Beyond trauma: Decolonizing understandings of loss and healing in the Indian Residential School system of Canada.
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| Title: | Beyond trauma: Decolonizing understandings of loss and healing in the Indian Residential School system of Canada. |
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| Authors: | Burrage, Rachel L. (AUTHOR), Momper, Sandra L. (AUTHOR), Gone, Joseph P. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Social Issues. Mar2022, Vol. 78 Issue 1, p27-52. 26p. 1 Diagram. |
| Subjects: | Off-reservation boarding schools, Emotional trauma, Historical trauma, First Nations of Canada, Decolonization, Healing |
| Geographic Terms: | Canada |
| Abstract: | Indigenous scholars and others who study the experiences of Indigenous communities have long criticized the psychocentric approach to trauma held by most clinical professionals. A recent example of this was the Canadian government's reparations for Indian Residential School system (IRS) survivors, which focused largely on individual psychological harms rather than broader effects of colonial oppression. Beginning in 1867 and continuing throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, Indigenous children were routinely removed from their home communities in Canada and placed into the IRS system, where they were frequently subject to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. Using thematic analysis, this study draws on survivor testimonies from one residential school to explore how their descriptions of the effects and healing from IRS abuses differ from psychocentric understandings of trauma and loss. Results indicate that survivors describe IRS effects in sociocentric, ecocentric, and cosmocentric terms more so than psychocentric ones and place deep importance on healing through connection to family, culture, and community. To decolonize itself as a discipline and better serve Indigenous communities, the field of psychology must open up to understandings of trauma, loss, and healing that decentralize the individual, a difficult task given the discipline's psychocentric nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Social Issues is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Indigenous scholars and others who study the experiences of Indigenous communities have long criticized the psychocentric approach to trauma held by most clinical professionals. A recent example of this was the Canadian government's reparations for Indian Residential School system (IRS) survivors, which focused largely on individual psychological harms rather than broader effects of colonial oppression. Beginning in 1867 and continuing throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, Indigenous children were routinely removed from their home communities in Canada and placed into the IRS system, where they were frequently subject to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. Using thematic analysis, this study draws on survivor testimonies from one residential school to explore how their descriptions of the effects and healing from IRS abuses differ from psychocentric understandings of trauma and loss. Results indicate that survivors describe IRS effects in sociocentric, ecocentric, and cosmocentric terms more so than psychocentric ones and place deep importance on healing through connection to family, culture, and community. To decolonize itself as a discipline and better serve Indigenous communities, the field of psychology must open up to understandings of trauma, loss, and healing that decentralize the individual, a difficult task given the discipline's psychocentric nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00224537 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/josi.12455 |
