Ferial Deer Skye, Orla J. Christensen, and Joan T England

The lack of definitive research on the population of American Indian women college students was noted by the researchers as they began searching the available literature. Specific information on stress factors experienced by this population was rarely encountered. Finally, the paucity of research in the area of applying a culturally-based dance education model to reduce stress (anxiety) in this population demonstrated the need for the study.

Since the population for this study was primarily Siouan in blood quantum and culture, that tradition was considered in the construction of the dance education model. Margaret Mead (1932), Clara Sue Kidwell (1976) and Ada Deer (1981) admonished researchers not to make generalizations about the "Indian" or "Indian women" pointing out the broad range of variation in cultures and historical experiences of Indian tribes. Three techniques were used to describe the population for the study and the stress factors they encountered. The first: interviews were conducted with nationally recognized American Indian women who were well qualified to speak about American Indian cultures and specific stress factors experienced by American Indian women college students. Interviewees included Ada E. Deer (personal communication, October 25, 1981), Constance F. Deer (personal communication, October 25, 1981), and Patricia Locke (personal communication, April 2, 1986). The second technique: twelve faculty and staff members at The University of South Dakota were asked to write about their perceptions of stress factors faced by American Indian women students on campus, and the third, three survey instruments were delivered to all of the American Indian women students on The University of South Dakota campus. The three instruments were: Student Questionnaire: The Status of Indian Women in Higher Education by Clara Sue Kidwell (1980); Personal Style Inventory (Hogan & Champagne, 1980); and The Individual Description Form for Native American Women Students, designed by the researchers. The information gleaned from these resources was used to develop a culturally-based dance education model designed to reduce the level of stress (anxiety) experienced by the American Indian women college students on The University of South Dakota campus. It was recognized that this was a seminal effort and the results would not necessarily be generalizable to other settings.

The dance education model was designed by the lead researcher, Ferial Deer Skye, as part of her doctoral dissertation. She has a degree in Dance Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The model was developed utilizing information, concepts, instructions, guidelines, suggestions, correspondence and consultation from seven sources: (1) Dance Education program at the University of Wisconsin, (2) attendance at the American Dance Therapy Association's annual meeting and correspondence with its president, Dr. Erma Dosamantes-Alperson about her study -"Growth Effects of Experimental Movement Psychotherapy" (1980), (3) Albert Pesso's book, Movement in Psychotherapy (1969), (4) consultation with Professor Marilyn Richardson at South Dakota State University (1982), (5) attendance at the annual convention of the American Association for Counseling and Development, specifically the stress-related presentations and workshops included in the program, (6) the results of the survey instruments referred to earlier as well as faculty perceptions about stress factors among American Indian women, and (7) utilization of the Tiospaye (extended family) idea translated into designing components of the dance education model to continue the natural support ideals that were part of the American Indian women students' traditions.

The survey instruments were delivered to 80 American Indian women students on The University of South Dakota campus. They were either hand-delivered or mailed. Forty-seven completed packets were returned and 39 respondents indicated a willingness to participate in the study. They were randomized into two groups: a control group who did not receive the dance education model and the experimental group who participated in the four week, eight session dance education model. The experimental group ranged in age from 19-35 with the mean age being 24.94. The 19 members of this group represented five different reservations with 12 indicating they had lived on reservation and seven who said they had lived off reservation prior to attending college. The control group ranged in age from 18-52 with a mean age of 31.3. The 20 members of this group represented seven reservations with I I indicating they had lived on reservation and nine who said they had lived off reservation prior to attending college.

The Student Questionnaire: Statue of Indian Women in Higher Education (Kidwell, 1980) included items asking the respondents to identify tribal affiliation, degree of Indian blood, number of brothers and sisters, educational background, future plans for graduate education, employment, and career expectations. Items also addressed their perceptions of motivating factors affecting their decisions to attend college and the effects of possible gender bias on whether or not they received encouragement to attend college. A question was included which addressed their perception as to whether they felt discrimination and in which area - gender or racial. Finally, they were asked to describe the role they felt they were expected to assume according to their tribal culture. The Individual Description Form for Native American Women (Skye, 1988, Appendix A) sought information and perceptions in the following areas: Career/educational goals; previous and current living situations; self-perceptions regarding feelings of happiness, difficulty in studies, financial security/ insecurity; place in the family, health factors, leisure time activities, and emotional reactions to stress. A section on perceptions of their social interactions prior to college, as well as currently, was included. Information about activities in which they participated which related to their cultural identification was sought. Finally, respondents were asked to write a statement about what it meant to them to be an Indian woman at the university. The Personal Style Inventory (Hogan & Champagne, 1980) yielded four pairs of personality dimensions: Introversion/Extraversion; Intuition/Sensing; Feeling/Thinking and Perceiving/Judging. These constructs are based on the original work of Carl Jung (1921) and later elucidated by E. Myers (1962). The control group as well as the experimental group reflected emphases in the sensing and feeling typologies. According to the Interpretation sheet, the sensing type has a preference for the concrete and tangible and thinks in terms of facts tending to be pragmatic. The feeling type makes judgments based on empathy and personal values and feelings and is interested in people and feelings more than logical analysis of facts (Hogan & Champagne, 1980).

