouTube video, attending to your emotional and cognitive reactions as you watch it.

Next, try to identify ways in which people have been grouped historically based on characteristics that are no longer relevant today? What does this suggest about the randomness of social stratification?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc3/#watchout]