What We Carry for Our Ancestors: Intergenerational Healing | Serene Thin Elk | TEDxSiouxFalls

TEDx Talks

5 Oct 202217:38

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRA Lakota speaker reflects on the deep connection to her ancestors and the significance of speaking her native language, despite historical attempts to erase it. She shares a transformative dream that guided her towards healing intergenerational trauma and understanding the profound impact of historical events on Native people. Emphasizing the importance of cultural rituals, community, and epigenetics, she advocates for integrating ancestral wisdom and resilience into modern healing practices. Her narrative honors her late brother and encourages others to face and heal ancestral traumas with strength and purpose.

Takeaways

🌍 The speaker greets in Lakota Nakota language, emphasizing the connection to cultural identity, family, and ancestors.
💔 Speaking the ancestral language is a revolutionary act against historical attempts to eradicate it.
😔 The speaker experienced profound emotional and psychological trauma in their 20s, feeling confused and alone.
🌊 In a dream, a woman symbolized the sacredness of water and the deep-rooted fears and traumas of the speaker's people.
🛡️ The woman in the dream taught the speaker about resilience and the strength from their ancestors.
🧠 Psychological trauma can alter brain chemistry and overall functioning, and intergenerational trauma can be passed down biologically and behaviorally.
🪖 Historical trauma among Native people stems from centuries of genocide and systemic oppression, like the boarding school era.
💔 Internalized oppression and shame result from generations of cultural assimilation and abuse.
🔄 Lateral oppression occurs within Native communities due to unresolved traumas and scarce resources.
🔬 Epigenetics shows how environmental events leave imprints on genetic makeup, affecting future generations.
✨ The concept of the soul wound highlights the spiritual aspect of intergenerational trauma.
💪 Healing from trauma involves recognizing the strength and resilience inherited from ancestors.
📚 The speaker's late brother, who struggled with addiction, symbolizes both the impact of trauma and the importance of healing and connection.
🤝 Healing requires a combination of clinical interventions and community-based, traditional practices.
🌀 The Bigfoot Ride is an example of honoring ancestors and integrating painful history into meaningful practices.

Q & A

Why does the speaker find it important to greet in Lakota Nakota language?
-The speaker finds it important to greet in Lakota Nakota language as it is a connection to their cultural identity, family, ancestors, and who they are today. Speaking the language is a revolutionary act given the historical attempts to eradicate it through assimilation.
What significant event did the speaker experience in their 20s that influenced their personal and professional path?
-In their 20s, the speaker experienced a profound dream where they were at the bottom of the ocean with 13 others and a beautiful woman who communicated the sacredness of water and the resilience of their ancestors. This dream provided clarity and insight into their path forward.
What is intergenerational trauma and how does it manifest?
-Intergenerational trauma is the passing on of trauma from one generation to the next. It can manifest biologically through epigenetics and behaviorally through learned behaviors in the environment. It affects brain chemistry, biology, and overall functioning.
What historical trauma do Native people specifically experience?
-Native people experience historical trauma due to centuries of genocide, including the boarding school era where children were taken from their families, subjected to abuse, and forced to assimilate, resulting in a loss of cultural identity and widespread trauma.
What is the concept of internalized oppression mentioned in the script?
-Internalized oppression occurs when individuals start to believe the negative messages they receive about themselves and no longer need external abuse because they perpetuate the abuse internally. It is rooted in shame and results from being told that their inherent identity is wrong.
How does the speaker describe the effect of their brother's life and death on their understanding of trauma and healing?
-The speaker describes their brother as embodying the polarities of trauma, experiencing profound highs and lows due to addiction. His life taught valuable lessons about healing and resilience, and his memory inspires the speaker to continue their work in addressing intergenerational trauma.
What is the significance of the Bigfoot Ride mentioned in the script?
-The Bigfoot Ride is a journey taken by Native people to honor their ancestors and pray for their spirits, inspired by a dream. It serves as a way to integrate painful historical events into a meaningful practice, contributing to collective healing.
What is the role of epigenetics in intergenerational trauma according to the speaker?
-Epigenetics explains how environmental events leave imprints on genetic makeup, which can be passed down to subsequent generations. These imprints can activate trauma responses, demonstrating the biological aspect of intergenerational trauma.
What does the speaker mean by 'soul wound'?
-The 'soul wound' is a concept described by Dr. Eduardo Duran, referring to the deep emotional and spiritual injuries caused by intergenerational and historical trauma. It suggests that trauma impacts the spirit or soul, where no blood flows, requiring holistic healing approaches.
How does the speaker suggest we approach healing from intergenerational trauma?
-The speaker suggests that healing from intergenerational trauma requires a combination of clinical interventions and a return to cultural roots, including community support, traditional practices, and creating spaces that honor ancestral knowledge and connections.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 Dream and Insight into Healing

