American Indians Into Psychology

The American Indians into Psychology (AIIP) Program was founded in 1999 by John Malcolm Chaney, Professor of Psychology at Oklahoma State University. AIIP supports the education of Native American students in psychology in a number of ways. It provides outreach and recruitment for mental health careers to American Indian communities nationwide. It develops liaisons with tribal communities, university affiliated programs, and other entities to promote the education of American Indian students. It provides summer mentoring programs for American Indian students to gain exposure to the diverse aspects of the field of psychology through research, clinical, and experimental activities. It provides stipends to undergraduate and graduate students to pursue a career in psychology. It also provides psychological services to under-served American Indian communities by establishing training opportunities for psychology graduate students in American Indian communities.

The summer program is held for six weeks each summer through the months of June and July. After a week of orientation to the program, participants typically spend weekdays satisfying the research and clinical components of the program and Saturday mornings on professional development. The program also provides a variety of cultural experiences including tours of several Indian Nations around the state of Oklahoma, powwows, and other exposures to Native arts and cultures. Participants are given living stipends and on-campus housing is available.

Financial support for the program was made available to Oklahoma State University as part of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 1992.