The responses to the Student Questionnaire: Status of Indian Women in Higher Education (Kidwell, 1980) and to the Individual Description Form for Native American Women (Skye, 1988) indicated that the students had a strong identification with cultural heritage whether or not they had lived on reservations. Responses to items on the Student Questionnaire: Status of Indian Women in Higher Education indicated general agreement in areas of motivation to attend college such as "need for future employment," "general interest," and "desire for professional career." They seemed to be less certain and more anxious about specific future plans and self/other expectations. Most of the participants had lived on reservations prior to coming to the university and had five or more siblings. All of the respondents indicated they came from an extended family. The researchers examined the general themes which seemed to emerge from the responses to the surveys and identified three areas of stress (anxiety): environmental, intrapsychic and interpersonal. Environmental factors identified related to insecurities about future career plans, financial status, difficulty with academic work, and problems related to living on and/or off the reservations. Intrapsychic factors identified related to health problems such as weight, smoking excessively, alcohol abuse, lack of exercise, as well as feelings about self and college life. Interpersonal factors identified related to marital status, parenting, family difficulties, being a single parent, meeting their own as well as others' expectations for their role in family and society, and lack of a support system at school.

The Dance Education Model was developed using the following elements, which are followed by descriptions: Locomotion - six major patterns: walk, run, leap, jump, hop, and skip; Relaxation techniques - rest position, ragdoll hand, guided imagery, stretching; Movement qualities - swing, vibratory, percussive, sustained; Creative activities - use of group discussion and assignment; Cultural symbols - use of group formations related to Indian tribes, clans, tiospaye, teams, follow-the-leader, circles, S-curves, lines, "Buffalo Skin Game," handmade drums and drumsticks, use of team names Deer and Antelope, individual small-talk time, use of the shawl in movement and the name "Shawl-wearer Society." Also, guided imagery using Indian/ western scenes such as prairie grass, mountain, valley, stream, plain, eagle, water sounds, relaxation using the tipi design concept, use of sign language, cultural gestures such as quick-lip movement as directional indicator, story telling in the oral tradition, music by Indian people; Music - including tape recordings from "pow-wows," records by American Indian recording artists, western music, hand-made drum accompaniment and passages from classical and semi-classical works. Visual effects were used during the dance sessions. These included star quilts, posters of Indian themes and legends, books by Indian authors, replica of a medicine wheel, and posters depicting Indian women role models (Skye, 1988, Appendix E). (A complete description of the Dance Education Model is available from F. Skye.)

A post-test-only design was utilized to assess changes in levels of stress (anxiety) following the presentation of the culturally-based dance education model. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch & Leshene, 1970) was the instrument chosen to measure changes in levels of stress (anxiety). The STAI is comprised of two separate scales for measuring two anxiety concepts. State anxiety (A-State) refers to how a person feels at a particular moment in time and Trait anxiety (A-Trait) refers to a person's general feeling over time. State anxiety is present oriented and transitory in nature while Trait anxiety is a condition of anxiety proneness over time.

Two null hypotheses were stated to reflect the purpose of the study: (1) There is no significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in the level of A-State anxiety as measured by the STAI following the presentation of the culturally based dance education model (.05 level); and (2) There is no significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in the level of A-Trait anxiety as measured by the STAI following the presentation of the culturally-based dance education model (.05 level).

The students who participated in the culturally-based dance education model showed a significant decrease (at .0 15 level) in Trait anxiety as measured by the STAI (Spielberger, Gorsuch & Lushene, 1970). Significant differences between the experimental group and control group were not noted in the area of State anxiety. Dance education for this specific sample of American Indian women students seemed to be an effective mode of stress reduction for the construct defined as Trait anxiety. The stress factors recognized by the faculty and staff of The University of South Dakota and the three American Indian women interviewees were substantiated in the subjects' responses to the survey instruments. The researchers recognize that this study was an initial effort to address stress reduction in American Indian women college students and that further replications of this study or new approaches to the problem are needed before conclusions as to efficacy may be drawn.

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