Indigenous Cultural Explorations

A 5-Session Microcredential Course

The lived experience of Indigenous Peoples is often misunderstood, misdirected, and misrepresented by the mainstream cultures, even though according to the United Nations they currently comprise 6.2% of the world’s total population, or about 476 million people representing 5,000 distinct groups, and speak the majority of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. 

In this series of online presentations, participants will have the opportunity to learn more deeply about important aspects of Indigenous Cultures and gain a new appreciation of their customs and worldviews.

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 5 sessions (12.5 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Event held online via Zoom. Link to access located in Course page upon registration. 

When attended in full, this program offers 12.5 CEs for Psychologists, 12.5 IL CEUS for Counselors and Social Workers, or 12.5 BBS California CEUs for LPCCs, LPSWs, and LMFTs.

Course Sessions & Schedule

Click the arrows below to learn more about individual sessions.

9-11:30am PT / 11am-1:30pm CT / 12-2:30pm ET

The series begins with an exploration into one of the ancient phenomenon known as the Medicine Wheel, a sacred symbol representing the knowledge of the universe. Participants will learn about the interconnectedness of psychology, archeoastronomy, astrophysics, geography, anthropology, and theology the medicine wheel represents in an effort to bring harmony into one’s own life.    

This introductory session will start by defining who Indigenous Peoples are and what the processes and protocols surrounding their cultural customs entail including the social and cultural applications. This session will then identify the Medicine Wheel as the division of the circle into quadrants of four basic requirements for a bountiful, harmonious, and balanced life; including the mind, spirit, heart, and physical aspect.  The circle provides a structural paradigm to serve as a guide for improving one’s comprehension and fulfillment of life in general. A brief self-identity inventory will be provided for participants to establish which of the four quadrants their strengths and weaknesses lie in. Each of the four aspects will be elaborated on and tips on how to incorporate them into your own lives and the lives of clients will be offered. 

Click here to learn more about this session.

9-11:30am PT / 11am-1:30pm CT / 12-2:30pm ET

The second session takes a deep dive into the academic world of research that introduces a variety of Indigenous Research Methodologies as a challenge to the status quo of the closed doors and minds of the academy. 

In this course the participants will review the standard Western perspectives of research practices with the goal of reaching for the best and emerging new approaches on the horizon. However, the “missing link” of Indigenous methodologies and methods will be explored and explained in depth to provide an avenue of inclusion in an otherwise less than diverse menu of options. The pitfalls of such hegemony will be laid bare for inspection, and opportunity for opening academic doors will be offered in the full spirit of including another venue of meeting the challenges of research within indigenous populations and beyond to include mainstream studies as well. 

Visual examples of Indigenous ways to explore and conduct research will be shown through videos, graphic representations, and stories. Models of the Maori, Hawaiian, Cree, and Cherokee among others will be reviewed in detail. The ethics involved with research also include an Indigenous perspective and will be included in the overarching ideology of research as a whole. Before closing, participants will be invited to a brief but thorough review of the procedures and challenges involved when collecting data that require physically crossing international borders. 

Click here to learn more about this session.

9-11:30am PT / 11am-1:30pm CT / 12-2:30pm ET

The third session in the series uncovers the deep wound of Indigenous Intergenerational Trauma, exposing the effects on Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada by examining the many inhumane and unconscionable acts of relentless attempts to annihilate the core of indigenous culture; witnessed by involuntary removal of children to so-called “residential” schools that were not much more than forced labor institutions where children suffered and often died from the abuses perpetrated upon them. 

Click here to learn more about this session.

9-11:30am PT / 11am-1:30pm CT / 12-2:30pm ET

The last of the series is a two-part presentation that explores the role of human intelligence from ancient to the contemporary. It highlights several indigenous cultures from around the world, culminating with the Plains Cree Peoples of Canada.

Participants will engage in a virtual journey through time in an imaginary time machine stopping to visit with ancient Indigenous and Natural Wisdom concepts and on through the Greek, and Egyptian beliefs for starters. The time machine will continue to transport participants on to the early modern historical perceptions; ultimately arriving at its destination in our current time frame where theories and ideas of what and how human intelligence is constructed and perceived will be reviewed.

The final section of this virtual adventure of exploration will be completed in Part 2 that will reveal research conducted with the Plains Cree First Nations in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their culture, history, and beliefs are shared through the voices of thirteen (13) Elders as they tell their stories and build a model for their ideas on the topic of intelligence, a word that ironically has no direct translation into the Cree language.   

Welcome to a journey and stories told in the manner prescribed by indigenous protocols and processes as this series of cultural revelations explores the deeply rooted world from the ancient to the contemporary of Indigenous Peoples. 

Click here to learn more about this session.

9-11:30am PT / 11am-1:30pm CT / 12-2:30pm ET

The last of the series is a two-part presentation that explores the role of human intelligence from ancient to the contemporary. It highlights several indigenous cultures from around the world, culminating with the Plains Cree Peoples of Canada.

