The Impact of Colonialism on a Young Aboriginal Australian

December 24, 2022 by

Here is an excellent description of how colonialism impacted upon a young Aboriginal Australian as summarised by Richard Broome in his seminal book Aboriginal Australians: A history since 1788.

‘In Dareton, new South Wales, In 1965, eleven-year-old Malcolm Smith and his brother ‘borrowed’ pushbikes leaning against a bus shelter and went joy-riding. This small act led to the involvement of the police, welfare officers and the court.

Malcolm’s widowed father, who was in seasonal work and thus not always present, was judged as an unfit parent. The boys were taken and placed in a series of homes and foster care placements, where their Aboriginality was undermined, even denigrated.

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Healing Section of Recovery Stories

May 15, 2021 by

HealingThe aim of the Healing section of Recovery Stories is to take you on a journey into the fascinating field relating to the healing of intergenerational trauma, sometimes called transgenerational or historical trauma. The section ‘operates’ differently to other parts of the website. If you are new to this field and are keen to learn, I suggest you start reading my first post, entitled Indigenous Trauma and Healing. You can then access the second post by clicking the link at the bottom of the page…. and so on.

At present, there are sixteen posts, mostly relating to intergenerational trauma (rather than healing) at this stage. I will gradually add more and more posts over time. Here is the current list:

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Shocking History Impacts on the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples

May 6, 2021 by

Professor Marion Kickett relates how she and the other Noongar children in York, Western Australia, were not allowed to swim in a particular area of the river. When she was fifteen, her father described how he and his friends were similarly told by their parents not to swim in that location. He also related the shocking story of The Sandy.

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Joe Solanto: Intergenerational Trauma Amongst First Nations People of Canada

May 6, 2021 by

In these two film clips, Dr. Joe Solanto discusses what trauma is and how the experiences of colonisation for First Nations peoples in Canada” qualify” as trauma. He describes how trauma is transmitted across generations. Crime and other social problems are understandable responses to trauma. [7’26”]

> Don Coyhis: What the Boarding Schools Did to Our Community

 

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The Impact of Colonisation

March 30, 2021 by

The impact of colonisation on Indigenous peoples has been similar in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, America and New Zealand. In her book Trauma Trails: Recreating Songlines, Professor Judy Atkinson describes how the control of Indigenous peoples by the coloniser was facilitated by three main types of power abuse or violence—overt physical violence, covert structural violence, and psychosocial domination.

Overt physical violence: In Australia, the arrival of the British boats at Sydney Cove in 1788 set in motion a series of disasters that propagated trauma upon trauma upon trauma. These disasters impacted upon Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people who had lived on the continent for somewhere between 50 – 70,000 years.

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20 Ways To Facilitate Indigenous Healing, Part 2

February 17, 2015 by

P4061087-220x1646. The Healing Ritual of Storytelling
Storytelling is a healing ritual amongst Indigenous people.

In a culturally safe environment (e.g. healing circle), Indigenous people can share experiences by telling their Story (which is often a trauma Story), help each other come to terms with the emotional pain caused by what has happened to them in their past, and make sense of their personal story in relationship to the collective, communal Story.

7. Pride in Surviving Colonisation
Learning history from an Indigenous perspective, illustrating how conditions for social and psychological discontent have developed, helps Indigenous people understand why they have problems.

It also shows them that they retain the necessary agency to change their lives for the better. It helps them deal with shame and blame, factors that impact negatively on social and emotional wellbeing.

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‘Intergenerational Trauma & Healing, Part 1’ by Joe Solanto

February 3, 2014 by

For a while now, one of my blogs each day will focus on historical (or intergenerational) trauma and our new initiative Sharing Culture. Today, I introduce the first of three videos by Dr Joe Solanto of Canada about intergenerational trauma and healing.

In these videos, Joe ‘discusses what trauma is, how the experiences of colonization “qualify” as trauma, how trauma might be transmitted across the generations, crime and other social problems as understandable responses to trauma and implications for healing individuals, families and communities.’

In the first video, Joe talks about different types of trauma: Type 1 (acute), Type 2 (chronic) and Type 3 (intergenerational). If you enjoy this video, check out Part 2 and Part 3.

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Historical Trauma: Nature of the Problem

January 31, 2014 by

Unknown-4 With the launch of our new Sharing Culture initiative and website, here is a description of The Problem:

‘Colonisation and its associated violence and control still exert a marked negative impact today on Australian Aboriginal people. Trauma and an associated unresolved grief have been transmitted across generations in ways that have influenced individuals, families and communities.

Expressions of historical trauma in Aboriginal people can be seen in: adults who feel inadequate in their day-to-day functioning: the poor physical and psychological health and much lower life expectancy; the escalation in addiction to alcohol and other substances which are used as a coping mechanism; the increase in domestic violence across generations; the self-harm, suicide and risk-taking that occurs when people can find no meaning to their existence and have no sense of purpose for their day-to-day activities.

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Surviving What?: Too Many Funerals

September 16, 2013 by

Attendance at too many funerals affects the physical, spiritual, social and cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal people.

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