Some characters struggle with substance abuse to escape the pain of their own lives and the lives of their parents and forbears, such as Harvey, Jacquie Red Feather, and Thomas Frank, while others, such as Dene Oxendene, seek to bring even the most painful, excruciating stories to light, believing that only visibility can combat the cycle of generational trauma. Some characters turn away from their culture, such as Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, while others are desperate to connect with the rituals and traditions of their ancestors, such as Blue, Edwin Black, and Orvil Red Feather.

The ways in which generational trauma manifests throughout the characters of There There is widespread and varied. Through the fictional character studies that follow, Orange illustrates this thesis, and shows how many of his characters have been brought to the breaking points of their lives by the sadness, suffering, and cruelty they’ve both witnessed and endured. With such terrible weight to bear, pain, anger, and isolation have become the defining hallmarks of an entire community. government, is itself the “prologue” to contemporary Native life. The narrator suggests that the widespread massacres and other attempted genocidal acts, orchestrated by American settlers and later the U.S. In the book’s prologue, an unnamed narrator-perhaps Orange himself-describes the ways in which Native people have been brutalized and systemically attacked throughout American history. Orange ultimately suggests, however bleakly, that until there is a wider reckoning with the history of colonization, extermination, and assimilation Native peoples have been forced to endure, Native communities will become trapped in a vicious cycle of more pain and suffering. As Orange demonstrates the ways in which generational trauma influences the cast of characters within There There, he makes a larger statement about the pain Native communities have been forced to bear over the years. With this legacy of generational trauma to confront each day, Orange suggests, modern-day Native communities increasingly turn to substance abuse and suicide to cope with the staggering weight of inherited pain, trauma, fear, and isolation. In searing nonfiction essays during There There’s prologue and interlude, Tommy Orange offers up unflinching and gruesome depictions of the violence, cruelty, and attempted genocides which have ravaged and depleted indigenous peoples all over North, Central, and South America since the 1400s. Part IV: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (5).

Part IV: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (4).

Part IV: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (3).

Part III: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (2).

Part I: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (1).

Finally, there should be a focus on funding locally developed and Indigenous-led programs that promote community governance and self-determination. Additionally, trauma-informed and healing-aware approaches are essential to program success in addressing intergenerational trauma. The review highlights that there is a strong policy framework to address Indigenous Australians’ social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB), but few that explicitly address the interaction between intergenerational trauma and SEWB. The paper adopts an Indigenous Standpoints approach meaning that Indigenous research and voices are privileged within the report. A comprehensive review of electronic databases was conducted to identify relevant literature. This paper aims to define the link between intergenerational trauma and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and to identify current best-practice policies and programs to address this issue. This prolonged and continuing exposure to trauma and risk factors places Indigenous Australians at a heightened risk of mental ill-health. The colonisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the oppressive practices that followed has resulted in a legacy of unaddressed intergenerational trauma. Where trauma is unacknowledged, it can result in the re-traumatisation of later generations. The link between exposure to trauma and increased risk of poor mental health is well established.

Social & emotional wellbeing Mental health Suicide prevention Family & community Culture, Country & spirituality Service provision Abstract

Quotes intergenerational trauma