“It’s different things for different people, but it’s the unresolved wounds, or wounds where the hurt hasn’t been resolved. It’s the continuation of practicing behaviours which that hurt causes,
to the generations to come”.....
Aunty Nancy Walke
Transgenerational trauma…
Is created when layers upon layers of trauma are experienced by individuals,
or collectively by a community. It is when trauma is experienced repeatedly,
so negative behaviours begin to manifest because
there is no opportunity to engage in a healing process......
Mel Brown
Transgenerational trauma began at the point of colonisation and continued through the years with assimilation and Stolen Generations policies. All of these experiences greatly affected the wellbeing of Aboriginal Peoples, and still impact on our Peoples today.
Our Aboriginal history, Dreaming and Dreamtime was once passed down orally from family members who were charged with the responsibility and privilege of knowing the “stories”. As a consequence of dispossession and Stolen Generations, we have lost much of our history and therefore the ability to talk through our stories with each other.
With the loss of family and cultural beliefs, our Aboriginal People have lost their ability to debrief, or to have the opportunity to talk through events that have been affecting their lives. There was once structure in place to manage trauma and events in traditional ways were no longer accessible to most Aboriginal Peoples and families.
Ceremonies and rituals that were once practiced to support families and clans in managing traumatic events were lost. What were our people to do with the emotional pain and loss they were suffering? How did Aboriginal people talk about what was happening to them? In most cases local languages were prohibited and practising of traditional customs could lead to death or at the very least removal from their families.
Transgenerational trauma is created when layers upon layers of trauma are experienced by individuals, or collectively by a community. It is when trauma is experienced repeatedly, so negative behaviours begin to manifest because there is no opportunity to engage in a healing process.
These behaviours can vary from physical ailments through to emotional, social and wellbeing issues. When a person is unable to heal from their trauma, negative behaviours can manifest as a coping mechanism, and can often begin to affect their children, families, and communities. A ripple effect begins that has the capacity to travel through generations.
Transgenerational Trauma is not unlike Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many Aboriginal Peoples have lived for generations in a total state of PTSD, never having the chance to heal their past, because the present is still a similar experience for them.
Funded by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation