Historical Trauma & Family Engagement Strategies

1. Historical Trauma & Family Engagement Strategies For Educators & Families

2. OBJECTIVES • Become acquainted with the boarding school era & the history of Indian Education. • Understand the impact of Historical Trauma on student learning. • Learn strategies to engage Native students & families in our schools.

3. 1492 Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean on October 12th 1492 to encounter a diverse Indigenous population. Columbus had an uncontrollable lust for gold. He enslaved thousands of Taino people, launching an insidious genocidal ideology in North America. “…they were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features....They would make fine servants....With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.“ -Christopher Columbus

4. Extermination By 1496, 4 million Indigenous people had died by slavery, torture, murder, disease, and terrorism. By 1535, an entire culture was decimated. An estimated 8-10 million people dead. "The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world." ~David E. Stannard.

5. What is Genocide? • United Nations Convention on Genocide in 1948 defines characteristics of Genocide: • Killing members of the group causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group • Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part • Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group • Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. The systematic killing of all the people from a national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do this.

6. Historical Trauma Cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma. - Dr. Maria YellowHorse-BraveHeart

7. Traumatic Events • Warfare/Biological Warfare • Loss of land base & resources • Ongoing treaty violations • Relocation/Removal • Reservation confinement • Prohibition of spiritual & cultural practices • Forced sterilization • Community massacres • Indian mascots • Boarding schools/assimilation • Introduction to alcohol

8. Historical Timeline 1616 – Smallpox decimates Native population in New England 1831 – Supreme Court Case between Cherokee Nations vs. Georgia 1851 – Fort Laramie Treaties were signed 1853 – Extermination of tribes in California 1862 – 38 Dakota hung in Mankato 1876 – Battle of Little Big Horn 1877 – U.S. Govt. seized the Black Hills in violation of treaty agreement 1887 – Dawes (Allotment) Act 1889 – Ghost Dance Movement begins 1890 – Over 300 Lakota were massacred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota 1893 – Boarding School Policy 1917 – More than 17,000 Indians enlist in military during WWI 1924 – American Indians are granted citizenship

9. Historical Timeline 1928 – Meriam Report published illustrating dire situation of Indians 1934 – Johnson O’Malley Act established 1944 – National Congress of American Indians established 1953 – Termination & Relocation Era 1968 – American Indian Movement & Women of All Red Nations 1972 – Indian Education Act 1978 – Indian Child Welfare Act 1978 – Indian Religious Freedom Act 1990 – Native Language Act 1996 – Clinton declares Nov. National American Indian Heritage Month 1996 – Colbell vs. Salazar was filed 2005 – Red Lake School Shooting 2006 – Minneapolis School Board signs historic Memorandum of Agreement

10. Boarding School Education • Mandatory attendance • Military style regiment • Speak only English • Become Christian • Learn farming, a trade, or service skill • Shame of culture and cultural practices • Assimilation

11. Trauma & Brain Development • When a developing brain processes consistent violence or trauma: • Neuron receptors cannot make healthy connections • Increases heart rate & develops cardiovascular abnormalities • Programs the brain to signal body to respond in a hyper-vigilant & unpredictable pattern The human brain is remarkable organ capable of absorbing & storing more bits of information than any other species.

12. Symptoms of Trauma • High suicide rate • High mortality rate • High alcoholism/substance abuse rates • Domestic violence • Child abuse • Low self-esteem • Anxiety/Stress related illnesses • Anger • Shame • Fear/Distrust • Loss of concentration • Isolation • Loss of sleep • Uncomfortable in institutions • Gang activity • Hypersensitivity • Hypervigilent • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome • Poverty

13. Trauma & Student Learning • Symptoms of trauma that are not compatible to student learning include: • Poor sleeping & eating habits • Irritable, hypersensitive & aggressive behavior • Extreme temper tantrums • Exaggerated startle response • Problems with concentration or memory • Socially withdrawn • High anxiety • Misinterpretation of verbal & non-verbal cues • Impulsive actions • Poor self regulation & time management

14. Cultural Identity Acculturation is a TEMPORARY state. A process by which an individual or group socially adapts to a new situation Assimilation is a PERMANENT state. A process by which an individual or group is absorbed into another group or culture.

15. If we didn’t experience the trauma, how could we have symptoms? • First degree relatives of those with PTSD have a higher rate of anxiety and substance abuse • Children of substance abusers attempt suicide at a higher rate • Children from parents with anxiety or depression have an increase risk of developing similar mood disorders.

16. Strategies to Engaging Native students • Be respectful with students • Build trust by showing kindness, honesty & openness • Get to know student • Create a positive environment • Be fair and sincere • Provide options or choices in assignments • Teach units that reflect Native American culture & history • Make students accountable & require them to do the work • Have a sense of humor! • Use hands on activities • Utilize a softer tone of voice • Play music & provide creative opportunities • Find experiential learning opportunities to fulfill academic standards • Use Ojibwe/Dakota words when possible • Build upon student strengths & interests

17. Further Resources • “The Canary Effect”, a 2006 documentary by Robin Davey & Yellow Thunder Woman • “Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life”, a 2011 book by Diane Wilson • “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask”, a 2012 book by Dr. Anton Treuer • “Kill the Indian, Save the Man”, a 2003 book by Ward Churchill • “American Holocaust”, a 1992 book by David Stannard • “In the White Man’s Image”, a 2007 PBS film hosted by David McCullogh • “Rethinking Columbus”, a 1996 book for teachers edited by Bigelow & Peterson

18. Acknowledgements • Sorkness, Harold L., and Lynn Kelting-Gibson. "Effective Teaching Strategies for Engaging Native American Students." (2006): 1-16. Web. • Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School. Dir. Chip Richie. Perf. Grace Thorpe. 2008. DVD. • "History of Indian Education - OIE." History of Indian Education - OIE. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2014. • "Indian Education Department." Indian Education Department. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2014. • Beardslee, WR & Wheelock, I.(1994). Children of parents with affective disorders: Empirical findings and clinical implications. In W.M. Reynolds & H.F. Johnson (Eds) Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp.463-479). New York: Plenum. • Segal, B. (in press) Personal violence and historical trauma among Alaska Native pre-teen girls, and adolescent girls and women in treatment for substance abuse, in Brave Heart, DeBruyn, Segal, Taylor, & Daw (Eds) Historical Trauma within the American experience: Roots, effects and healing. New York: Haworth Press. • Brave Heart, M.Y.H.(2003). The historical trauma response among Natives and its relationship with substance abuse: a Lakota illustration, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 35(1), 7-13.