The speaker begins by greeting in Lakota language, emphasizing its cultural and ancestral significance. She recounts a profound dream where she was at the ocean floor with others, learning from a woman about the sacredness of water and its connection to human emotions and intentions. The woman creates a wave symbolizing intergenerational trauma, and the speaker is reminded of the resilience and tools passed down by her ancestors to withstand such waves of fear and trauma. This dream provided clarity on her personal and professional path in addressing intergenerational trauma and healing.

05:00

🧠 Understanding Psychological and Intergenerational Trauma

The speaker explains the different types of trauma, starting with psychological trauma from individual events that alter brain chemistry and overall functioning. She then discusses intergenerational trauma, where trauma is passed from one generation to the next both biologically, through epigenetics, and behaviorally, through learned behaviors. She highlights the specific historical trauma faced by Native people, such as the boarding school era where children were taken from their families to be assimilated, resulting in deep-seated trauma that still affects Native communities today.

10:01

💔 The Impact of Internalized and Lateral Oppression

The speaker discusses the concept of internalized oppression, where individuals begin to believe the negative things said about them, leading to self-destructive behavior rooted in shame. This internalized oppression can then manifest as lateral oppression, where members of the same community turn against each other due to unhealed trauma. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and healing from these traumas to break the cycle of oppression within Native communities.

15:02

🌀 Healing Through Ancestral Practices

The speaker introduces the concept of epigenetics and the soul wound, explaining how environmental events leave imprints in genetic makeup that can be healed by current generations. She shares her personal transformation from feeling burdened by her people's trauma to seeing it as a responsibility to honor and heal. She underscores the importance of integrating traditional practices and community support into modern healing methods, exemplified by the Bigfoot Ride, a ceremonial journey to honor ancestors and heal collectively.

💧 Water and the Journey of Healing

The speaker concludes by reflecting on the power of water as a symbol of healing. She shares a personal story about her brother, who struggled with addiction and trauma but taught valuable lessons about healing. His passing in Hawaii, a place with significant water imagery, symbolizes the ongoing journey of healing for both the speaker and her community. She encourages others to embrace their ancestral burdens as opportunities for profound healing and growth.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Intergenerational Trauma

Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of trauma from one generation to the next. In the script, it is described as both a biological and behavioral phenomenon, where traumatic experiences of ancestors affect the descendants. This concept is central to understanding the speaker's experiences and the broader theme of healing within Indigenous communities.

💡Epigenetics

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the DNA sequence. The script explains that trauma experienced by ancestors can leave imprints on the genetic makeup of their descendants. This scientific perspective supports the idea that the effects of historical trauma are not just psychological but also biological.

💡Historical Trauma

Historical trauma refers to the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over an individual's lifespan and across generations, caused by massive group trauma experiences. For Indigenous peoples, this includes colonization, forced assimilation, and genocide. The script highlights how these historical events continue to impact Native communities today.

💡Assimilation

Assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and culture come to resemble those of another group. The script discusses the forced assimilation of Native children through boarding schools, where they were made to abandon their cultural identities in favor of Western norms. This process was deeply traumatic and is a significant aspect of historical trauma.

