Indigenous Ways of Knowing as a Philosophical Base for the Promotion of Peace and Justice in Counseling Education and Psychology

Abstract

Nowhere in my language can I find support to bring an increased awareness of the current life challenges that exist today. Internal Peace in our individual lives and external Peace for our communities and our world entails that we ourselves be peaceful people. I once asked my elders to translate the word peace in our language. They looked at each other thoughtfully, bewildered at my inquiry, smiled and replied in agreement, digum hi’ki 'angaw hulew' (Let's all get along and respect one another). Peace in my language is not an abstraction. Peace happens when everyone is working together in a way that benefits everyone including those yet to come. In this way there is no mistake. Peace is not just a state of being, or doing, it is both. It is who we are. It is based on respect for one another. From this consciousness we can create a beautiful world for everyone. As a Washo Native American scholar I share my experience in Western academia, describe the inconsistency between the praxis of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and that of the field of counseling psychology. I share the way that I know how to make a better world for all by acknowledging the significance of Indigenous perspectives on counseling psychology in theory, research, and practice.