Intergenerational Influence

An individual with a strong social support before and after the traumatic event is likely to have a positive adjustment after the trauma than an individual who has a poor connection and attachment with their social circle. Some studies on heritability of the disorder shows a small hereditary component that predisposes a person to the disorder contributes to increase their probability of exposure to trauma. “For example a hereditary deficit in problem-solving capacity may contribute to higher levels of exposure to potentially traumatic stressors and lower levels of resources to promote recovery following exposure” (Reyes, Elhai, & Ford, p. 259).

During the time residential schools existed, the Aboriginal population of Canada was forced to endure appalling treatment. Residential school is regarded as a thing of the past by high school history books, but is that really true when the oppression and abuse that occurred in residential schools has had a long-term effect on Aboriginal peoples? Intergenerational effects of residential schools include post-traumatic stress disorder, high rates of addiction, abuse and violence, probable deadly illnesses, and elevated statistics of suicide in Aboriginal communities. A substantial number of authors, historians, and researchers attest to the fact that residential schools have influenced a number of generations of the Aboriginal people of Canada.

Research indicates that colonial policies related to residential schools, reserve communities, loss of traditional lands, and erosion of language and cultural traditions that lead to cultural continuity have created a loss of cohesion and identity in Indigenous communities which have impacted family health behaviors (MacNeil 6). Although this may

The main historical force that has contributed to Tom and his family’s situation, is the lasting effects of the residential school system on Aboriginal parenting. Although it is unclear in this case whether or not Tom’s parents are victims of residential schools, the lasting affects caused by residential schools still exists within every member of the Aboriginal community. The common misconception during the time of residential schools was that Aboriginal people were unable to care for their own children, and this responsibility must be put in the hands of the state. This misconception continues to exist within contemporary Canadian society, as the intergenerational trauma that exists within Aboriginal communities, which was caused by residential schools and the sixties scoop, has caused some members of Canadian society to believe that Aboriginal people are still unable to parent their own children. The misconception that Aboriginal parents, in this case Tom’s parents, are unable to parent their children grew due the fact that the development of effective parenting skills and child rearing behaviours within the Aboriginal community was ruined due to the residential school system, as children were separated from their family and were not able to be taught and shown how to properly handle parenting (Collins

Historical trauma is a concept that refers to the wounding of generations due to traumatic experiences such as boarding schools, forced displacement, and genocide. Responses to this distress manifest in a number of social issues. For example, alcoholism and substance abuse could be recognized as attempts to numb unresolved grief. Other manifestations of emotional responses to this trauma include abuse, depression, domestic violence, and suicide. A framework for understanding the effects of historical trauma on communities is provided by Evans-Campbell (2008) in her article, “Historical Trauma in American Indian and Native American Communities”. These three levels include individual-level impacts, family-level impacts, and community-level impacts.

After days, months, years of being physically and sexually abused, shamed, bullied, breaking ties with their families and having their identity stripped because they were “different”; let anxiety and depression start to get ahold of them. “Separated from their parents, they grew up knowing neither respect nor affection. A school system that mocked and suppressed their families’ cultures and traditions, destroyed their sense of self-worth.”(TRC Introduction). This introduces the idea of depression and anxiety beginning to unfold as words can not explain the pain and hurting they went through. “Children who had been bullied and abused, carried a burden of shame and anger for the rest of their lives. Overwhelmed by this legacy, many succumbed to despair and depression. Countless lives were lost to alcohol and drugs.”(TRC Introduction). There is no doubt that the Canadian government was racist towards the First Nation Peoples. The racism lead to the school system and the Survivors depression and anxiety. “The residential school environment was deeply racist. It presumed the intellectual inferiority of the children and it demeaned Aboriginal culture, language and parenting. The students were treated as if they were prisoners who required strict discipline simply because they were Aboriginal.”(TRC 227). Racism and the feeling of anger

In the Indigenous community, when the community is faced with a trauma, it takes seven generations for the community to heal (Trimble, 2015). People may underestimate how oppressed and how much suffering the Indigenous communities had to struggle with, and continue to struggle with these issues today. We may underestimate how severe the situation is because many of us were not taught much about the impact of colonization on the Indigenous communities in school. There are many myths people may have concerning Indigenous life experiences, particularly schooling. To address these myths, I would begin by giving a brief history of residential schools. I would then analyze how residential schools have impacted the indigenous community and how they continue to affect them today. I would also mention the current issues children on reserves are facing today regarding school. Lastly, I would mention some of the progress that has been made. I will use the work of Sefa Dei to demonstrate the importance of community in education regarding the Indigenous people.

For Sheila Jack the constant mental torture was too much to handle and eventually she shut down psychologically. This did not only happen to Jack but many others as well. Other children did not shut down mentally as she did but felt that the bullying was too much to handle and felt no other option than to commit suicide. “I saw bodies hung from rafter on thin ropes. I saw writes slashed and the cascades of blood on the bathroom floor and one time, a young boy impaled on tines of a pitch fork that he’d shoved through himself.” (Wagamese 55). Sadly numerous children committed suicide during their time at residential schools. Individuals who had left from the residential schools carried a large weight on their shoulders from the things they had experienced and saw. Some of the experiences aboriginal children endured at residential schools, such as the physical abuse, did contribute too many psychological issues such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), major depression, anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder. As way to deal with their psychological trauma, Aboriginal peoples turned to drugs and alcohol after departing residential schools and entering adulthood. The average of Aboriginal men who admit that they have a drinking problem (16%) is doubled from the average of the general Canadian male population (7.9%). The average of First Nations women who admit they had issues with alcohol (10.2%) is much greater than the rest of the general female population (3.3%). In addition 77% of the First Nations population admits that they struggle with drug abuse. Once Aboriginal children had left these schools they didn’t know how to deal with all the stress of what had happened to them and what they had seen. As a result, many of

