Intergenerational trauma is defined as “the apparent transmission of trauma between generations of a family”. Many different cultures and races have experienced, or are still experiencing, intergenerational trauma. Native Americans are among these minority groups, who have faced unspeakable and unthinkable negative events that are still affecting people in their community today. A film by Don Coyhis and Marlin Farley called “The Wellbriety Journey to Forgiveness”, this powerful film does an amazing job explaining this inter-generational trauma and how it has and still is affecting many today. The main component of this inter-generational trauma is the genocide of Native Americans that lasted centuries. The genocide explained in the film includes …show more content…
Each of these factors have made it borderline impossible for the native community to trust Caucasian people. Many stories of these events have been passed down through generations, teaching each child about the past of their ancestors and explaining how to not let it repeat itself. The United States single-handedly almost wiped out the Native American population when they implemented their policy of genocide toward that community. Only one percent of the native Americans were left after the United States had their way with them, whether it was by placing them in awful boarding schools or personally getting their hands dirty by killing them in cold blood. This eye-opening statistic may come as a shock to many, but to others it is the devastating and harsh reality of their ancestors, creating this inter-generational trauma. The result of this trauma has been the key to many social problems for Native Americans. These include alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and suicide. Now, some of these can be attributed to genetics, however the root of these in most cases is inter-generational
into the Native American way of life and some of the hardships that can befall the victims
In the film Unseen Tears, Native American families express the impact they still feel from their elders being forced into the Southern Ontario’s Mohawk Institute and the New York’s Thomas Indian School. Survivors of the boarding schools speak of their traumatic experiences of being removed from their families, being abused, and experiencing constant attack on their language and culture.
“How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream . . . Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?” Thomas’s monologue at the end of Smoke Signals thoroughly alludes to the problematic state in which Natives live. Thomas’s speech concerns forgiveness, something that Natives have had to condition themselves all these years through their long and injustice history of being pushed aside, forced to change, or altogether forgotten. Thomas’s speech exemplifies the idea that in order for Native communities to move forward into their future, they must forgive the past.
suffering the Native Americans are plagued with as a result of the lack of acceptance towards
Many different factors affect the Native American People, in terms of social determinants of health include: access to care, cultural beliefs, high fat diet (mostly carbs/frybread), substance abuse and heritage (trust). Many of the issues faced are preventable with the right approach to address their community. In order to gain trust in this community to help them is to use some of their own culture and change small pieces at a time, rather than coming with a westernized idea right away and trying to have them forget about their heritage, that is what really stood out to me.
...e families results in broken homes, repeating the cycle of abuse over generations. Many native people became alcoholics and drug addicts to cope with the trauma. This caused their children to go to foster homes because their parents were not able to take care of them. Residential schools did not think what they were doing was going to effect the natives in the future, therefor, makes them careless.
The stereotype of Native Americans has been concocted by long history. As any stereotype constructed by physical appearance, the early Europeans settlers were no different and utilized this method. Strangers to the New World, they realized the land was not uninhabited. The Native Americans were a strange people that didn't dress like them, didn't speak like them, and didn't believe like them. So they scribed what they observed. They observed a primitive people with an unorthodox religion and way of life. These observations made the transatlantic waves. Not knowingly, the early settlers had transmitted the earliest cases of stereotyped Native Americans to the masses. This perpetuated t...
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
Native Americans have undergone a horrific past of genocide, discrimination, forced acculturation, miscommunication, and misunderstanding. They were frequently dehumanized and stripped of basic human rights. Treated as “savages” they were herded into areas of confinement and robbed of their language, culture, and way of life. In many instances of genocide, experts have noted a type of historical trauma that may be passed down through families, known as generational trauma. While the potential effects of this concept are not proven, the stories, images, and memories of thousands of Native Americans continue to be shared with their children, thus perpetuating, and never forgetting the pain and embarrassment that their people have experienced.
Native-Americans make up one of the smallest portions of our population, but are still victims of mass incarceration and police brutality Many Native-American reservations have high unemployment rates. Poverty in these areas is also common. Reserved, sacred land for Native-Americans is also disappearing as more and more land is being taken away by United States government. The government also disobeys treaty rights by exploiting their land for natural resources to gain profit. Low graduation rates are common in Native school districts. Suicide is much more prevalent among Native-American youth when compared to the rest of the nation. They also generally receive poor healthcare. Violence and abuse of children and women is more common in Native-American communities as well.
In most American families parents are overjoyed as a result of the happiness and success of their teenage children. Across America teenager are enjoying their “rite of passage”, such as friends, after school activities, sports, vacations with their families and their first car. At the same time, little is known of the extreme poverty and despondency existing within the reservations of the Native American communities. Many Native American families are still struggling with the pain and anguish their ancestors suffered during the ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of the 1800’s such as the Trail of Tears.
American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682. "Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web.
Yellow Horse Brave Heart, M., & DeBruyn, L. M. (2013). THE AMERICAN INDIAN HOLOCAUST: HEALING HISTORICAL UNRESOLVED GRIEF. The American Indian Holocaust, 63.
Contrary to popular belief, discrimination of Native Americans in America still widely exist in the 21st century! So you may ask, why? Well, to answer that one question, I will give you 3 of the countless reasons why this unfortunate group of people are punished so harshly for little good reason. So now, let’s get into it, shall we!