Historical Traum Understanding The Situation Of Native American Women

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In order to more clearly understand the situation of Native American women who are the main interest of this research, a strong theoretical framework of this study needs to be considered.
1.3.1 Historical Trauma. Native Americans have been historically traumatized from their negative experiences being ousted and relocated from their homeland throughout history. Unlike personal trauma, their people’s historical trauma is focused on their collective trauma as families, and this trauma has been passed and even amplified from one generation to the next (Brave Heart and Debruyn, 1998; Campbell and Evans-Campbell, 2011). This affects both the people’s collective and personal identity formation and relationship patterns in successive generations …show more content…

Another theory that can explain Native American historical trauma is the Systems Theory. Systems Theory explores human experiences and behavior patterns. The theory states that humans seek out homeostasis. In relation to this study, it premises that each member in the Native American family system plays a role that contributes to the synchronized functioning of the system (Gray et al., 2013). Each member keeps his or her role so children who have formed the role in a relationship pattern will likewise form similar relationships with others who can operate within the same family system (Bowen, 1985). Hence, if traumatic experiences altered family relationship roles, then it may also negatively influence succeeding relationship patterns. For example, if a child grows up being accustomed to their parents being intoxicated most of the time and they are left in the care of their grandparents, then, they may follow the same modelled pattern when they grow up. Alcoholism may be accepted as a way of life, and parenting responsibilities may be left to the grandparents. Studies of Campbell & Evans-Campbell (2011), Holman and Birch (2001) and Yoshida and Busby (2011) found that an individual’s view of their parents’ marital quality, relationship quality with each parent and the impact of their family of origin can predict their own marital stability and satisfaction in …show more content…

Interviews with a selected group of Native American women who are members of the federally recognized tribe of the Crow Tribe of Montana, will ask what it means for them to grow up on the reservation as well as their experiences there that led them to choose to raise their own children off the reservations. My study will look at what challenges they are facing as women and as mothers now that they live apart from their tribal community. If their accounts are consistent with what the literature reports of not having enough opportunities to better themselves and that their children suffer from dilemmas regarding their cultural identity, then this study submits itself to the consideration of government and non-government organizations to help them achieve a better quality of