Indian Country'’s Historical Trauma And Mental Health Issues Of The 21st Century

INDIAN COUNTRY'S HISTORICAL TRAUMA AND THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OF THE 21ST CENTURY



By Mike (Ali) Raccoon Eyes Kinney






About 85% of Native People nationally have mental health issues such as anxiety-panic attacks, depression, and anger- violence issues. We as Native People must ask ourselves- "Why?"


It stems from 2 places, the first part is we suffer from Historical Trauma from the past. It is inter-generational.


The second part of Historic Trauma is how Native People inter-generationally manifest the mental, emotional, and psychology along with the physical symptoms of diabetes,obesity and alcoholism. This combined equates both mental and physical health issues of Indian Country.


According Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Ph.D.,: " Five hundred years of conquest, death cultural deprivation, and mistreatment have left North American native populations with unresolved grief about their history, which must be openly discussed if it is going to be resolved."


Medical anthropologist Spero Manson, Ph.D.,: " What Native people living today experience counts more than what happened to their ancestors. Trauma is also associated with risk for and high rates of onset and poor control of diabetes, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."


Whether it be government commodities on the reservation or the food you buy in the super market, or fast food restaurants, all of it has high quantities of sugar.



Sugar contributes directly to diabetes, obesity and alcoholism, which in turns contributes to the mental health issues anxiety-panic attacks,depression and anger-violence issues. They in turn manifest into cardio-vascular problems, strokes and heart attacks. All of these are directly linked and inter-connected as being the biggest killers of Native People in Indian Country.



Historical Trauma that we suffer from and the issues of mental and physical health that emits from must have Spiritual answers in order to resolve these problems. I cannot emphasis enough that we as Native People are Creator's Holy People.



Indian Country today must make a real spiritual commitment as Native individuals to quit beating ourselves up, pounding ourselves and attacking ourselves for crimes we have never committed with regards to Historical Trauma. In this Spiritual commitment, we as Indian people must view ourselves to work daily at having better self-esteem, self-worth and self-value.



We have to learn how to reprogram ourselves as Indian individuals from a spiritual place. When you understand how Historical Trauma has handicapped and destroyed us-mentally, psychologically and emotionally. The you are prepared to embrace the empowerment of our Native Spirituality and in turn the power of Spiritual transformation.



The second part of the reprogramming is addressing the sugar based food and drink you consume, and the issues of food consumption that lead to sugar based food and drink addictions that lead to obesity, diabetes and alcoholism.



I am former 22 year alcohol career drinker, like many people in Indian Country. I have been sober for 12 years now. When I was alcoholic and abusing alcohol, I saw no vision, no hope and no tomorrow.

While I was active in the Movement for more Human and Civil Rights for Indian Country, I still had no real plan with my alcoholism.



I had made numerous attempts to gain my sobriety, but always failed. I had issues of hatred for mainstream society and self-hatred issues of myself as being a mixed-blood Native person. All of the men of my family were inter-generational alcoholics that died in their late 30s or early 40s due to alcohol related diseases or accidents. Since being sober and now at the age of 57, I have outlived all of the men on my father's side of the family.



By mid-40s I was still drinking and abusing alcohol. One day I was in a Local book store looking in their Native section and saw a book that changed my life spiritually forever.



It was entitled:' Lame Deer- Seeker of Visions'. In his autobiography, Elder Lame Deer had reclaimed his life from alcoholism and soon became a famous Spiritual Lakota holy man and doctor.



In his book there was a chapter entitled : 'Getting Drunk and Going to Jail'. I devoured word he experienced while being a career drinker. He clearly explained the cycle of alcohol addiction of why we as Native People drink-the sugar in the alcohol.



He explained that all Native People were on a treadmill cycle of sugar-based food and drink consumption that contained great quantizes of sugar. And that the sugar in the alcohol was a part of that cycle.



Elder Lame Deer radicalized me when I saw sugar in it's relationship to alcohol.



At that time in my life, sugar was the only thing I lived for. !0 cups of coffee with great amounts of sugar before I went to work. The countless donuts and pastries, cups of coffee at work , more sugar. At lunchtime off to the local bar for several glasses of wine, more sugar. Finishing the work day with more countless donuts and pastries, cups of coffee at work, more sugar. Drinking malted liquor and processed foods like macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, more sugar!



I noticed I have become a compulsive eater and craved as much food that I could consume that were high in sugar content. I eventually beat the compulsive eating disorder during the first year of my sobriety from alcohol and lost 58 pounds. I'm still working on my goal to reduce my intake of processed foods that white flour and sugar.



