WHAT IS INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA? Intergenerational trauma, also known as historical trauma or transgenerational trauma, is a trauma that affects children and grandchildren of the first generation to experience it. An example, if you had a grandparent who experienced a traumatic event the side effects could pass to your parent and then to even you. This can happen in 2 main ways, the way a child is raised and even genetically. The genetically part is a bit surprising but it’s very real. If the trauma was serious enough it can have an effect of the function of genes, this is called epigenetics.
WHERE DID IT START FOR NATIVES? The start to IT dates back to 1492 when people began to migrate her and began making the land their home. The mass genocide of Native people began. Many Natives watched their family members and friends get killed, whole tribes were torn apart during raids. The few who survived after witnessing this would be the early start to IT. The second major start is the separating of kids from families to be put in boarding schools to be taught to act “right”. This is the most recent incident that caused widespread IT for all the Native Tribes.
HOW DOES IT SHOW IT’S EFFECTS TODAY? IT can be a huge part of some things we see in day to day life. One of the signs is the depression and suicide rates involved with Natives. IT is known to contribute to depression which in some extreme cases can lead to suicide. It’s also known to contribute to other illnesses and addiction. One of the illnesses it can contribute to is diabetes which is also another thing many Natives deal with today. One of the things I noticed it has affected is the language. Natives were punished for speaking their language when they were in the boarding schools. Today, not very many Natives can speak the language of their respective tribes; Despite the setbacks IT may have caused the Native community. We all still take a lot of pride in being who we are and maintaining our culture to the best of our abilities.
BLOGGER BIO Lis is an elementary education major at Oglala Lakota College. She enjoys learning languages and more about her own and other cultures. She also enjoys history and teaching people what she has learned.