The National Children’s Advocacy Center has an upcoming webinar, Memories Hold Hands: Understanding Historical Trauma and Unresolved Historical Grief in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities. The session will take place September 17th, but it is full. I’m posting this because it will be archived, and the topic is both important and rarely offered–a combination making it worth the space on the site. You can check back with NCAC to download the slides and access the recorded session. Click through for the details:
From the site:
Historical trauma is the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma (Brave Heart, 1999a, 1999b, 2000; Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998; Yellow Horse-Braveheart, 1996; Subia-Bigfoot, 2006, 2007, 2009). An important area of research on historical trauma considers the intersection of historical and contemporary trauma. Understanding this critical connection has become increasingly important for treatment professionals responding to child and family maltreatment.
Culturally aware interventions for Native children who have experienced trauma focus on contemporary trauma in the context of historical, cumulative and collective experience. In order to more adequately address the pressing needs of Native children, we must confront the transmission of trauma across generations, and incorporate the strengths and resiliencies gained from generations of survival and adaptation. It is clear that many Indigenous communities have enhanced community ties to culture and tradition. Support of those families and communities is critical in preventing further reinforcement of historical trauma as a contemporary experience.
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the socio-cultural circumstances of historical trauma for American Indian children, its effect on culture and tradition, and the impact across generations.
- Supporting families and communities to prevent reinforcement of historical trauma as a contemporary experience.
- Appreciation of culturally aware clinical approaches to healing, including a support of cultural and traditional resiliencies.