The Internalized Oppression of North American Indigenous Peoples

Internalized Racism: A Systematic Review of the Psychological Literature on Racism's Most Insidious Consequence

“…Similarly, the development of schools or similar educational spaces (e.g., workshops, after‐school programs, etc.) that promote cultural recovery and empowerment seem promising ways to address internalized racism among Native Americans (e.g., see Gonzalez, Simard, Baker‐Demaray, & Iron Eyes, , for a review), Pacific Islanders (e.g., see Salzman & Laenui, , for a review), African Americans, (e.g., see Bailey, Williams, & Favors, , for a review), and Asian Americans (e.g., see Millan & Alvarez, , for a review) largely because such efforts tend to address power imbalances in the larger society. Further, in addition to strengthening individual and systemic factors that may serve as protection against the development of internalized racism, these community‐level efforts attempt to develop critical awareness among Peoples of Color and spark collective action to challenge racially oppressive social systems—the root cause of internalized racism.…”

“…The importance of understanding and addressing internalized racism has been expressed by other scholars as well (e.g., Bailey, Williams, & Favors, ; Banks & Stephens, ; Gonzalez, Simard, Baker‐Demaray, & Iron Eyes, ; Hipolito‐Delgado, Gallegos Payan, & Baca, ; Millan & Alvarez, ). For example, noted sociologist Karen Pyke () stated that “to forge effective methods of resistance, it is necessary to understand how oppression is internalized and reproduced” (p. 552).…”

Amplifying the Voices of Indigenous Elders through Community Arts and Narrative Inquiry: Stories of Oppression, Psychosocial Suffering, and Survival

“…Kirmayer, Dandeneau, Marshall, Phillips, and Williamson () noted that collective forms of narrative afford people the opportunity to make sense of their experience, construct a valued identity, and ensure the continuity and vitality of a community or a people. Gonzalez, Simard, Baker‐Demaray, and Eyes () emphasized the need to recognize the many stories Indigenous peoples have to tell: “Stories about loss. Stories about suffering.…”

Social and Political Dimensions of Hope

“…If this is right, then perhaps oppression is not a threat to the capacity for hope; it rather results in the formation of a particular hope, namely, the hope that suicide will end one's suffering. With Gonzalez et al (2013), I understand suicide in these sorts of cases not as an expression of hope for release from suffering, but as a choice that is made out of the conviction that one can in fact end one's suffering through suicide. As one 16-year-old Indigenous girl Karina with suicidal thoughts remarked, "I felt like I had no other option; I felt hopeless" (Randhawa 2017).…”

“…… In the end, internalized oppression is the profound despair when choosing suicide as the only option. (Gonzalez et al , 45)…”