Participants will engage in a virtual journey through time in an imaginary time machine stopping to visit with ancient Indigenous and Natural Wisdom concepts and on through the Greek, and Egyptian beliefs for starters. The time machine will continue to transport participants on to the early modern historical perceptions; ultimately arriving at its destination in our current time frame where theories and ideas of what and how human intelligence is constructed and perceived will be reviewed.

The final section of this virtual adventure of exploration will be completed in Part 2 that will reveal research conducted with the Plains Cree First Nations in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their culture, history, and beliefs are shared through the voices of thirteen (13) Elders as they tell their stories and build a model for their ideas on the topic of intelligence, a word that ironically has no direct translation into the Cree language.   

Welcome to a journey and stories told in the manner prescribed by indigenous protocols and processes as this series of cultural revelations explores the deeply rooted world from the ancient to the contemporary of Indigenous Peoples. 

Click here to learn more about this session.

To register for individual sessions, use the links in the session schedule above.

Course Pricing

All purchases include access to both the live, synchronous session(s) as well as the asynchronous Homestudy video recording(s). Completion via Homestudy is still CE eligible. Video recording are uploaded no sooner than seven (7) days after the live session for asynchronous viewing.

Refund Policy: 100% of tuition is refundable up to 48 hours before the program. Within 48 hours of the program, and at any point in Homestudy format, tuition is nonrefundable

About the Presenter & Indigenous Connection

Joyce Frey, Ph.D.

Dr. Joyce Frey is a 2016 graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and holds her Ph.D. in International Psychology in the Systems and Organizations track. She describes her degree as, “The study and application of psychological principles and how they influence and shape the world we live in with a primary focus on – inclusion of – and respect for – the unique diversities found in all cultures.” She views her work as an exploration into cultural relevancies, taking a step past the scope of traditional psychology and reaching beyond the hegemony of Western paradigms. Her primary interest is concentrated on the cultures of Indigenous Peoples. 

Her dissertation came to life on the Canadian plains of Saskatchewan, with the Plains Cree bands who honored her with their voices and stories of First Nations People after over a decade of communication, study, and cultural immersion.

Dr. Frey, not of Indigenous ancestry herself, has spent over a decade learning from Indigenous mentors and teachers, particularly Wes Fineday, highly respected Elder, Scholar, and Knowledge Keeper in the Cree Sweetgrass Band. She was also fortunate to be acquainted with the people’s warrior, Russell Means of the American Indian Movement (AIM) of the 1970’s and 80’s.

One of the things conveyed to Dr. Frey by Fineday is that there is a “voice at the table for all.” He mentored Dr. Frey and assisted in giving her access to the Cree people for her research because of his belief that “the doors needed to be opened in both directions.” This is echoed in the work of Dr. Margaret Kovach, the Indigenous scholar of Nêhiyaw and Saulteaux ancestry and an enrolled member of Pasqua First Nation: “Indigenous people must suspend distrust and non-Indigenous people must suspend disbelief” (Kovach, 2009). It is from this place and blessing that Dr. Frey, as a non-Indigenous person, comes to her work.

Through the personal teachings from these Elders, Dr. Frey has become an ally and advocate for the people she has been so privileged to learn from.

Dr. Frey introduces her scholarly work according to Indigenous Protocols as she was taught to do by her Cree mentors. She is honored to have been given a Cree Spirit Name in a special ceremony that speaks to her history with Indigenous people and her special bond with Appaloosa horses of the Nez Perce Tribe of the Pacific Northwest: Tcha Tchak Astim Iskwew (Spotted Horse Woman). 

Retired from 21 years of teaching college psychology and communication courses, she currently devotes her time and energy with a grassroots approach to research, writing, consulting, and speaking engagements. She remains a steadfast supporter of Indigenous Peoples around the globe, and for the health and well-being of all entities who share this precious planet we call home. “Everything is more than the sum of its parts, and the more diverse they are the more they bring to the table and the stronger the foundation becomes.”

Continuing Education

For continuing education information for each session, please visit the individual session pages in the schedule above.

When attended in full, this program offers 12.5 APA CEs for Psychologists, 12.5 IL CEUS for Counselors and Social Workers, or 12.5 BBS California CEUs for LPCCs, LPSWs, and LMFTs.

Target Audience: Mental health professionals and students interested in indigenous cultural explorations.

Psychologists. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 12.5 continuing education credits. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.

Counselors/Clinical Counselors. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 12.5 hours of continuing education. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide continuing education programming for counselors and clinical counselors. License Number: 197.000159

Social Workers. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 12.5 hours of continuing education. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide continuing education programming for social workers. License Number: 159.001036

MFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs. Course meets the qualifications for 12.5 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs, LPCCs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. If you are licensed outside of California please check with your local licensing agency to to determine if they will accept these CEUs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to offer continuing education programming for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is an accredited or approved postsecondary institution that meets the requirements set forth in Sections 4980.54(f)(1), 4989.34, 4996.22(d)(1), or 4999.76(d) of the Code.

Non-Psychologists. Most licensing boards accept Continuing Education Credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association but non-psychologists are recommended to consult with their specific state-licensing board to ensure that APA-sponsored CE is acceptable.

*Participants must attend 100% of the program in order to obtain a Certificate of Attendance.

If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to [email protected]. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.