Historical Trauma Of Native Americans

Although sorting Native American history into a digestible chronology may be beneficial to other groups of people when attempting to understand this area of history, it can be harmful to the people that it pertains to. Placing important events into a timeline first and foremost suggests that once one period begins, the previous one is over with; in other words, the problems of the preceding era have been taken care of and tidied up, not to be worried about any longer. Similarly to how nations are still paying debts left from World War II, Indigenous people continue to feel the robbery and genocide inflicted upon them by European

From its birth, America was a place of inequality and privilege. Since Columbus 's arrival and up until present day, Native American tribes have been victim of white men 's persecution and tyranny. This was first expressed in the 1800’s, when Native Americans were driven off their land and forced to embark on the Trail of Tears, and again during the Western American- Indian War where white Americans massacred millions of Native Americans in hatred. Today, much of the Indian Territory that was once a refuge for Native Americans has since been taken over by white men, and the major tribes that once called these reservations home are all but gone. These events show the discrimination and oppression the Native Americans faced. They were, and continue to be, pushed onto reservations,

Early European colonists that came to North America found a sparsely inhabited coastline which gave them opportunities to settle and succeed where others had previously failed. Since many of the pilgrims were in search of religious freedom they saw a land their god had prepared for them by wiping out the natives through pestilence and disease. The fact is that the plague of disease that wiped out more than 90% of the original inhabitants of the northern east coast was brought by European fisherman around 1617, who were fond of the cod in the Massachusetts Bay area. These fishermen would come ashore for firewood, freshwater and to kidnap the occasional native to sell into slavery, and unknowingly leave behind

Their history is all but erased, their lives destroyed in the pursuit of material wealth (resource extraction). Superficial statues and hollow tributes now stand where vibrant human communities once lived for millennia. The US Government, unrecognized by vast portions of Native Americans, hence illegitimate in their eyes, ruthlessly imposed treaties, laws, cultural mandates and regulations on a population who never asked for such measures. There was resistance, but it was stamped out. Thus, the bloody history of European settlement is never far from the minds of indigenous people living in the US.

In order to create a harmonious future, we cannot bury the past. Colonization, imperialism and residential schools have aided in the cultural genocide of First Nations. The Indian Act was created without any input from the First Nations in 1876. This Act was enacted to assimilate Aboriginals into civilized society. The outcome was the government ripping away young children from their families in order to rid them of all cultural ties.

The Jewish Holocaust is remembered and learned about every year in school. During this holocaust, six million people were killed. However, the Native American Genocide resulted in over one hundred-twenty million deaths. This tragedy is only briefly summarized. When Christopher Columbus, “the discoverer of the Americas,” claimed the land in 1492 on his quest for gold and silver, the fact that millions of people already lived in the area was not considered. It is estimated that fifteen million people, which Columbus had rudely referred to as “Indians,” lived north of current day Mexico at the time of his arrival. Three hundred-fifty years later, this number was reduced to less than one million (Mercier). The Native

Understanding the causes and effects of historical trauma is imperative to truly comprehend the current state of afflicted communities today. As historical trauma influences multiple generations, the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the health of Native American populations is an important issue to consider and can possibly be viewed as an indication of historical trauma. ACEs are traumatic events that occur during childhood, such as abuse and neglect, and are known to have severe implications throughout an individual’s lifetime. The following review of literature explores impacts of historical trauma, the prevalence of ACEs in indigenous communities, interventions for healing, and future improvements in the field.

For more than 300 years, since the days of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Government, an attempt of genocide of the Native American Indian has existed. From mass brutal murders and destruction by Spanish and American armies, to self-annihilation through suicide, homicide, and alcohol induced deaths brought about because of failed internal colonialism and white racial framing. Early Explores used Indigenous inhabitants upon first arriving to the America’s to survive the New World and once they adapted, internal colonialism began with attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, repressing their values and way of life, forcing them into slavery, and nearly exterminating an entire culture from existence.

