History at its best helps the present make sense of the past. History at its best tells the nation’s story through the voices of all the people. These voices enlighten and provide wise counsel for the present, creating healthy and creative communities. History at its worst not only ignores the different voices, but eliminates them altogether. The resulting silence lives on and is seen and heard in the painful, dehumanizing community stories etched out regularly on American Indian reservations today. History at its worst is the narrative lived and experienced currently by the Indigenous peoples in the United States. This aftermath of the near extinction of the original peoples is still felt today, and its adverse effects are carried down from generation to generation. This phenomenon is known as historical trauma. In order to combat its adverse effects, it is critical to create new stories that are alive with the hope and determination reflective of a rich past that is not entirely lost. Beginning in 2013, Stone Child College (SCC) engaged in a three-year process of designing and developing a comprehensive curriculum on historical trauma with the ultimate goal of individual and community healing. In addressing historical trauma at SCC, they began with these philosophical and educational tenets in mind: (1) education is an effective way to heal from the historical trauma of loss of land, loss of people, loss of family, and loss of culture; (2) each person must take responsibility for self-healing; and (3) as a communal culture, healing takes place within the context of community. Using a spiral model provided the opportunity for in-depth and repeated explorations of the key concepts of historical trauma from different perspectives, always with a focus on: (1) What does historical trauma look like?; (2) How does it feel?; and (3) What does it feel like to be healed? Overall, SCC opted for a curriculum design that focuses on information processing and deep thinking. Stone Child College has now taught the entire historical trauma curriculum during two summer terms and continues to teach it as an integral component of its overall academic curriculum.
Source:
Allery, V.P. “The Fire That Is Beginning to Stand”: Teaching Historical Trauma at Stone Child College.” Tribal College. Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 28, No. 3, 2017.
