TRADITIONAL NATIVE-AMERICAN VALUES - CONFLICT OR CONCORDANCE IN REHABILITATION

The professional literature dealing with multicultural concerns suggests that effective service delivery and outcomes in health and human services depend upon cultural relevance and on the degree to which specific cultural values and service practices are aligned. This paper examines some traditional Native American values that pertain to rehabilitation programs in the contexts of communication, health care, and alcohol abuse. The need for rehabilitation professionals to reframe their perceptual orientations about Native Americans is emphasized as a viable mechanism to achieve concordance rather than conflict in the process of service delivery.