When trauma is ignored and there is no support for dealing with it, the trauma will be passed from one generation to the next. “Intergenerational or multi-generational trauma happens when the effects of trauma are not resolved in one generation. In addition, the concept of Intergenerational Trauma has been brought forward:
But still it doesn’t really address generational trauma and it doesn’t talk about massive group trauma. There are more theories that are starting to emerge, like complex trauma, which does deal with multiple traumas in one’s lifetime. “The theory of post traumatic stress disorder doesn’t capture not only chronic trauma in one’s lifetime, but trauma across generations. ” She describes why this definition is distinct from our current understandings of PTSD: Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart coined the term Historic Trauma as the “Cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma.
Removal of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands.Canada’s unique history of colonization includes: Since first negotiating the Treaties, including Treaties 1 and 2, Canada has violated the spirit and intent of these documents, the cumulative impact of which has created the current marginalization and dispossession of Indigenous peoples. For more than 500 years in the Americas, colonial systems have been violently enforced and have negatively affected Indigenous peoples in profound ways, resulting in vast inequities.