Transcript Historical Trauma & Family Engagement Strategies

HISTORICAL TRAUMA &
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
STRATEGIES
Best Practices for Native Students
Professional Development
Thursday, June 12 th 2014
Presented by Deanna StandingCloud,
MPS Indian Education
BOOZHOO!
Objectives
• Become acquainted with the
boarding school era & the history
of Indian Education.
• Understand the impact of
Historical Trauma on
student learning.
• Learn strategies to engage
Native students & families in
our schools.
Disclaimer
•
•
We tell you about the boarding schools, and other important historical events NOT to blame, guilt or further victimization through lateral
violence BUT SIMPLY for others to hear the truth.
We do not have a magic formula that will engage Native students & families. These strategies are recommendations. The idea is to be
consistent, patient & respectful
• We do not have a magic formula that will engage
Native students & families. These strategies are
recommendations. The idea is to be consistent,
patient & respectful.
• We tell you about the boarding schools, and other
important historical events NOT to blame, guilt or
further victimization through lateral violence BUT
SIMPLY for others to hear the truth.
P.S. Do not try this at home…..
…..but go ahead in your classroom! 
Original Education
Before contact, Indigenous people
honored children through teaching.
Children at a very young age played an
important role in the community.
Learning by observation, storytelling,
and contributing, children received
consistent and communal care.
Babies are traditionally
considered sacred gifts from the
Creator.
1492
Christopher Columbus arrived
in the Caribbean on October
12th 1492 to encounter a
diverse Indigenous
population. Columbus had an
uncontrollable lust for gold.
He enslaved thousands of
Taino people, launching an
insidious genocidal campaign.
“…they were well-built, with good bodies
and handsome features....They would make
fine servants....With fifty men we could
subjugate them all and make them do
whatever we want.“
-Christopher Columbus
Extermination
By 1496, 4 million Indigenous
people had died by slavery,
torture, murder, disease, and
terrorism.
By 1535, an entire culture was
decimated. An estimated 8-10
million people dead.
"The destruction of the Indians of the Americas
was, far and away, the most massive act of
genocide in the history of the world."
~David E. Stannard.
What is Genocide?
United Nations Convention on Genocide
in 1948 defines characteristics of
Genocide:
The systematic killing of all
the people from a national,
ethnic, or religious group, or
an attempt to do this.
•
Killing members of the group causing
serious bodily or mental harm to
members of the group
•
Deliberately inflicting on the group
conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole
or in part
•
Imposing measures intended to
prevent births within the group
•
Forcibly transferring children of the
group to another group.
Historical Trauma
Cumulative emotional and
psychological wounding over the
lifespan and across generations,
emanating from massive group
trauma.
- Dr. Maria YellowHorse-BraveHeart
Traumatic Events
•
Warfare/Biological Warfare
• Loss of land base & resources
• Ongoing treaty violations
• Relocations/Removal
• Reservation confinement
• Prohibition of spiritual &
cultural practices
• Forced sterilization
• Community massacres
• Indian mascots
• Boarding schools/Assimilation
Historical Timeline
1616 – Smallpox decimates Native population in New England
1831 – Supreme Court Case between Cherokee Nations vs. Georgia
1851 – Fort Laramie Treaties were signed
1853 – Extermination of tribes in California
1862 – 38 Dakota hung in Mankato
1876 – Battle of Little Big Horn
1877 – U.S. Govt. seized the Black Hills in violation of treaty agreement
1887 – Dawes (Allotment) Act
1889 – Ghost Dance Movement begins
1890 – Over 300 Lakota were massacred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
1893 – Boarding School Policy
1917 – More than 17,000 Indians enlist in military during WWI
1924 – American Indians are granted citizenship
Historical Timeline
1928 – Meriam Report published illustrating dire situation of Indians
1934 – Johnson O’Malley Act established
1944 – National Congress of American Indians established
1953 – Termination & Relocation Era
1968 – American Indian Movement & Women of All Red Nations
1972 – Indian Education Act
1978 – Indian Child Welfare Act
1978 – Indian Religious Freedom Act
1990 – Native Language Act
1996 – Clinton declares Nov. National American Indian Heritage Month
1996 – Colbell vs. Salazar was filed
2005 – Red Lake School Shooting
2006 – Minneapolis School Board signs historic Memorandum of Agreement
Question?
• What does this have to do with the
Native students sitting in my
classroom?
“The canary effect”
Video Clip
Boarding School Education
•Mandatory attendance
•Military style regiment
•Speak only English
•Become Christian
•Learn farming, a trade, or service
skill
•Shame of culture and cultural
practices
•Assimilation
Trauma & Brain Development
When a developing brain
processes consistent violence or
trauma:
• Neuron receptors cannot make
healthy connections
• Increases heart rate & develops
cardiovascular abnormalities
• Programs the brain to signal
body to respond in a hypervigilant & unpredictable
pattern
The human brain is remarkable
organ capable of absorbing &
storing more bits of information
than any other species.
