Intergenerational Trauma and Trust

By Sakina Cotton ’24

What goes around comes around.

Think back to the ASMs of fall term which highlighted people of the past who endured oppression or people of the present making history. The idea of historical pain being carried through generations emphasizes the need for conscience minds and allyship. When we heard from ASM guests Dr. Bettina Love and Dr. Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, we were given examples of youth’s potential to help in this way of learning about and then changing our society.

Dr. Love supplied historical analysis on the effect of music on the Black community. The Black community traditionally uses music as a way to escape pain, to convey morals, and to call for action. A prime example is the evolution of blues from the emotional spiritual songs of enslaved or oppressed Black people. In “Hearing the Blues: An Essay in the Sociology of Music”, authors D.J Hatch and D.R Watson explain that improvisation as well as certain chord progressions played fundamental roles in historical country-blues (Hatch and Watson, 168). The blues genre along with hip hop, as Dr. Love explained, have roots in West African musical styles. Their use of improvisation, leading and chorus stanzas, drums, and proverbial lyrics demonstrates this connection. It is a style which a group of people propagated through multiple generations to help cope with outside struggle; but, sometimes a community alone can not fully heal itself from the intergenerational trauma inflicted upon it. 

Dr. Megan Red Shirt-Shaw gave insight into how the government employed racism to neglect funding for Indian Health Services, to break treaties, to increase factory production in predominantly BIPOC communities, and to establish harmful residential schools for Native people. From the 1870s until the 1970s, young children were stolen from their families and forced to attend these boarding schools where most faced abuse, torture, cultural shaming, and unforgettable dehumanization. (NPR; Northern Indians Relief Council). People are still healing  wounds from this intergenerational trauma. The persistence of these schools throughout a century calls for a stronger front of allies working to prevent another system like this. Allies, including myself, must utilize their privilege and hold one another accountable in order to effectively create positive change.

Outside and historical factors take a toll on the youth’s mental health. That is why, as the next generation, we must do our own work in perpetuating positive, inclusive ideals that will transcend our generation. Are we not tired of accumulating intergenerational trauma? Let’s build intergenerational trust. I think it is possible to accomplish this by accepting people for who they are, not how we expect them to be. We are able to shape our rules and regulations. We can listen to and learn from each other’s pasts to create a better future. We have to talk about the hardships of everyone in our community to understand each other. That means start talking about our different traits, keep talking about the fluidity of spectrums, and never stop talking about people’s humanity.

Works cited can be found in our Suggested Reading List