I went to the Creator and did prayer to ask for spiritual guidance and help to ensure my spiritual commitment to stop using alcohol and break the cycle of my compulsive eating disorder. By the third of day my sobriety from alcohol and food consumption, I knew I could do it.



For the past 12 years I have been sober and can proudly tell you I have never once relapsed with alcohol and lost 58 pounds in the first year of my sobriety.





' IN ORDER TO HAVE BASIC SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION, ONE MUST BE EMPOWERED BY TRADITIONAL NATIVE SPIRITUALITY '





The Creator shows us by example that we must sacrifice something lesser in order to have something greater. In order to return to Native spirituality and to make Spiritual transformation, one must learn our songs, our dances, learn the medicines and above all else; learn the Prayers.





Every thought and word is a prayer. There are different ways of Praying. The Spiritual power of prayer can permit Native people to do anything in a good way. If you do not do the medicine or prayer in the right way, then you can't expect to benefit from it. Every thought and word, 24 hours a day is a prayer.

That's what has to guide our lives.



The Creator is interested in what's good and spiritual right for us. We have to approach the Creator in a good and humble way. Because when a Native individual has become gifted with spiritual blessing from the Creator, it represents a different kind of power, a different kind energy and a different kind of strength for we Native people.



The Creator wants you stand up and be proud when you pray. Be proud to be alive and the life Creator has given you on Earth Mother. Be thankful at the same time you are standing before the Creator, rather than bowing down like a slave.



I would like to see our Native youth and young adults learn to pray like the old time Natives with proper respect and regards for all the life-forces that Creator has placed here including one's self.



always pray over all of your medicine, even modern medicine to give it strength and direction as to what you want it to, you should pray over all of your food and drink to make healing medicine out of it.



When starting to return back to Native Spirituality and becoming empowered, the time for your spiritual transformation will occur when the Creator has blessed it to be! You should start thinking about what your going to do with your new life. You will not be repeating mistakes as before. A better life will occur once your mind and body is cleaned up from the mental and physical issues of Historic Trauma.



With Spiritual transformation, it will mean Native People can redefine and rethink how we perceive ourselves as Native people and Indian Country. And what our spiritual commitment to Native families and communities shall be as well.



The spiritual objective for Indian individual and families is to try to do everything a little better tomorrow than it was today. Continuous improvement is the path to a higher standard of spiritual leadership for today's issues in Indian Country. We need to acknowledge that attachments such as power, privilege and material possessions can make it difficult to maintain high moral and spiritual standard for Native people.



By the same token, personal observations and a spiritual commitment to the truth for us to see things as they really are and to understand the true needs of Indian Country people. We must be able to spiritual feel our Indian communities, not just intellectualize the needs of our People.



When you as a Spiritual Native person stand up for what you believe is right, you must have the spiritual courage to acknowledge your actions and face the consequences. With spiritual courage Native people can win battles for their communities, but it takes a spiritual will to win the war. It is spiritual moral and values of the Native community that gives us the confidence to overcome the barriers for more Human and Civil Rights for Indian Country.



We must spiritually strive serve Indian Country. It will increase our bonds with our People and move us forth as individuals, and as Native men and women to higher standards that will help place us in step with the times.



" WE MUST ASK OURSELVES FROM A SPIRITUAL PLACE, WHAT IS INDIAN COUNTRY WILLING TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL? "





Each of us in Indian Country must have a spiritual commitment to live by a single standard of spiritual conduct. For if we do, our Native and non-Native leaders will have to follow. Each one of us in Indian Country is setting a spiritual example for someone else, and each one of us has spiritual responsibility to shape the future of our families and and communities as we wish it to be.



I hear people in Indian Country say poverty/unemployment, lack of education, alcohol and drugs and violence are killing off our Native People. But the real problem as I see it, is the loss of our Spirituality and self-esteem.



At one time our Nations were strong with our ceremonies, dances prayers, songs and medicines. We must now recapture and use the forms of spiritual power that the Creator has given us since Sacred Time, Creation Time, First Man and First Woman Time, if we are to survive as Native People.



We will regain our spiritual strength and power, our pride and dignity and use it to start healing ourselves, families and communities, along with Earth Mother.



We must learn to be proud of our rich Native heritage and culture, our Spirituality and knowledge. We should no longer be ashamed of it. As Native People our one common bond is our direct connection to tthe Great Creator of All Things.



Our Native medicines, our sacred and holy power centers and sites, our spiritual forms of knowledge are now ready to be used. We should use these things with sincerity and respect.



We must try harder as Native People to make a real Spiritual commitment to re-connect with Creator, our Ancestors, the earth Mother and each other as Native People.



And from this point, we become the spiritual change , we wish to see in Creator'S World!

http://www.teachingthevaluesofpeace.blogspot.com