Our nation’s history has been deep rooted in the conflict involving Native Americans, ever since the beginning of America and it is one hard to get rid of even as the days go by. The impact of colonialism can be seen in Native American communities even today, and it can only be understood through a cultural perspective once you experience it. Aaron Huey, who is a photographer, went to Pine Ridge reservation and it led him to document the poverty and issues that the Sioux Indians go through as a result of the United States government’s long term actions and policies against them. One must question all sources regarding these topics because there is a lot of biased and misinformation about Native American struggles, and sometimes schools do not thoroughly teach the truth so students can get an insight. There are also different sociological perspectives in this conflict, along with many differing opinions on how to approach the problem and deal with it. This is where ideas clash because people believe their views are right regarding how to handle it.

Having a tumultuous background, the Native American history in itself should be respected, but there seems to be a nuisance doing so. In the 1830’s, after removal policy failed to prevail, “not only did individual Indians remain, but native communities also struggled over the next century and a half to carve out a place for themselves in the South"(Perdue 3). Native American’s were challenged to find a place in the idealistic society, but their ritualistic culture was not fit for the United States. Further on, they dealt with poverty, discrimination, and violence against their community.

Two-hundred years ago, there was a scientific study on the brains of Native Americans called the craniology and phrenology. The Europeans examined only indigenous people’s heads and were forbidden to use any European’s brains. The Europeans did three experiments, such as decapitating the tops of the heads and filling them with sand to see if their brains were smaller than blacks. The Europeans also looked at the bones and said that if the bones were in a certain way (such as natives cheek bones being up higher) the person was thought to be stupid. The last experiment the Europeans did to American Indians was that they had a small devise that they would put on the head and it would slice the brain open. There would be an award for

Since the beginning of time mankind has fought with itself, whether it be through disagreements, disrespect, feuds, or even over the smallest of matters. For example, one of the biggest feuds in American history that just ended recently was between the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. This just shows you how petty, ignorant, and uncivilized we as a people can become. However, the greatest and most crucial feud of all was between the entire Native American Nation and the United States of America. This war of hate and disrespect towards tribes of people and their culture is uncalled for and has left a stain that will last forever in time. We choose not to realize the great impact it had on the Native American Nation, and most of what really happened is not mentioned in the text books that we have today. Instead we focus more on the three main academics which are reading, writing, and arithmetic. Doing so has left many people clueless about the events that have occurred in the past, and I think the main reason for this is caused by the American government being embarrassed about what they did to a people who meant no harm, a culture that only lashed out due to the European American settlers drawing first blood. This is why I decided to do my essay on this topic. The truth needs to be heard, and the reasoning for all the massacres, the violation of countless treaties, and how we impacted the way of life for the Native Americans needs to be told. Why did we do this to a culture? The

The Native Americans and the United States have not always seen eye to eye on things since the beginning. The approach of the people of the white civilization has brought extreme agony and torture to the Native Americans. This was as a result of race playing a humongous part in humanity during this time, for this reason the Native Americans were looked down on and poorly treated by the white population. This was a strenuous point in time for the American Indians to adapt to society since their culture, attitudes, values, and beliefs were slowly being abandoned and the federal government wanting them to assimilate to the white culture. Since then the Native Americans have struggled to persevere on reservation lands, deprived of support, and for the most part hopelessness. There are many social problems that contribute to the delinquency of Native-American youth on the reservation. The community dilemmas that contribute to the failure of the Native-Americans younger generation are poor academic achievement, alcoholism, domestic violence, mental health issues, and unemployment. These horrendous matters will hopefully disappear in the time and Native-Americans will become successful in today’s society.

The settlement of the Europeans had a devastating effect on the Native Americans. Even though Native tribes rarely formed positive relationships with European settlers, the long lasting settlement of the Europeans in America eventually led to deadly diseases which led to a drastic loss in their population, altercations with cultural and religious beliefs, as well as famine and physical abuse. This would soon lead to the demise of the Native Americans.

As one begins to compare genocides and holocausts, it is hard to remain unbiased. Of Course there are dissimilarities, mostly semantic, between these two horrendous acts. Regardless, the fact is that both these words are used to explain the immense killings done with the objective of annihilating an entire race of people .Holocausts and Genocides are disgusting both in its drive and the scale of their destruction. Both should of never have happened.