Understanding Historical Trauma and Native Americans

-from the Native Hope Blog (https://blog.nativehope.org/understanding-historical-trauma-and-native-americans)

Strength, courage, and resilience have always been a part of who we are as Native peoples.

But many, many years ago, the Native way of life was disrupted and destroyed by European settlers. Native Americans were driven from their lands, forbidden to speak their languages or express their cultures. Diseases like smallpox and tuberculosis were introduced. In the Great Plains, herds of bison were hunted to near-extinction. Native men, women, and children were killed. Tribe was intentionally pitted against tribe, and the lack of Native unity made it easier for the settlers to take the lands.

Then Native children were taken from their families and placed in far away boarding schools. In these schools, they faced abuse of every kind. They were taught the white man’s ways, they were taught to speak only English, and they were taught to stifle their Native culture.

Worst of all, they were taught to be ashamed of being Native.

What is historical trauma?

According to Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, historical trauma is the “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over one’s lifetime and from generation to generation following loss of lives, land and vital aspects of culture.

Check out more of this article at https://blog.nativehope.org/understanding-historical-trauma-and-native-americans

Working toward Understanding: Abenaki Health and Wellbeing

Abenaki Health and Heritage offers trainings for health and mental health care providers and staff around understanding the strengths, challenges and needs of the Abenaki community. The training provides background information on how colonization and historical trauma have impacted the health and well-being of Abenaki population, as well as best practices for working with this community. The training is an hour and a half and is free of charge. You can use the Contact Us page to arrange a training at your organization.

Working Toward Understanding: Indigenous Historical and Intergenerational Trauma

This training will provide a general overview of indigenous historical and intergenerational trauma and how this trauma directly impacts the indigenous community’s overall health and wellness. The presenters for this training are Kheya Ganguly, the Director of Trauma Prevention and Resilience Development for the Agency of Human Services and Frederick Wiseman, PhD. You can use the Contact Us page to arrange a presentation at your organization.

Historical and Intergenerational Trauma in the VT Abenaki Community

In Vermont, much of the Indigenous history has been erased by the settler history. All the pain and suffering experienced by our ancestors has been erased in the consciousness of the public but that doesn’t mean it has disappeared. Abenaki families continue to live with the pain, and pass the trauma down to the next generation. As with other Indigenous communities, we understand that our healing will come from our connection to our culture and community. At Abenaki Health and Heritage, we wanted to find a way to help our people find this connection in a safe and stress free way, so we created the first in a series of illustrated books. Always Coming Home tells the story of an Abenaki family in Northern Vermont during the 1800’s. The reader is invited in to experience the traditions and customs of the family as they prepare for the Forgiveness Day ceremony. This illustrated book includes many beautifully sketched images from the story and even provides an appendix in the back that explains each image. This is the first of a series of four books following the triumphs and challenges of this Abenaki family. Each story will take place at a different point in Vermont history.