This week, Winnipeg has been a site of revealing and not so revealing stories, with many hidden meanings to unravel and learn in my own time. It is a city of murals, each one displaying an element of the city’s history and current cultural and economic status. As one Indian Residential School (more to come on this topic) Cultural Support Provider said to me,
we are taught to see through such limited frames. They obscure history and lead to falsehoods in the national narrative, which further leads to discrimination and the marginalisation of people’s identities. But, when we put all the frames together the picture takes on a wholeness and can display the truth.
His message of healing was grounded in a complete and holistic education (a diverse and complex story), an education that could teach colonial history for what it was/is and be followed by a re-teaching and engagement in spiritual and ceremonial practices.
Here are a few of the frames from Winnipeg. Lo and behold, I haven’t deciphered the whole truth yet…
Some facts and background
And just to cement that Winnipeg is a city of stories, another fact for the week
- one of the greatest childhood stories of the 20th century comes from Winnipeg. ‘Winnie-the-Pooh, named after Winnipeg! The original bear, given to the real-life English Christopher Robin, hails from Ontario, where I am off to next.
Another fact, adding a wealth of understanding to the story of intergenerational trauma ,
- Winnipeg houses all the testaments from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC has considered the generational ramifications of Residential Schools on First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in Canada. For those in Australia, the Residential Schools are very like the Stolen Generation. For those unaware of both colonial and political histories and their deeply affecting legacies, the political intent was to assimilate Aboriginal people into non-Indigenous society. This meant the removal of children on mass from their parents, families and communities. The schools taught aggressive cultural denial and in many instances, cultural erasure/annihilation – by banning all Indigenous language use, cultural practices and Indigenous knowledge teaching. There was systemic racism and institutionalised abuse. The term used for those who continue to live after being in residential schools is a survivor. Many children were never returned, departed for ever, the ensuing collective grief felt by communities at the loss of thousands of children, is immeasurable.
If you are interested in understanding the TRC and the resulting 94 recommendations - 'calls to action' - that Canada is in the process of responding to, here are a couple of good links.
Elders Gathering
It has been a week full of teachings embedded within stories. Particularly those given by various First Nation Elders. I spent two days at an Elders gathering run by the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) team from the unique government department ‘Healthy Child Manitoba’. Elders were drawn together from across Manitoba to regal a congregation of social service providers, on their societal practices, spirituality, philosophies, and healing methods. The Elders came from across the Cree, Dakota, Ojibwe, Anishinaabeg and Dene nations. I know there are more. This was my first real insight into the great diversity of Indigenous First Nations and voices that traverse the second largest country in the world.
The days were structured around Teachings. Elders would stand and bless the food. Tabaco would be handed to them as a sign of respect for the knowledge they were about to pass on to us all. The tobacco is a pathway to the spirit world and is used as a way for them to invite ‘the great spirit’/ ‘the creator’ into the dialogue. Incidentally, the word Manitoba is derived from the Indigenous word meaning great spirit.
For me, the most powerful time was in the afternoon of the first day. We all gathered in the cold around the sacred fire. The flames sparked thoughts, igniting dialogue and leading to some passionate words.
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| there were many people gathered around but we were not allowed to take pictures with people present |
There is something to be said for allowing the mind to focus on the elements to give thoughts and their expression freedom. Is this mindfulness? I will address this in some later blog.
Trauma of the individual vs societal trauma
In my last blog post, I wrote about the effects of trauma on the brain, and its results on behaviour, and how we can respond to and manage trauma-related behaviours and ultimately keep the peace.
Over the last week, I have spoken to people who have said that this way of talking about trauma can lead to pathologizing people. This means that we tell people that they have something wrong with them but, with the right attitude and skill set, we can fix it. This is an intense focus on the individual and a departure from the socio-political context that often causes trauma in the first instance. For example, Residential Schools and continuing practices of child removal. For many people who have experienced trauma and continue to experience traumatising situations, this is a denial of their lived reality and history. That denial can lead to further trauma of the individual and collective.
Is Trauma-informed practice useful?
This is not to condemn trauma-informed-practice, as it is incredibly useful in helping people to survive, to reduce crisis situations and to give people a sense of control, even in the most difficult of circumstances. However, there is the risk that it does not address the unequal distribution of resources and unequal access to services across society. People cannot overcome trauma with the ‘right skill set’ when traumatic events continue to occur because of unequal systems. People may be able to learn to manage trauma, but that comes nowhere near overcoming intergenerational trauma.
The cycle of trauma
I want to be clear, as taught in my first trauma training, no one is immune to experiencing trauma. However, minority groups, those who are marginalised, the poor and disenfranchised are far more likely to experience trauma. They are more likely to experience recurring traumas across their lifetime. They are far more likely to experience trauma from one generation to the next.
Rather than go on in my own words about this cycle of trauma I will leave you with the words of an Elder, who sitting beside the fire captured the cycle perfectly by reflecting on his own fiery history. Within his words are the lessons for generational change and it all sits within the empowerment of his own people.
A Teaching
The following has not been recorded verbatim. It was delivered as a teaching and therefore has been interpreted. I’ve written it as I heard it.
All children are born innocent until something negative hits us. Then as we grow there will be a child within us that we have not brought along with us. Those children, without us knowing, can hold us back. There are root causes to everything. Each woman will have different issues. We have to understand them and work with them for who they are and what they’ve experienced. When we all understand this, we will become good teachers. As parents, we are the first teachers. We teach our children before anyone else. We shouldn’t do things for our daughters but with them. When our wives are pregnant, they should be supported, we should not make them upset. The baby is impacted by what mum feels. We need to help her have a good frame of mind. If you have an argument, then you should make sure she wins.
Violence against women fuels their harm. It pulls and pushes her toward self-medicating because that is all that drinking and taking drugs is, it is self-medicating.
We need to understand where we have come from so we don’t keep doing the same things. We have to teach the young this so they have respect for women. None of us can go back. When we know, what has happened we can look ahead, not to deny what has happened, so we look ahead and don’t do these things again.
We don’t have to carry these past pains and keep repeating them. Women are the life givers of our people – older sister, grandmother – are the life givers.
Walk in balance side by side, as equals. Respect women how you respect yourself. Love that woman, do not create violence. Every day we check on one another. In that way, we stay in tune with one another. Do it together rather than individuals and then relationships are strong.
Violence against women fuels their harm. It pulls and pushes her toward self-medicating because that is all that drinking and taking drugs is, it is self-medicating.
We need to understand where we have come from so we don’t keep doing the same things. We have to teach the young this so they have respect for women. None of us can go back. When we know, what has happened we can look ahead, not to deny what has happened, so we look ahead and don’t do these things again.
We don’t have to carry these past pains and keep repeating them. Women are the life givers of our people – older sister, grandmother – are the life givers.
Walk in balance side by side, as equals. Respect women how you respect yourself. Love that woman, do not create violence. Every day we check on one another. In that way, we stay in tune with one another. Do it together rather than individuals and then relationships are strong.
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