Last summer, the Battlefords was home base for a PhD student undertaking an area of research regarding the Plains Cree that’s never been investigated before. As a result, she can now officially put the Dr. in front of her name, and she hopes her study will impact Canada's education system and its lawmakers.
Joyce Frey now holds a doctorate in international psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. It's a new field.
“This program at the Chicago school is the only one like it in the world," says Frey.
International psychology moves away from the typical Western European-led perspective to a more global perspective – embracing cross-cultural rather than mono- or even multi-cultural views.
Her research topic was that of human intelligence. The title of Frey's dissertation is Exploring Intelligence From a Plains Cree Perspective, A Qualitative Study.
Frey, a psychology teacher at a college in Kansas, is thankful to the people of the area who provided insight for her study, which had to take place across borders in order to qualify as international psychology.
"I must thank the incredible, wonderful Cree people in Canada," she wrote in her dissertation. "Each of you, who I have met over the course of the years in the process of developing this study, have contributed to, and made it what it is. It is a testament to your warm hearts, open minds and generosity. I am endlessly inspired and in awe by each of you. You are making changes in the world and how the world understands indigenous wisdom, and leading your people forward by your continued bravery. I am so proud to have been honoured by your presence in my life and your contributions to this study."
Participants in Frey's study represent nine bands of Cree First Nations. They consisted of 13 elders (eight males and five females, ages 47 to 86 years). Data was collected via individual semi-structured interviews that incorporated and followed the Cree cultural protocols for sharing of knowledge by engaging in the ritual of smudging and the offering of cloth and tobacco, says Frey.
The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of human intelligence through the lens of the Plains Cree First Nations perspective, in order to facilitate an improved and more comprehensive cross-cultural understanding between the Euro-Western and indigenous concepts of human intelligence, says Frey. The collection of data was used to generate a comprehensive interpretation, culminating in the construction of a written account and description of the Plains Cree perceptions of human intelligence.
Overall the participant recruitment and the data collection processes entailed three trips to Canada covering a period from May of 2013 to July of 2015.
"During that time, I garnered acceptance to conduct the study by engaging in cultural immersion under the supervision of Elder [Wes] Fine Day," says Frey. "Through the processes and protocols required for the Cree culture I was able to establish necessary relationships within the community of interest. Through those relationships I was able to recruit elders for the study."
The research questions had to be approved by Frey's college. The main research question was: How do the Plains Cree First Nation Peoples of Canada, as an indigenous/aboriginal culture, perceive, identify and articulate the concept of human intelligence?
Sub-questions were: What are the Plains Cree cultural values that influence their concept of intelligence? What are the advantages and disadvantages to an individual’s perceived level of intelligence within the culture of their community? What are the particular traits or characteristics, if any, of individuals that they identify as exhibiting intelligence?
Frey says an ongoing problem has been the attempt to force the indigenous groups to fit into the Euro-Western theories and models of human intelligence without allowing them to articulate and acknowledge their own way of conceiving and living within that concept.
In her dissertation, she wrote, "Disconnected from their traditional ways of living, and with no viable vehicle to move into the predominant mainstream Euro-Western culture, the indigenous peoples of Canada have continued to experience the consequences of centuries old misconceptions and the resulting injustices. The time for justice and reparations, for the healing of old wounds, for viewing the indigenous peoples as self-determinate and intellectually capable peoples is at hand. The genesis of a new paradigm for coexistence has come knocking at Canada’s door, one that is inclusive of the indigenous concept of human intelligence as viewed from their own unique perspective and is relative and pertinent in the way they interact with the educational, social and political structures of the post-colonial culture they currently reside within."
Frey says she hopes the results of her study will help open the minds of stakeholders in ways that may ultimately mutually benefit the Cree culture and the mainstream culture by generating better human relations between the two.
"It may also serve in ameliorating the marginalization of the Cree peoples in their homeland, going beyond the perceptions of human intelligence by lending some measure of credibility to their cultural beliefs and practices," she wrote in her dissertation.
"The acceptance and understanding of the divergent ways to conceive of human intelligence as presented by the Cree, could lead to the inclusion of the many ways the implications can be manifested through opportunities, explorations and applications. The ultimate implication would provide a venue for a better, stronger and more inclusive culture that incorporates the best of both worlds: indigenous and mainstream. The implications of this study overall offer many vehicles for the building of bridges between cultures that allows for respect for all stakeholders and a mutual vision of promise for living side by side with equality and dignity."