💡Soul Wound

The soul wound is a term used to describe the deep spiritual and emotional pain caused by intergenerational trauma. Dr. Eduardo Duran's concept, mentioned in the script, explains how trauma affects the very essence of an individual's being, going beyond physical and psychological impacts to touch the spirit or soul.

💡Lateral Oppression

Lateral oppression refers to the internalized oppression that manifests as individuals within a marginalized group oppressing each other. In the context of the script, it describes how Native people, affected by intergenerational trauma and internalized shame, sometimes turn against each other, perpetuating harm within their communities.

💡Boarding School Era

The Boarding School Era was a period when Native American children were forcibly taken from their families and placed in government-run boarding schools to assimilate them into Western culture. The script describes the abuses suffered by children in these schools, including physical, sexual, and spiritual abuse, which contributed to the intergenerational trauma experienced by Native communities.

💡Cultural Identity

Cultural identity refers to a person's sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group. The speaker in the script emphasizes the importance of their Lakota Nakota language and traditions as a connection to their cultural identity and ancestors. Maintaining this identity is portrayed as an act of resistance and healing against the historical efforts to eradicate it.

💡Psychological Trauma

Psychological trauma is the emotional and mental injury caused by extremely stressful or life-threatening events. The script details the speaker's personal experiences with trauma symptoms, such as confusion and feeling alone, which were triggered by past events and ancestral memories. This highlights the pervasive impact of trauma on mental health.

💡Healing

Healing, in the context of the script, refers to the process of recovering from the emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounds caused by trauma. The speaker talks about the importance of healing intergenerational trauma through connection to cultural practices, community support, and understanding one's ancestral history. Healing is presented as both a personal journey and a collective effort.

Highlights

Greeting in Lakota Nakota language emphasizes cultural identity and connection to ancestors.

Speaking ancestral language is a revolutionary act against assimilation.

Intergenerational trauma and healing are significant topics discussed.

Personal experience with trauma symptoms in her 20s, living in Boston.

A profound dream at the ocean floor leading to clarity on personal and professional path.

The dream's woman figure highlights the sacredness of water and human energy.

Intergenerational trauma impacts brain chemistry, biology, and overall functioning.

Historical trauma among Native people is linked to genocide and assimilation policies.

The boarding school era forcibly assimilated Native children, causing generational trauma.

Internalized oppression and shame result from being told one's identity is wrong.

Lateral oppression occurs when trauma leads to conflict within Native communities.

Epigenetics shows environmental events can imprint on genetic makeup, passed down generations.

Dr. Eduardo Duran's concept of the 'soul wound' emphasizes spiritual impacts of trauma.

Healing intergenerational trauma involves understanding and honoring ancestors' experiences.

The Bigfoot Ride as a cultural practice to honor ancestors and integrate trauma into daily life.

Personal reflections on the burden and privilege of addressing ancestral trauma.

Unique PTSD symptoms in Native people include flashbacks of historical trauma.

The importance of holistic healing approaches, including community and cultural practices.

The speaker's brother's life and death from addiction as a poignant example of trauma's impact.

Healing involves recognizing and utilizing the resources and resilience within one's lineage.

Final thoughts on finding stillness and healing in grief, symbolized by the water.

Transcripts

Browse More Related Video

Living with Borderline Personality Disorder

Crappy Childhood Fairy's Story of Healing Emotional Dysregulation After Growing Up in Abuse

Lysa TerKeurst: Moving On From Broken Trust and Heartbreak | FULL EPISODE | Women of Faith on TBN

Healing vs. Retaliation: Surviving Trauma and Sexual Abuse | Peter and Adenike Harris | TEDxPasadena

Nora McInerny: Move Through Grief Paralysis

Sexual abuse and rape can be the making, not the breaking of you | Lydia Ward | TEDxLeamingtonSpa