This book presents a theoretical discussion of problems and issues encountered in the Native American community from a perspective that accepts Native knowledge as legitimate. Native American cosmology and metaphor are used extensively in order to deal with specific problems such as alcoholism, suicide, family, and community problems. The authors discuss what it means to present material from the perspective of a people who have legitimate ways of knowing and conceptualizing reality and show that it is imperative to understand intergenerational trauma and internalized oppression in order to understand the issues facing Native Americans today.

Part 1. Theory. Psychological worldviews -- The vehicle -- Theoretical concerns -- Part 2. Clinical praxis: the spirit of alcohol -- Intervention with families -- The problem of suicide -- Community intervention.