TPC-DIGEST-Vol3Issue3

TPC D igest 24 N on-Hispanic Native Americans continue to be at greater risk for mental health disorders than any other racial group in the United States, and suicide and substance abuse rates continue to increase among Native Americans. Despite research and intervention efforts, there has been little systematic examination of the underlying causes for these problems in Native American communities. The theory of historical trauma has been introduced to provide a framework for understanding these issues and is considered clinically applicable in working with Native American individuals. However, there has been skeptism from mental health professionals about the validity of this concept due to the lack of empirical Examining the Theory of Historical Trauma Among Native Americans–DIGEST evidence. Thus, there is a lack of research into how past atrocities suffered by the Native American people are connected with the current problems in many Native American communities. Sotero has provided a theoretical outline of historical trauma that includes three successive phases. The first phase entails the dominant culture perpetrating mass traumas on a population that results in devastation for the population. The second phase occurs when the original generation of the population responds to the trauma by biological, societal and psychological means. The final phase is when the initial responses to trauma are conveyed to successive generations. Based on the theory, Native Americans were subjected to traumas that are Kathleen Brown-Rice Kathleen Brown-Rice, NCC, is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Dakota. Correspondence can be addressed to kathleen.rice@usd.edu, Division of Counseling and Psychology in Education, School of Education, University of South Dakota, 210E Delzell, Vermillion, SD 57069.