Grief and trauma in Aboriginal communities in Canada

Abstract

Aboriginal traditional systems and organisations in Canada have been dismantled by years of colonisation. As systemic oppression continues, the historical losses become compounded by continued system-induced trauma and institutional racism. A traditional storytelling approach is used to present tangible evidence of the impact of traumatic loss and grief on Aboriginal individuals, families, communities and the nation as a whole. The paper relates an intergenerational perspective on the determinants of grief in Aboriginal communities, and identifies some key conditions for healing, including decolonisation and the use of traditional cultural healing models and approaches in community-based trauma treatment programmes.