The negative impact of the residential schools on the Native communities still remains to this day. Even the people who did not attend those schools still share the same millstones as their ancestors. These include domestic violence due to personal trauma and the loss of Aboriginal language, culture and traditions. Some of those who have attended the schools suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and the effects make it challenging to take part in social, family and professional environments. Many of the children grew up without experiencing a nurturing family life and without the acquaintance and skills to raise their own families. Also, the sense of worthlessness that was implanted in the students resulted to self-abuse. The extremely low self-esteem contributed to a high rate of substance use, alcoholism and suicide. The damage caused by the residential schools has caused intergenerational

In this article, Professor King says loss of culture, land and language all play a part in poor health. Having an identity, he says, is especially important for mental health. As for example, many native children in Canada were taken from their families and sent to live at the residential schools. They were educated in the european system, they never had a normal chance to develop a cultural identity. The schools’ so-called purpose was to provide education for native children. But the real purpose was to eliminate native culture from Canada. As Reverend A.E. Caldwell of his school in 1938 said “The problem with the Indians is one of morality and religion. They lack the basic fundamentals of civilized thought and spirit, which explains their childlike nature and behavior. At our school we strive to turn them into mature Christians who will learn how to behave in the world and surrender their barbaric way of life and their treaty rights, which keep them trapped on their land and in a primitive existence. Only then will the Indian problem in our country be solved.” Caldwell view of aboriginal culture and how they should be assimilated to the european culture is how most ministers of the schools thought about native culture. Students were forbidden to speak their language or practice their culture, and were often punished for doing so. All these awful acts at residential schools made natives suffer loss

Such toxic stress can have damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Learning how to cope with adversity is an important part of healthy child development. The most effective prevention is to reduce exposure of young children to extremely stressful conditions. Research also indicates that supportive, responsive relationships with caring adults as early in life as possible can prevent or reverse the damaging effects of toxic stress response (Center on Developing Child, nd). By establishing clear lines of communication between adults and children, and home and school, parents and teachers can help to shape children’s perceptions in informed ways. During times of trouble, when emotions run high, parents and teachers can help children develop the skills necessary to manage their feelings, to confront unpleasant or adverse realities, and to acquire greater emotional stability. In order to support children in better understanding their world, adults may have to help them come to terms with circumstances that are frightening, confusing, overwhelming, or possibly unrelated to their past experience. By providing a safe and supportive environment and a healthy acceptance of all that is good in life, a calm and ready-to-listen adult can facilitate children’s well being, and help to alleviate the fear, dismay or confusion they may feel. In doing so, it is important to honor and nurture children’s sensitivity. Although parents and teachers cannot shelter children from all adversity, they are well positioned to help children learn about the imbalances in the world, to better comprehend their impact, and to find thoughtful ways to strike a comfortable and meaningful balance of their own (Foster & Matthews,

Physical, mental, and sexual abuse were prevalent in residential schools as throughout the 20th century, which has lead to Aboriginals living with a disconnect to the passage of their culture and language from elder to youth. The adults that attended residential school are now raising these youth that have fallen to living on the street. When the adults came home from residential school they brought back, "what they had learned at school: unhealthy and abusive behaviours, and bullying," (Gaetz, 2013). This negative impact in the critical years of development has left an impact on the skills of these adults who are now parents: they struggle with the ability to nurture their children and with how to provide a supportive social network. Perhaps the increase of Aboriginals in jail compared to non-aboriginals is one of the results of the residential school system.

The role of intergenerational patterns is often used when referring to negative behaviors that are profoundly repeated throughout different generation (Birkenmaier, Berg-Weger & Dewees, 2014). Papero (2009) on the other hand, specifically linked the term intergenerational to relationship patterns that are being transmitted from one generation to another. To bring to light the immersion of intergenerational patterns, a brief understanding of Bowen’s Family Systems Theory is imperative. Bowen’s theory comprises of eight concepts and a major variable known as anxiety (Papero, 2014). All seven concepts address the family system while the eighth focus mainly on the social function of the society (Papero, 2014). In fact, one of the eighth concepts in Bowen theory is multigenerational transmission process playing an important role with intergenerational patterns. While conducting a systematic analysis of three generations within Lani family system, specific behaviors that were demonstrated were dysfunctional boundaries, marital outcomes, anxiety and transmission of parenting style.

The pervasiveness of these correlations is high and suggesting childhood trauma could play a major role in the psychological health of a person later in adulthood, and there have many studies which have been conducted that could support these theories.

According to the article, “Stress and Child Development” (2014) by Ross Thompson, stress is defined as “a complex psychobiological process with biological, emotional, mental, and behavioral consequences, all of which influence one another” (Thompson, 2014, p.46). Thompson’s research provided insight into helping children who suffer from stress, and cope with this stress through neurobiological processes, including two-generation and multi-generation intervention, which includes parents, teachers, relatives and grandparents or anyone who provides care for these children. Thompson’s research found that children who grow up in a loving environment are less stressful, and when confronted with stress, these children cope with stress better than children who live in a non-loving environment. Thompson suggested that stress is brought on when an individual feels threatened or when her or she feels surrounded by, or in immediate danger, thus, emphasizing how a child’s social experiences plays a key role in the development of a child’s neurological systems as well as his or her biological system (Thompson, 2014). Thompson’s research of Hurricane Katrina found that children whose parents could no longer provide care for their children faired much worse than children whose parents provided care, as it relates to stress. Thompson’s study of a Romanian orphanage found that the sooner a child was adopted into a loving environment, the sooner a child learned how to cope and