{"id":7771,"date":"2016-10-26T14:52:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T19:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.thechicagoschool.edu\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T15:48:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T21:48:25","slug":"native-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/from-the-magazine\/native-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Native intelligence?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most academic quests are driven, almost subconsciously, by something from the scholar\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

In the case of Dr. Joyce Frey, who received a Ph.D. from The Chicago School in May 2016, that one small thing driving her International Psychology<\/a> research went back to another decade and another chapter of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to breed and show Appaloosa horses, and I became very interested in the history of the Nez Perce tribe<\/a> who developed this special breed<\/a> of horses in Oregon,\u201d says Dr. Frey, explaining how the U.S. Cavalry violently drove the indigenous Nez Perce to a reservation in 1877, later slaughtering<\/a> their horses. \u201cIt was so devastating to discover that our nation could do such horrendous things. I had that bouncing around in my brain for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, in the late 1980s, Dr. Frey had the honor of meeting Russell Means<\/a>, a leader in the American Indian Movement<\/a> (AIM). The now-deceased Means, author of<\/a> Where White Men Fear to Tread, enlightened Dr. Frey about the true history of Native Americans and inspired her to become an advocate for bringing that truth to light.<\/p>\n

“What I found is that First Nations people have a wonderful metaphysical understanding of intelligence. The mind, body, and soul are all connected.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These influences drove Dr. Frey, already a full-time psychology teacher at a local community college, to combine her interest in human intelligence with a study of indigenous culture in her International Psychology dissertation at The Chicago School.<\/p>\n

The result\u2014a research paper titled \u201cExploring Intelligence from the Plains Cree Perspective: A Qualitative Study\u201d\u2014took Dr. Frey into the Saskatchewan region<\/a> of Canada.<\/p>\n

Up close and personal<\/h3>\n

Full cultural immersion was critical for her research. She spent extended periods of time with a shaman and other select members of the Cree<\/a> First\u00a0Nations bands, listened to their knowledge, and participated in ancient rituals.<\/p>\n

On one visit, she was assigned a \u201cspirit name\u201d\u2014granted after an arduous climb to a sacred site on the top of Sliding Hill, where she was seated at the\u00a0center of a medicine wheel and made traditional offerings to the ancestors. Her name, \u201cTcha Tchak Astim Iskewew,\u201d or \u201cspotted horse woman,\u201d paid homage to the Appaloosa breed she fell in love with decades ago.<\/p>\n

Dr. Frey\u2019s final visit for her dissertation research took her to the North Battleford region<\/a>, where she spent months gathering data with a husband and wife team who were members of the Red Pheasant band. The couple assisted as both translators and protocol managers, helping Dr. Frey identify 13 Cree First\u00a0Nations elders to interview from the Moosomin, the Red Pheasant, the Blackfoot, the Ahtatahkoop, the Sweetgrass, the Little Pine, the Thunderchild, the Beardy\u2019s, and the Mosquito bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I found is that First Nations people have a wonderful metaphysical understanding of intelligence. The mind, body, and soul are all connected,\u201d Dr. Frey says. \u201cWhereas intelligence in Euro-Western cultures is based on the idea of literacy and academics, the Plains Cree elders I spoke to view intelligence based on an understanding of nature, oral traditions, storytelling, art, and community rituals. Euro-Western civilizations have often attempted\u00a0to force indigenous groups to fit Western theories and models of intelligence, never allowing them to articulate their own cultural notion of intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using an integrative method<\/h3>\n

To conduct her research in such an unconventional setting, Dr. Frey was grateful that her dissertation chair, Dr. Viviane Pecanha, allowed her to employ\u00a0indigenous research methodology<\/a> not traditionally accepted in academic settings. \u201cThe International Psychology program is really one of a kind,” she\u00a0says. \u201cBeing able to use a more integrative method was very cutting edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Frey, who has presented her findings to several groups in the Midwest, hopes her research may offer opportunities for the expansion of indigenous perspectives on the topic of human intelligence, specifically pertaining to the psychometrics of standardized tests created to measure intelligence, as well as influence the attitudes of policy makers to recognize indigenous peoples\u2019 self-determination as a basic right, so they mustn’t continue to be wards of the state.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain, Dr. Frey will never forget the dignity and resiliency the Cree People exhibited\u2014it will serve as a guiding force for her further work to\u00a0illuminate the wisdom of Native peoples\u2019 way of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of my naming ceremony, I asked for the ancestors to allow me to be of service to the Cree people and to guide me on my path,\u201d Dr. Frey says. \u201cThey forever changed me, and throughout this process, I became committed to them. I will never forget that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Are you ready to take the next step?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you would to learn more about programs at The Chicago School, fill out the form below for more information. You can also apply today through our application portal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An alumna\u2019s dissertations findings with First Nations people<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":107575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1057],"class_list":["post-7771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-magazine","insight_issues-fall-2016"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNative Intelligence - A Metaphysical Understanding of Intellect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Interested in the spiritual aspect of indigenous cultures? 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