An Historical Profile of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Psychology

The history of American Indian and Alaska Native psychology is a brief one in comparison with the rich histories of other U.S. ethnic groups. In the mid-1960s, there were probably 10 or so Indians and Natives with doctoral degrees in psychology; since then, that number has increased to about 350. The number of publications dealing with Indian and Native psychological topics also has increased significantly over the past 40 years. Appreciable gains have been made in the number of academic institutions that actively recruit and educate Indian and Native students in psychology and in the conduct of research and scholarly projects. The progress and developments generated and attained in Indian and Native psychology in the United States is summarized in this article. To add to the discussion, the voices and experiences of 5 notable American Indian elder psychologists also are featured.