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: 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.

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 Vermont public but that doesn’t mean it has disappeared. The Abenaki families continue to live with the pain and pass the trauma on to the next generation. As with other Indigenous communities, we understand that our healing will come from our connection to our culture and our community. At Abenaki Health and Heritage, we wanted to find a way to help our people to connect with their traditions in a safe and stress free way, so we created the first in a series of illustrated books that tells the story of a Vermont Abenaki family. We hope that people find comfort in the familiar activities and lives of this family.