First Nation and Black People
The word trauma comes from ancient Greek meaning ‘wound’. According to Tara Brach, “Trauma is when we have encountered an out of control, frightening experience that has disconnected us from all sense of resourcefulness or safety or coping or love”. 4 First Nation and Black people have been significantly impacted in our society through colonization, historical and intergenerational trauma (i.e. slavery, residential schools – Sixties Scoop, lynchings, massacres). They were stripped of their identity and humanity.
First Nation children were taken from their families and placed in residential schools with the purpose of making them “civilized” and to “kill the Indian” in the child. They were not allowed to speak their language or observe cultural traditions. Black children and their parents were kidnapped from their homes in Africa and brought to the United States, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. They were subjected to enslavement and human trafficking. First Nation children suffered physical and sexual abuse at residential schools; Black children were sold, whipped and raped.
Today, First Nation and Black people still live with the impact of the residential school system and slavery. These experiences have been intergenerational (passed on from generation to generation) which affect family relationships, a sense of self, parenting and struggles in communities. Also, this has been exacerbated by continuous discrimination and viewed as less of a human being.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Kaiser Permanente organization conducted a study from 1995 to 1997 on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The CDC described adverse childhood experiences as “potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years)”. 3
Mechanisms by which Adverse Childhood Experiences
Influence Health and Well-being Throughout the Lifespan
Source: NIH National Library of Medicine
ACEs include emotional and physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence, neglect, a parent with mental illness, a family member with addictions problems and an incarcerated household member. The study found that ACEs are common, and they are associated to an increased risk for mental and physical problems in later life; for example, depression, suicide, obesity, missed time from work, substance abuse, poor achieve-ment in academics and dying early. The CDC findings noted that “several racial/ethnic minority groups were at greater risk for having experienced four or more types of ACEs”. 3
The experience of many ACEs along with continuous systemic racism takes its toll, not only on the individual, but also their community. The trauma that First Nation and Black children as well as their communities have suffered has had a lasting impact on physical and mental health, behaviours, and potential in life; for example, cancer, broken bones, depression, smoking, drug use, education challenges and occupation.
Alfred Adler said, “We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences – the so-called trauma – but we make out of them just what suits our purposes. We are self-determined by the meaning we give to our experiences … Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meaning we give to situations”. (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956, p. 208) Trauma shifts our thinking and impacts our behaviour. How the child views and makes sense of adverse childhood experiences or trauma in his or her life is important in terms of the lifestyle – “I am …”, “The world is …”, “People are …”, “Therefore …”.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention suggests developing prevention strategies that can assists children and their families to create and maintain environments and relationships that are secure to help children achieve optimal health, well-being and success in life. Strategies include: teaching life skills, self regulation, connecting children to supportive and caring adults and programs in their neighbourhood and increasing families’ financial support which diminishes the damage that can be caused by ACEs.
Everyone can do their part to help First Nation and Black people begin to heal from the history of marginalization, racial discrimination, displacement and trauma. We can learn about and understand historical and inter-generational trauma and the effects on Black and First Nation people, acknowledge the impact of the aftermath of slavery and the residential school system, encourage the telling of their stories, and help to create social interest which facilitates coping with ACEs or traumatic events, feeling a sense of belonging, social embeddedness and achieving the tasks of life. We are all responsible for creating and maintaining cooperation in our community and society … together we can heal as a country.
References
- Ansbacher H.L. & Ansbacher R.R. (Eds). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler: A systemic presentation in selections from his writings. New York: NY: Harper and Row Publishers.
- Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Retrieved on August 4, 2020 from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/index.html
- Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Retrieved on August 4, 2020 from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/fastfact.html
- Manitoba Trauma Information and Education Centre. Definition of trauma. Retrieved on August 4, 2020 from https://trauma-recovery.ca/introduction/definition-of-trauma/
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trauma