The meaning and purpose that we experience as individuals, families, and communities are always framed by the social structures and circumstances within which we live. As painful events of loss can expand our sense of meaning and purpose, they also give direction for whole societies. Let’s look at some ways that social structures are shifting in response to those painful histories.

Deb Haaland

Perhaps one of the most visible indicators that U.S. society is shifting in its acknowledgment of genocide against Native Americans is Deb Haaland (figure 14.19). In 2020, Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, and as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, she oversees federal policies involving the 574 federally recognized tribal nations as well as the national parks and public lands.

Megan Hill, a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Senior Director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School tells more about the occasion (Mineo, 2021):

I heard a collective cheer across Indian Country when Rep. Deb Haaland was tapped to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior by then-President-elect Biden. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were alive with posts celebrating the announcement, highlighting her groundbreaking career of service and leadership, filled with “firsts.” But, mostly, the cheers were of collective honor: She is one of our own. As a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, her success shines light on and gives voice to Natives across the country.

On the one hand, Deb Haaland’s appointment as Secretary represents the resiliency, survivance, and fortitude expressed by Indigenous communities since settlers arrived on their lands. For many, it also represents some steps toward societal healing. As the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary Haaland is also in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a marked shift from the leadership that had carried racist and colonial belief systems for centuries.

While there is much more to be done, Secretary Haaland’s appointment coincides with some other remarkable developments in the human rights, acknowledgment, and well-being of Indigenous peoples of North America. For example, in 2022, U.S. Department of the Interior officials commenced a year-long tour that invites former boarding school students from Native American tribes, Alaskan Native villages, and Native Hawaiian communities to share their stories as part of a permanent oral history collection. Secretary Haaland shared a purpose of this initiative: “It is my priority to not only give voice to the survivors and descendants of federal American Indian boarding school policies but also to address the lasting legacies of these policies so Indigenous peoples can continue to grow and heal” (Fonseca, 2022). In 2023 the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) launched a database that allows Native Americans to search for information on relatives who attended American Indian boarding schools.

Family Healing

What has initiated the better acknowledgment of the experiences of Indigenous people we see today? In great part, it has been the work of Indigenous-led organizations and many decades of Indigenous-led activism working toward recognition, resistance, and decolonization. The stories of Ku Stevens and Marie Wilcox also point to changes that are initiated within Indigenous families and their communities. Ku was inspired by the residential school experience of his great-grandfather but also witnessed how the illumination of those experiences impacted his father. Reflecting on the value of the Wukchumni language dictionary, Ms. Wilcox’s daughter shared that: “Learning this language has brought the family closer together.…Mom inspired people to want to learn” (Seelye, 2021).

Some are choosing to share the very difficult stories of assimilation, abuse, and deaths that contribute to their lived experiences. For example, elders are speaking more readily about their experiences in residential schools as they understand how sharing their stories contributes to the healing of younger people in their communities. It’s a way to break intergenerational trauma by bringing their stories to light (Krouskop, 2020).

Societal shifts support elders in this sharing. The stigmatization that has long been associated with mental health struggles and with receiving counseling help is waning. Also, the exclusive use of Western approaches to healing from historical and generational trauma is under scrutiny. There’s a wider acknowledgment that Indigenous healing instead needs to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and wisdom. Part of that wisdom is the value of healing in the community and with families in focus. Inherent to their communal nature, those healing practices are also interdisciplinary. One community member may diagnose an individual’s spiritual health. Another may prepare herbal remedies, while others may prepare a ceremony to support healing (Joseph, 2022).

For example, the Union of Ontario Indians has published a booklet titled “How Do We Heal?” It’s a community wellness plan that addresses the impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system. The author, Dr. Brenda M. Restoule, points to the value of learning and teaching about the histories specific to each nation, including how they are connected to land, water, animals, and plants. It’s a way for communities to work together as part of the healing process, finding common ground in their experiences, which fosters a sense of family and community pride, trust, and hope. Here’s part of her account (Restoule, 2013, p. 7):

For some families and communities holding ceremonies and memorials to recognize and acknowledge the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools has had a powerful and healing effect for the entire community. Other types of cultural practices that support healthy grieving include ceremonies for feasting the ancestors, memorial feasts for family and community members who have passed on and teachings on spirit journeys, to name a few.

…Revitalization of culture can be found in the practice of cultural activities and ceremonies throughout the community; activities such as cultural practices, cultural ceremonies and reconnection to land, water, animals, and plants are central to healing from intergenerational trauma. Unlike non-First Nation-based treatment methods, cultural practices and ceremonies are built upon the premise of strength and resiliency.

When healing methods begin from the point of believing in the resiliency of the Anishinabek people this promotes the belief that we have the power to become well, the power to take care of ourselves and the power to create lasting change. In essence, resiliency promotes power and control; the very pillars necessary to move beyond trauma and to heal.

Licenses and Attributions for Looking Ahead: Deb Haaland

Open Content, Original

“Looking Ahead: Deb Haaland and Family Healing” by Aimee Samara Krouskop. License: CC BY 4.0.

Open Content, Shared Previously

Figure 14.19. “Secretary Deb Haaland” © Yellowstone National Park on Flickr. Public domain.

References

DeAngelis, Tori. 2019. “The Legacy of Trauma.” American Psychological Association Vol 50(No. 2):print version: 36. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/02/legacy-trauma

Joseph, Jasmine. 2022. “Healing Generational Trauma; For Black and Indigenous Communities, It Takes More than Therapy and Medicine to Tackle Mental Illness. We Need a Holistic Approach.”

Fonseca, Felicia. “Interior Department Report Identifies More Native American Boarding Schools and Burial Sites.” Public Broadcasting Service, PBS Newshour, 11 May 2022, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/interior-department-report-identifies-more-native-american-boarding-schools-and-burial-sites.

Krouskop, Aimee Samara. 2020. Notes from listening to Kwakwaka’wakw guides with Sea Wolf Adventures.

Mineo, Liz. “For the First Time, a Native American May Oversee U.S. Policies on Tribal Nations.” Harvard Gazette, 16 Feb. 2021, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/02/importance-of-appointing-a-native-american-as-secretary-of-interior/.

Restoule, Dr. Brenda M. 2013. “How Do We Heal? Creating a Community Wellness Plan That Addresses the Impacts of the Indian Residential School System.”