Psychologist to speak in Havre on Indian health issues

Staff report

Montana State University-Northern and the Hill County Mental Health Advisory Council are bringing a pyschological researcher home to the Hi-Line to speak on topics related to Native American health in "Explorations in Cultural Psychology."

Robert Gone, a member of the Gros Ventre Tribe of Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, will make two presentations in the Hensler Auditorium of Northern's Applied Technology Center Wednesday, April 22.

The first, "Striving for Ambitious Achievement in an American Indian Community: A study of Gros Ventre Cultural Ideals," starts at 11 a.m.

At 7 p.m., Gone will give his second presentation, "Traditional Culture, Professional Treatment & Therapeutic Integration: Lessons from a Native American Community Healing Lodge."

Gone is associate professor of psychology and Native American studies at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is serving a one-year position at Montana State University in Bozeman as Katz Family Chair in Native American studies.

A U.S. Army veteran, Gone received his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1992 and his doctorate in clinical-community psychology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne in 2001.

An extensive author, Gone is a fellow of five divisions within the American Psychological Association, has made nearly 100 presentations by the invitation of groups and institutions and has received multiple awards.

For more information about the presentations, people can contact Cristina Estrada-Underwood at 265-5389 or Amber Spring at 265-3783.