Mental health workers have noticed that many of their American Indian and Alaska Native patients have been treated for depression. Yet there are relatively few studies that have counted the incidence and prevalence of depression among these groups. In order to conduct an epidemiological study, the character and symptoms of depression such as the MMPI and the Cornell Medical Index have only limited validity because of culture and language differences between Indians and the norm groups. Greater understanding of indigenous concepts of depression-like syndromes may help in the task of designing an instrument that will accurately identify depression among Indian individuals.