Learned Helplessness
1967 experiment by Seligman and Maier on dogs showing that for
the group originally given no way out, most will fail to escape
future shocks even when shown how to escape.
Seligman later equated this to depression in humans.
You believe you are no longer in control of your environment, so
you stop trying.
Symptoms of Trauma
• High suicide rate
• High mortality rate
• High alcoholism/substance abuse
rates
• Domestic violence
• Child abuse
• Low self-esteem
• Anxiety/Stress related illnesses
• Anger
• Shame
• Fear/Distrust
• Loss of concentration
• Isolation
• Loss of sleep
• Uncomfortable in institutions
• Gang activity
• Hypersensitivity
• Hypervigilent
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Poverty
Trauma & Student Learning
Symptoms of trauma that are not
compatible to student learning
include:
• Poor sleeping & eating habits
• Irritable, hypersensitive &
aggressive behavior
• Extreme temper tantrums
• Exaggerated startle response
• Problems with concentration or
memory
• Socially withdrawn
• High anxiety
• Misinterpretation of verbal & nonverbal cues
• Impulsive actions
• Poor self regulation & time
management
Cultural Identity
Acculturation is a TEMPORARY state.
A process by which an individual or
group socially adapts to a new situation.
Assimilation is a PERMANENT state.
A process by which an individual or
group is absorbed into another group or
culture.
If we didn’t experience the trauma, how could we have symptoms?
 First degree relatives of
those with PTSD have a
higher rate of anxiety and
substance abuse
 Children of substance
abusers attempt suicide at
a higher rate
 Children from parents with
anxiety or depression have
an increase risk of
developing similar mood
disorders.
Velma Little Eagle-Balderas
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Retired Lakota Language & Culture Teacher
“I am a grandparent with legal custody of five of
my grandchildren. I was an educator for 19 years
and worked with grades K-12. I am the oldest of
13 children.”
Guest Speaker & Respected Elder
Question?
What behaviors are present when a
student & parents are engaged in
school?
Question?
How have you been able to successfully
engage your Native students?
Strategies to Engaging
Native students
• Be respectful with students
• Build trust by showing kindness,
honesty & openness
• Get to know student
• Create a positive environment
• Be fair and sincere
• Provide options or choices in
assignments
• Teach units that reflect Native
American culture & history
• Make students accountable &
require them to do the work
• Have a sense of humor!
• Use hands on activities
• Utilize a softer tone of voice
• Play music & provide creative
opportunities
• Find experiential learning
opportunities to fulfill academic
standards
• Use Ojibwe/Dakota words when
possible
• Build upon student strengths &
interests
Questions?
Hit the road, Chris!
On April 25th 2014, the City
of Minneapolis declared
the second Monday of
October as INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE’S DAY!
…..and don’t cha come back no more,
no more, no more, no more!
Further Resources
• “The Canary Effect”, a 2006 documentary by Robin Davey &
Yellow Thunder Woman
• “Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life”, a 2011 book by Diane
Wilson
• “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid
to Ask”, a 2012 book by Dr. Anton Treuer
• “Kill the Indian, Save the Man”, a 2003 book by Ward Churchill
• “American Holocaust”, a 1992 book by David Stannard
• “In the White Man’s Image”, a 2007 PBS film hosted by David
McCullogh
• “Rethinking Columbus”, a 1996 book for teachers edited by
Bigelow & Peterson
Contact Me!
Deanna StandingCloud
Minion on Special Assignment &
Family Engagement Coordinator
MPS Indian Education
1250 West Broadway Avenue
www.indianed.mpls.k12.mn.us
612.668.0612
[email protected]
Getebiikwe says, “Miigwech Bizindawiyen!
Gigawaabamin!”
Acknowledgements
•
Sorkness, Harold L., and Lynn Kelting-Gibson. "Effective Teaching Strategies for Engaging
Native American Students." (2006): 1-16. Web.
•
Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School. Dir. Chip Richie. Perf. Grace Thorpe.
2008. DVD.
•
"History of Indian Education - OIE." History of Indian Education - OIE. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June
2014.
•
"Indian Education Department." Indian Education Department. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2014.
•
Beardslee, WR & Wheelock, I.(1994). Children of parents with affective disorders: Empirical findings
and clinical implications. In W.M. Reynolds & H.F. Johnson (Eds) Handbook of depression in children
and adolescents (pp.463-479). New York: Plenum.
•
Segal, B. (in press) Personal violence and historical trauma among Alaska Native pre-teen girls, and
adolescent girls and women in treatment for substance abuse, in Brave Heart, DeBruyn, Segal,
Taylor, & Daw (Eds) Historical Trauma within the American experience: Roots, effects and healing.
New York: Haworth Press.
•
Brave Heart, M.Y.H.(2003). The historical trauma response among Natives and its relationship with
substance abuse: a Lakota illustration, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 35(1), 7-13.