At a national event I attended this summer hosted by a mainline denomination, Indigenous young men shared around a fire at a reflective circle event. This provided the opportunity to share about their lives — and for others to listen and learn. 

Each shared about trauma they experienced as children and young men and the anger and despair that followed. 

They spoke about addiction, and some about incarceration. All spoke about how participating in a traditional ceremony has led to healing. Building relationships with elders and with each other has helped them to feel less alone and less despairing. 

My life experience is not so different from theirs. I experienced trauma in my early life and lived with anger for a long time, too. Connecting with my culture and the wisdom contained in the cosmology of my people led to healing that has helped to refine the fire I carry within me. The mentorship of Indigenous elders has shaped my life. In relationship with them, I have felt a sense of purpose and connection. 

I also could see how people might misinterpret what was shared. In the dominant narrative, “generational trauma” means something bad happened to a grandparent (like boarding school/residential school), and this negative experience impacted the grandparent’s behavior as they raised their own children. This experience impacts not only how they parent but also how their children go on to parent. In this way of seeing things, experience and action are described at the individual level only. Trauma “trickles down.” 

But this way of describing things does not acknowledge systemic harm — the harm caused by laws and policies that continue to oppress Indigenous people. 

The stories my brothers shared demonstrate the reality of structural violence — the violence that occurs when laws and policies make it impossible for the oppressed to meet their own needs. 

Annexation of our lands destroyed our livelihood and our economic systems. Forced relocation onto reservations that could not support our populations led to poverty. Discrimination in the law removed our ability to govern ourselves. 

non-Native people around the fire might have thought the conversation was about poor choices, addiction and the path to making better choices. But from my point of view, the stories reflected the consequences of an empire legislating violence. 

I never used drugs or alcohol, and I made the choices the dominant cul­ture endorses. I went to college and graduated with honors. But my life has not been easy. I have not accumulated any discernible wealth. 

Why? Because wealth is transferred from one generation to the next, and my education and actions cannot return the lands and resources that were stolen from my family and our people — the basis of generational wealth enjoyed by the descendants of those who originally settled on our lands. 

My people are routinely the poorest in our society. Our men have a life expectancy of 65 years, more than a decade lower than the average, and our women’s life expectancy is not much longer. We have the highest rates of infant mortality, maternal death, incarceration and suicide (the second leading cause of death among youth). 

In the Old Testament, we are told God will visit “the iniquity of the parents upon the children . . . to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:7, also Numbers 14:18 and Deuteronomy 5:9). For years I believed these conditions were specific to Israel prior to Christ’s ministry, but now I wonder if they refer to generational trauma. 

Perhaps trauma is a natural consequence of harm. The harms legislated by empire are handed down to those who continue to wield power. Older generations teach their offspring that systems of oppression are acceptable, and oppression is repeated down the line. 

To this day, our reservation lands are held in trust by the federal government. The federal government can extract resources from lands that were guaranteed to us by treaty. Extraction of copper, lithium, uranium, gold and oil cause pollution that harms our land, water, communities and bodies. 

What might it take to interrupt this cycle? Jesus calls us to repentance. If generational trauma is a consequence of generational sin, perhaps generational repentance would yield justice and healing.