|
CNPAAEMI Henry Tomes Awards for
Distinguished Contributions to the
Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology
The Henry Tomes Awards for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology, named in honor of one of the leaders and pioneers of ethnic minority psychology are awarded every other year at the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. Funded by the member Associations of the Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests (CNPAAEMI), the Tomes Awards honor psychologists from each ethnic minority community – African American, Alaska Native/American Indian, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latina/o American – on a rotating basis.
CITATION
CNPAAEMI Inaugural Henry Tomes Award for Exceptional Contributions of an Emerging Leader in Ethnic Minority Psychology
JOSEPH P. GONE, PHD
Presented: January 14, 2009, New Orleans, LA
Recipient of the Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Issues (CNPAAEMI) inaugural Henry Tomes Award for Exceptional Contributions of an Emerging Leader in Ethnic Minority Psychology was nominated by Michael J. Kral, PhD, Psychology, Psychiatry, and Anthropology Professor at University of Toronto, and Psychology Professor at the University of Windsor.
Dr. Joseph P. Gone has been described as a “remarkable mentor, theorist, leader in research productivity, and a significant contributor to the study of American Indian issues in mental and behavioral health.” This seems to be the impression he has made on many in his eight-year career as a psychologist, during which he has been an inspiration to researchers, healthcare professionals and students, alike.
Dr. Gone’s work and words have served as a bridge between traditional Indigenous and mainstream worldviews, bringing both to bear on a more complete concept of how to define and treat mental illness. He is equally passionate about integrating of the good of Western psychology and evidence-based practice into the training and treatment of Native Americans and the integrating the wisdom of Native healing and sensibilities into Western psychology. As a Native American, a member of the Gros Ventre tribe of Montana, he has worked to “make clear the ways in which Native communities construe their identity, dysfunction, emotion, social relations, and other such psychological experiences,” and “show how these construal’s may engage and diverge the assumptions of Western psychological practice.”
In the process, Gone has proven himself to be a renaissance man. Along with knowledge of Western and Native cultures, his research and writing pull from quantitative and ethnographic methods, assessment, psychopathology, and the contributions of anthropology, history, and religion. With impeccable and adaptable research, writing, and interpersonal skills, he has created a body of work that is understood and accepted by mainstream and marginalized professionals and laypeople.
Also well-noted is Dr. Gone’s willingness to work independently and as a leader, and to champion controversial issues. Even as a student he sought to develop his own research, rather than working on on-going projects. Dr. Gone served as Membership Chair of the APA Society of Clinical Psychology’s Section on Clinical Psychology of Ethnic Minorities, on the Board of Directors for the First Nations Behavioral Health Association and the Native Research Network of Oklahoma, and on the Steering Committees for SAMHSA’s American Indian and Alaska Native Summit on Suicide and SAMHSA’s Public Education Campaigns for Diverse Communities, just to name a few. Dr. Gone’s advocacy work includes speaking against the use of American Indian mascots and imagery in sports. In speaking of his advocacy, one of the endorsers of his nomination for this award said, “It is worth noting that his presentations on this topic are no mere political advocacy, but high power scholarly analysis in the service of advocacy.”
In his professional practice, Dr. Gone has consulted for the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council and the One Sky National Resource Center at the Oregon Health and Science University. As an educator, he has taught at the Fort Belknap Tribal College, the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, where he is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology and of Native American Studies. Dr. Gone has been an author on 13 journal articles and nine book chapters. He has delivered more than 80 invited and refereed presentations. He also served as guest editor of a special issue of the Ethos journal on culturally-based recommendations for improving mental health in Native communities, which will be published shortly.
In the words of one of Dr. Gone’s many endorsers for this award, “It is a credit to his capabilities and fortitude of character that as an American Indian man, Dr. Gone has risen through the ranks of higher education and stands as an emerging leader in his field, well respected by his Indigenous, academic, and clinical communities.”
It is in honor of his capabilities and his character, and his many resulting accomplishments, that Dr. Gone has been selected to receive the inaugural Henry Tomes Award for Exceptional Contributions of an Emerging Leader in Ethnic Minority Psychology.
CNPAAEMI's 2nd Bi-annual Henry Tomes Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology
JOSEPH E. TRIMBLE, PHD
Recipient of CNPAAEMI’s 2nd Bi-annual Henry Tomes Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology was nominated by Ana Marie Cauce, PhD, Psychology and Ethnic Studies Professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington.
On a number of occasions, Dr. Joseph Trimble has quoted Margaret Mead in saying, “Never look for a psychological explanation unless every effort to find a cultural one has been exhausted.”
These are clearly words that have guided Dr. Trimble’s 40 years as a social psychologist. From the beginning to end, his body of work tells the story of man dedicated to the study of cross-cultural psychology and the betterment of people of color through psychological research. Since then, Dr. Trimble has published more than 100 scholarly works and delivered more than 150 presentations focusing on the role of culture and ethnicity in psychology.
An Ogala Lakota tribesman, Dr. Trimble has focused much of his effort on psychological and sociological study of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, and promoting their well-being and interests. One of his earliest initiatives was a pioneering research project on American Indians in Oklahoma, which provided the understanding needed to encourage this population’s participation in the workforce and assist those at risk for problems with alcohol. Today, he continues to work extensively on prevention of drug abuse among the youth of Native populations. He is a model of cultural competence in his research, encouraging others by his words and example to perform culturally sensitive and congruent research and interventions with minority populations.
Dr. Trimble is also well-known for his dedication and excellence as a teacher and mentor. He has been affiliated, as a professor or researcher, with more than 10 prestigious universities, including University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Colorado, Harvard University, and University of New Hampshire. He is currently a professor at Western Washington University, where he has taught since 1978. One of his endorsers for this award said of Dr. Trimble, “I have literally seen him change people’s lives (my own included), as he is consistently one they can count on in their time of need, curiosity, frustration, sorrow, and search for direction and professional identity.”
Along with his students and mentees, Dr. Trimble’s work as an educator has been recognized by many others. His home institution, Western Washington University, has awarded him the Paul J. Olscamp Outstanding Faculty Research Award, Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Outstanding Teacher/Scholar Award. Columbia University’s Teachers College honored him with the Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship in Professional Psychology.
His work as a scholar and researcher has also earned Dr. Trimble many accolades. He was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Contribution to the Development and Implementation of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Special Populations Research Programs. He was honored as the 2002 Distinguished Psychologist by the Washington State Psychological Association, and named a Distinguished Elder at the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. He was given the Peace and Social Justice Award by the American Psychological Association’s Division of Peace Psychology. Only 25 years into his career, Dr. Trimble was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the APA Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues.
Currently, Dr. Trimble serves as a tenured professor in Western Washington University’s psychology department and in the Woodring College of Education. He is also a Research Associate in the University’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research and Director in its Office of Institutional Assessment, Research, and Testing. He works as an adjunct professor at Colorado State University, and a Center Scholar at CSU’s Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research. And, he is a research associate at the National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, maintained by the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center.
Summarizing Dr. Trimble’s accomplishments and contributions, another of his endorsers said that he shaped the field in terms of understanding American Indian health in its full psycho-social context. His work and that of other giants like him contributed directly to the legitimacy of ethnic minority psychology as a worthy field of study. His efforts paved the way for many of us to stand here today.
Dr. Trimble’s efforts and his commitment make him the embodiment of the spirit of the Henry Tomes Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology.
| 
