Healing the American Indian Soul Wound (original) (raw)
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Socius, 2018
The unique physical, cultural, and ecological location of U.S. American Indian reservations simultaneously presents risks for mental health and offers sources of resilience to Native peoples. Using survey data from two American Indian tribes, we explore whether the length of one's life spent on a reservation is associated with lower odds of psychological distress. In both tribes, we find that individuals who live a vast majority of their lives on the reservation have lower odds of psychological distress than individuals who spent portions of their life off or near the reservation. These findings suggest a need to reframe the perception of life experience on tribal reservations but also call for a more nuanced investigation of the life experience of American Indians. This study illustrates the importance of deeply exploring the relationship that American Indians have with their tribal reservation lands.
1999
This manuscript has beerr reproduced from the m W l m master. UMI films the text diredly from the original or copy submiUed. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in F e r face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. the quality of this reproduction k dependent upen the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print Meedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reprodudion. In the unlikely event that the author di d not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indiite the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sedions with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints am available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contad UMI directfy to otdet. 8811 8 Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48706-1346 USA ~5 2~-0 6 0 0 "REAL" INDIANS AND OTHERS-BRACE URRAN NATIII&: PEOPLE, THE INDUN ACT, AND TlYE ReBLflLDINIO OF IlltPIGENOUS MTIONS Bonita Lawrence A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philooophy Department of Sociology m d Equity Studiee Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the Umiversity of Toronto @ Copyright by Bonita Lawrence April 1999 National Library 1*1 of Canada Bibliothbque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitians et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OnawaON KlAON4 OUawaON K 1 A W Canada CaMda The author has granted a nonexclusive licence allowing the National Library of Canada to reproduce, loan, distribute or sell copies of this thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats. The author retains ownership of the copyright in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts f?om it may be printed or otheIwise reproduced without the author's permission. L'auteur a accorde m e licence non exclusive permettant a la Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduke, preter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de cette these sous la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent &e imprimes ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. "Real" I n d i a n s and Others: M b d-R a c e Urban &ti= People, the I n d i a n A-and the Rebuilding of I n d i g e n o u t Ahions
The vestiges of Native American historical trauma manifest in various painful and selfdefeating forms of internalized oppression. An etiological understanding of this dynamic is based on research of survivors of the Jewish holocaust or Shoah. Deep correlations exist between the Jewish and Native American experiences that have been acknowledged by the Jewish people themselves. Themes of Jewish survivance are examined in relation to emerging literature on Native American revitalization efforts. Within this context, the little discussed massacre at Bear River (Bia Ogoi) is highlighted as a graphic example of Shoshone genocide and diaspora. Relocated and recombined with other tribal groups onto distant reservations and stripped of their own ancient language, culture and spiritual connection via boarding schools, and missionization, the Shoshone, like many other tribal groups in America, are manifesting shocking rates of suicide, alcoholism, physical illnesses and violent crime. Following regenerative themes of re-enactment and remembrance from Jewish and other Native groups, ancient Shoshoni ceremonies and cultural patterns are sourced as potentially vital reservoirs of ancestral memory and prereservation identity within Big Basin Native America. Of these, the naraya, an ancient Shoshoni circle dance, is discussed at some length. Historical trauma challenges specific to two Shoshone groups, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe of the Fort Hall reservation and the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation are discussed through the observational lens of a neighboring social worker involved in Shoshone revitalization efforts. These observations are followed by suggested Shoshoni revitalization strategies which tribal members may find helpful in restoring pre-reservation ancestral memory and reunifying Big Basin Native identity.
Journal of Health and Human Experience, 2021
The 1830s marked the beginning of the epically profound events of the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears which forced removal of the Indigenous “Five Tribes:” the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Seminole, and Cherokee tribes, as well as numerous tribal nations who were living among them. Each of the tribal citizens either submitted to or were forced from their homes at gunpoint and taken to prison in central holding stables. Many were sick and died even before the march across thousands of miles. When the move finally began, the Indigenous peoples were in a weakened state and resultantly lost at least a quarter of their population by the time they reached Indian Territory--what is today known as “occupied Oklahoma.” These events were part of a long trajectory of the erasure of Indian peoples from the hearts and minds of the U.S. colonial-settler state. However, the 1830s removals were a definitive era, which still continues to impact the identity of the survivors and their descendants. Nine interviews with current tribal members of the Five Tribes reveal the agency of survivance and resiliency among the descendants of those who survived ethnic cleansing. **Authors: Nicky Michael, Beverly Jean Smith, William Lowe