Abstract

This arts-based heuristic inquiry explored acculturation, identity and art material interaction through the use of Mohawk First media, western art materials and the Expressive Therapies Continuum Assessment (Hinz, 2009). Through Moustakas' six-step inquiry (1990), Hervey’s three stages of arts-based research (2000) and Wilson’s concept of land as measurement (2008), the art therapy researcher who is Mohawk First Nations examined her own material interaction with both western media and culturally specified Mohawk First Nation’s media over a 28-day lunar cycle, noting emotional, cognitive and other stimulated areas of functioning during the process (Kapitan, 2010). The images were examined using the ETC Use and Therapist Self-Rating Scale (Hinz, Riccardi Gotshall, & Nan, 2017) as well as image reflection through Witness Writings (Allen, 1995). The purpose of the research was to explore how material interaction could form an assessment process of acculturative identity for First Nations populations. The findings indicated that access to both Western and First Nations media within an art therapy setting can help to foster a bicultural identity status, which has been linked to wellness for Indigenous populations (Kvernmo & Heyedahl, 2002; Watson, 2009). This research thus pointed to the value of applying the ETC assessment under an Indigenous paradigm to explore acculturation through culturally mixed media material interaction.