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Did Maslow Get Self-Actualization Wrong?

Here’s what the Blackfoot Tribe can teach us about self-actualization.

Key points

  • The Blackfoot Tribe believe self-actualization isn't a goal but a birthright.
  • Blackfoot wisdom shows how well-being thrives on connection, abundance, and harmony with nature.
  • Flourishing shifts from individual achievement to collective care, equity, and environmental balance.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of the most well-known psychological models, illustrating human motivation as a pyramid. At the base are basic needs like food and safety, and at the top is self-actualization—reaching one’s full potential.

But here’s something many don’t know: Maslow developed this concept after spending time with the Blackfoot Tribe in 1938. His experience with the Blackfoot profoundly influenced his ideas, yet he missed a crucial part of their worldview. While Maslow saw self-actualization as a goal to be achieved, the Blackfoot believed it was an inherent birthright—something everyone is born with.

Maslow described self-actualization as “the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.” In the worldview of the Blackfoot Tribe, the closest equivalent is niita’pitapi, a Siksika word that, according to Blackfoot scholar Ryan Heavy Head, means “someone who is completely developed, or who has arrived.”

This difference challenges how we think about personal growth and well-being, offering a powerful critique of Western individualism and its limitations.

Maslow and the Blackfoot Tribe

The Blackfoot Tribe, indigenous to the Northern Plains of North America, integrates the self, community, and nature into their way of life. Maslow spent six weeks with them, observing their culture and social systems. He was deeply impressed by their values of community and interconnectedness, which stood in stark contrast to the individualism of Western societies.

At just 30 years old, Maslow joined the Blackfoot Tribe to test his theory that social hierarchies are maintained by dominance. Instead, he found a society built on restorative justice, cooperation, minimal poverty, and high levels of life satisfaction. He estimated that “80–90 percent of the Blackfoot tribe had a quality of self-esteem that was only found in 5–10 percent of his own population.”

As Blackfoot scholar Ryan Heavy Head noted, “Maslow saw a place where what he would later call self-actualization was the norm. This observation totally changed his trajectory.”

Maslow also observed the Blackfoot’s unique view of wealth. For them, wealth was not measured by money or possessions but by generosity. As he put it, “The wealthiest man in their eyes is one who has almost nothing because he has given it all away.”

During his first week, Maslow witnessed a “Giveaway” ceremony, where tribe members gathered to share all they had collected over the year. Those with the most possessions told stories of how they had amassed them before giving everything away to those in greater need. This act of abundance and sharing sharply contrasted with the materialism and individualism of Western culture.

When studying those who strayed from community norms, Maslow found that the Blackfoot did not ostracize them. Instead, they embraced a restorative approach. “A person who was deviant could redeem themselves in society’s eyes if they left that behavior behind,” Maslow observed.

Maslow also noticed the role of child-rearing in fostering high self-esteem. Blackfoot children were treated with great permissiveness and respect and regarded as equal members of society. Despite their freedom, children listened to elders and actively served the community from a young age. This nurturing upbringing built confidence, responsibility, and belonging—qualities foundational to self-actualization.

For the Blackfoot, self-actualization wasn’t a destination; it was the starting point. Their community nurtured each person’s inherent potential, helping individuals flourish in ways that benefited the whole.

A Birthright vs. an Achievement

The Blackfoot saw self-actualization as an inherent birthright, the foundation of life itself. From this secure sense of fulfillment, people contributed to their community and the world. Personal growth was a natural and collective process, not an individual climb to the top.

In contrast, Maslow’s model reflects Western ideals of competition and achievement. It positions self-actualization as something to strive for after meeting physiological and material needs, which can exclude those living in poverty or facing systemic barriers.

The Blackfoot perspective reflects an abundance mindset: Each person is inherently whole and worthy, and the community’s role is to help them thrive.

Lessons From the Blackfoot

Revisiting Maslow’s hierarchy through the Blackfoot lens challenges us to rethink key ideas about well-being:

1. Abundance, Not Scarcity: Maslow’s hierarchy assumes people must work their way up from scarcity. The Blackfoot perspective starts with abundance, viewing self-actualization as something everyone inherently possesses.

2. Community Over Individualism: Maslow’s model portrays self-actualization as an individual journey. For the Blackfoot, it’s a collective process. When one person struggles, the whole community steps in to restore balance.

3. Connection to Nature: The Blackfoot emphasize harmony with nature, unlike Maslow’s model, which separates human achievement from ecology.

A Different Model for Flourishing

Imagine a world where every person is seen as whole, capable, and worthy from the start. Instead of climbing a ladder toward fulfillment, we could nurture the natural potential within each of us through systems that emphasize connection, equity, and sustainability.

This approach would prioritize preventing mental health challenges before they arise, fostering well-being from the very start. It would mean shifting from hyper-individualism to collective care, investing in community-based mental health systems, reducing inequality, and prioritizing environmental stewardship.

In essence, it would mean learning from the Blackfoot: treating self-actualization as a birthright, not a reward.

I dedicate this article to my dearest friend Jeannie, whose unwavering inspiration drives me to challenge the limits of human potential and empower others to live with agency and peace. She is one in 8 billion.

References

Blackfoot Digital Library. Ryan Heavy Head and Narcisse Blood: Blackfoot Influences on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.blackfootdigitallibrary.com/digital/collection/bdl/id/1296/rec/1

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.

Smith, L. (2021, June 18). The Blackfoot wisdom that inspired Maslow’s hierarchy. Resilience. Retrieved from https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-06-18/the-blackfoot-wisdom-that-inspired-maslows-hierarchy/

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