Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2019 Myaamia storytelling and living well: An ethnographic examination Haley Alyssa Shea Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Shea, Haley Alyssa, "Myaamia storytelling and living well: An ethnographic examination" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 17561. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/17561 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Myaamia storytelling and living well: An ethnographic examination by Haley Alyssa Shea A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Psychology (Counseling Psychology) Program of Study Committee: David L. Vogel, Major Professor Christina Gish-Hill Meifen Wei Warren Phillips Tera Jordan The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this dissertation. The Graduate College will ensure this dissertation is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2019 Copyright © Haley Alyssa Shea 2019. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………… vi ABSTRACT………………………………. .............................................................. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 8 Purpose and Background ..................................................................................... 8 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Historical Background .............................................. 13 Myaamia Value System ....................................................................................... 16 Myaamia Concept of Living Well ....................................................................... 25 Power of Narratives ............................................................................................. 31 Indigenous Storytelling ........................................................................................ 38 Myaamia Stories .................................................................................................. 43 Theoretical Underpinnings................................................................................... 47 Current Study ....................................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 3 METHODS ..................................................................................... 70 Research Design/Approach .................................................................................. 70 Participants ......................................................................................................... 72 Researcher Background ....................................................................................... 72 Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................... 73 Procedure ......................................................................................................... 77 Procedures to Address Trustworthiness and Credibility ...................................... 83 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS ...................................................................................... 86 Primary Findings…. ............................................................................................. 86 Question 1… ........................................................................................................ 87 Question 2… ........................................................................................................ 94 Question 3a… ...................................................................................................... 104 Question 3b… ...................................................................................................... 112 Question 4… ........................................................................................................ 124 iii CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION.. .................................................................................... 130 Major findings… .................................................................................................. 130 Practical applications… ....................................................................................... 140 Limitations… ....................................................................................................... 144 Future research… ................................................................................................. 146 Conclusion… ....................................................................................................... 148 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 149 APPENDIX A STUDY NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT ................................... 158 APPENDIX B STUDY FACEBOOK ADVERTISEMENT ..................................... 159 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ............................................................... 160 APPENDIX D CONSENT FORM ............................................................................ 164 APPENDIX E IRB MEMO ....................................................................................... 166 iv LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Networked Model of Ecological Systems from Neal and Neal (2013) ..... 4 Figure 2 mantepwayi structure ................................................................................. 19 Figure 3 Ecological Systems Theory........................................................................ 50 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 myaamia values .......................................................................................... 23 Table 2 Results of Question 1 ................................................................................. 87 Table 3 Results of Question 2 ................................................................................. 95 Table 4 Results of Question 3a ............................................................................... 105 Table 5 Results of Question 3b ............................................................................... 113 Table 6 Results of Question 4 ................................................................................. 124 Table 7 Parallels between Themes and Myaamia Values ....................................... 135 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS mihši neewe, eeweemilaani, those who have taught me, inspired me, rewarded me, and cautioned me throughout my life and helped me to develop into the scholar and the person I am today. The knowledge gained from this dissertation is for all of you. I also want to thank my immediate family. ninkya for the endless support and countless hours crying on the phone throughout my higher education experiences. noohsa for the words of encouragement and support and for all your hobbies that inspired me to be more curious. nihseensa for showing me the way and being a role model for all that can be achieved. nimihsa for showing me how to be a strong myaamia woman. nihšimihsa neehi nilenwalehsa for being the inspiration for so many thoughts throughout this dissertation. I couldn’t have done it without you! I want to thank Dr. David Vogel for being the most understanding and supportive advisor I could have asked for in a graduate career. Your guidance and care got me through 6 years of the best and worst times of my life and I am so grateful. neewe for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me in such a way that have enabled me to become a better researcher, teacher, and clinician. Also, to my dissertation committee – Dr. Christina Gish- Hill, Dr. Meifen Wei, Dr. Tera Jordan, and Dr. Warren Phillips – thank you for agreeing to sit on my committee and read hundreds of pages of my work. I also want to say mihši neewe to Daryl Baldwin for the wisdom and knowledge provided not just through the content you have provided me but also for the process of my PhD. I have learned how to live well myself through this process and this has been largely due to your assistance. I also want to give a shout out to my graduate school cohort in supporting me both in ways known and unknown. vii ABSTRACT The purpose of this ethnographic study is to examine the developmental relationships between myaamia aalhsoohkaana or “Miami Winter Stories” and living well for myaamia people. Living well is an individual’s lived experience of health or wellness and entails both the process of and responsibility to make decisions that contribute to one’s overall well- being. Research was conducted at the 2018 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s Winter Gathering in Miami, Oklahoma.