Mike Myers: Historical trauma takes hold of tribal nations

Suicide is not a spontaneous event it is the last act in a scenario that has progressed to this moment. Suicide is an outcome of sustained disempowerment, oppression, hopelessness and irreconcilable loss or losses. We’ve heard the term “post traumatic stress disorder”, well I think it’s a complete misnomer when it comes to these issues which are “chronic traumatic stress disorders”. “Post” implies something occurred and is over, but this is the reality of our world.

Dr. Darryl Tonemah (Kiowa, Comanche, Tuscarora) explains four key elements about trauma: “1. Trauma is not just an event, it becomes a lifestyle of anger, hyper-vigilance and self-medication. 2. Trauma left to its own devices will find ways to survive. 3. Trauma “re-creates” the sense or feeling of being overwhelmed in trauma victims. 4. Trauma is not in the event, because once the event is over, the trauma is stored in me.”

The being “stored in me” is important to understand. Elders have taught us that there are four realms of memory – mind, body, heart and spirit. The two that are the least reliable are the mind and heart memories. The body and spirit memories are most accurate because the stored memory becomes part of our “blood memory” or DNA.

The work of Dr. Tassy Parker (Seneca) at the University of New Mexico has focused on the intersection of historical trauma and epigenetics. This work shows that chronic traumatic events can trigger chemical changes to the outer coating of our DNA. These molecular “scars” – the soul wounds - are passed on to our offspring. This is how Historic Trauma takes hold not only in individuals but whole nations.