Historical Oppression and Indigenous Families: Uncovering Potential Risk Factors for Indigenous Families Touched by Violence

Abstract

Violence against Indigenous women in the United States is higher than for any other racial group. Indigenous women tend to rely on families for support and recovery, yet the risk factors related to Indigenous families affected by violence are unknown. Therefore, interviews from a critical ethnography were used to uncover the perspectives of Indigenous women who have experienced intimate partner violence, along with the professionals who serve them, to understand potential risk factors that create vulnerability to and impair recovery from violence. Several themes emerged from pragmatic horizon analysis of interviews with 49 Indigenous women and professionals who work with tribal members affected by violence, including family divisions and parental impairments (i.e., intergenerational patterns of absent parental figures, parental alcohol abuse, and impaired bonding). Future research should examine these potential risk factors related to families affected by violence and their connections with historical oppression.In this article I explore how historical oppression has been imposed on and has been internalized into the daily lives of many Indigenous School of Social Work, 127 Elk Place, No. 8906, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699 (cburnet3@tulane.edu).

“I Didn't Get to Say Good‐Bye… Didn't Get to Pet My Dogs or Nothing”: Bioecological Theory and the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada

“…Using bioecological theory as a framework would also have implications for therapy, particularly community‐based healing that goes beyond individual therapy (Bombay et al, 2014; Brave Heart, ; Evans‐Campbell, ), as well as family therapy that has an intergenerational and historical orientation (Brave Heart, ; Burnette, ; Evans‐Campbell, ). Finally, bioecological theory can inform education, as authors Battiste () and Burnette () have suggested. An appreciation of Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous experiences of historical trauma can improve education for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous peoples alike.…”

“…Finally, as several scholars have suggested, there is a value in “locating personal and family problems in a historical context. Without this, marginalized groups may be further stigmatized and blamed for problems brought on by injustice and oppression” (Burnette, , p. 366).…”

“…In particular, a handful of social science researchers are studying intergenerational effects of parental attendance at a residential or boarding school (Bombay et al, 2011(Bombay et al, , 2014Bougie & Senécal, 2010;Elias et al, 2012;Evans-Campbell, 2008;Walters et al, 2011). The intergenerational effects of residential school attendance are typically studied in the context of historical trauma (Bombay et al, 2014;Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998;Burnette, 2016aBurnette, , 2016bEvans-Campbell, 2008;Fast & Collin-Vézina, 2010;Nutton & Fast, 2015;Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004): an event, or events, that is widespread among a specific group; that is associated with high levels of collective distress; and that is perpetrated by another group with intent to damage or destroy (Evans-Campbell, 2008). In addition, the historical event(s) continues to undermine contemporary group members' health and well-being; responses to historical events interact with contemporary stressors; and risks associated with historical events accumulate over time and across generations (Bombay et al, 2014).…”

“…Some authors have espoused critical theory and critical pedagogy in their approaches to writing about and teaching about the residential schools (e.g., Burnette, 2016a;Regan, 2010), in particular pedagogy of the oppressed (Freire, 2000). Most North American authors, though, primarily in the field of social work, have focused more specifically on the concepts of historical trauma (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2011Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998;Evans-Campbell, 2008;Fast & Collin-Vézina, 2010;Nutton & Fast, 2015;Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004) or historical oppression (Burnette, 2016a(Burnette, , 2016b in their research on the long-term impact of the residential schools, including the intergenerational transmission of both individual-level and family-level outcomes.…”

“…At the individual level, the long-term impact of the residential schools includes, among others, substance abuse (Chansonneuve, 2007;Nutton & Fast, 2015), depressive symptomology (Bombay et al, 2011(Bombay et al, , 2014, and suicidality (Elias et al, 2012;Kirmayer et al, 2007). At the family level, the long-term impact includes intimate partner violence (Bopp, Bopp, & Lane, 2003;Burnette, 2016b) and compromised or impaired parenting (Nutton & Fast, 2015;Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004). Beyond the emphasis on particular concepts such as historical trauma, there are a few references to broader frameworks that explicitly invoke mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of outcomes such as epigenetic and social learning frameworks (in some cases borrowing from the literature on Holocaust survivors and their children; Bombay et al, 2011Bombay et al, , 2014Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004).…”