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This article provides an overview of the perpetual influence and impacts of historical trauma within Indigenous families and communities who now live in areas called the United States and Canada. Indigenous Peoples (to include American Indians, Alaska Natives, and First Nations Peoples) continue to experience health inequities which stem in part from violent and systemic geographical dislocations and separations from ancestral and traditional homelands. My contribution to this special issue constitutes a node of comparison and contrast to the other narratives gathered here. Indigenous Peoples in North America persist amid an enduring legacy of settler-colonialism that includes 90% dispossession and loss of lands, and an average forced migration distance of 239 km from homelands to reservations Rarely is this uprootedness told in parallel with other experiences of forced displacement like those which unfolded during the Second World War and the Holocaust, the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s or the contemporary conditions fueled by Russia's war against Ukraine. On one hand, this is an oversight as we have much to learn from each other about the realities of uprooting and, especially, the long-term consequences of it. At the same time, comparisons of experiences with trauma are complex and perhaps inappropriate without attention to the magnitude, underlying motives of, and duration of traumatic events endured. In short, the decades-long research on HT in Indigenous communities offers important lessons about the lingering consequences of uprootedness from place, space, and culture and efforts to support healing that can benefit other displaced communities worldwide.

This study examines the growth of alcohol and marijuana use during early adolescence among a sample of 746 Indigenous youth (aged 10–12 years at wave 1; 50.3% female) of the upper Midwest and Canada, with a special focus on potential gender differences in these patterns. Research documenting the disproportionately high rates of Indigenous substance use, coupled by our lack of understanding of gender patterns among this group—especially in very early adolescence—highlight the need for this culturally specific work. Results of latent growth curve analyses from three waves of annual data collection indicate that the females in our sample engage in alcohol and marijuana use at rates similar to or greater than their male peers. This finding counters conventional ideas of gender and substance use that place young males at elevated rates of use compared to females, and also adds to our understanding of gendered substance use patterns among Indigenous youth.

This research uses life course perspective concepts of linked lives and historical time and place to examine the multigenerational effects of relocation experiences on Indigenous families. Data were collected from a longitudinal study currently underway on four American Indian reservations in the Northern Midwest and four Canadian First Nation reserves where residents share a common Indigenous cultural heritage. This article includes information from 507 10- to 12-year-old Indigenous youth and their biological mothers who participated in the study. Results of path analysis revealed significant direct and indirect effects whereby grandparent-generation participation in government relocation programs negatively affects not only grandparent-generation well-being but also ripples out to affect subsequent generations.

This research utilizes life-course perspective concepts of linked lives and historical time and place to examine the multigenerational effects of relocation experiences on Indigenous families. Data were collected from a longitudinal study currently underway on four American Indian reservations in the Northern Midwest and four Canadian First Nation reserves where residents share a common Indigenous cultural heritage. This paper includes information from 507 10 – 12 year old Indigenous youth and their biological mothers who participated in the study. Results of path analysis revealed significant direct and indirect effects whereby grandparent-generation (G1) participation in government relocation programs negatively impacts not only G1 well being, but also ripples out to affect subsequent generations.

This paper brings forth the voices of adult Aboriginal First Nations community members who gathered in focus groups to discuss the problem of youth suicide on their reserves. Our approach emphasizes multilevel (e.g., individual, family, and broader ecological systems) factors viewed by participants as relevant to youth suicide. Wheaton's conceptualization of stressors and Evans-Campbell's multilevel classification of the impacts of historical trauma are used as theoretical and analytic guides. Thematic analysis of qualitative data transcripts revealed a highly complex intersection of stressors, traumas, and social problems seen by community members as underlying mechanisms influencing heightened levels of Aboriginal youth suicidality. Our multilevel coding approach revealed that suicidal behaviors were described by community members largely as a problem with deep historical and contemporary structural roots, as opposed to being viewed as individualized pathology.

American Indian (AI) people experience disproportionate exposure to stressors and health inequities, including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and mental health problems. There is increasing interest in how historical trauma and ongoing experiences of discrimination and marginalization (i.e., historical oppression) interact to influence AI health. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between historically traumatic experiences (i.e., boarding schools, relocation programs, and foster care), current reports of historical cultural loss, microaggressions, and their relationship to internalizing symptoms among AI adults living with T2D. This community-based participatory research study with five AI tribal communities includes data from 192 AI adults with T2D recruited from tribal clinics. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that personal experiences in foster care and ancestral experiences in boarding schools and/or relocation were associated with increased reports of historical loss, and indirectly associated with internalizing symptoms through racial microaggressions and historical losses. The findings highlight the importance of considering multiple dimensions of historical trauma and oppression in empirical and practice-based assessments of mental health problems.

American Indian (AI) communities experience a disproportionate rate of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cumulative exposure to stress. Although this link is well researched among various populations, it has not been examined among AI communities. Path analysis was used to examine a multiple-mediator model to explain how caregiver stress influences self-reported mental and physical health among 100 AI participants with T2D. Caregiver stress was negatively associated with physical and mental health. Physical health was positively associated with family/community connectedness and mental health was positively associated with both family support and connectedness. The relationship between caregiver stress and mental health was partially mediated by family/community connectedness; caregiver stress had no indirect effects on physical health via either hypothesized mediator. Findings demonstrate the importance of integrating individuals' connection to family and community and its influence on caregiver stress and mental health in intervention programs targeting diabetes management and care among AI communities.

In Indigenous communities, knowing a missing or murdered Indigenous person is the norm, not an exception—a consequence of traumatic past and ongoing policies and practices. We summarize the history of North American governments– genocidal policies toward Indigenous Peoples and how these policies created and now perpetuate present-day institutions that exacerbate exposure to violence. We also describe survey data from a longitudinal study called Healing Pathways, arguing that we must create a society in which resilience is not necessary for survival.

Research with Indigenous communities has demonstrated the detrimental impacts of intergenerational trauma and disproportionate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health and behavioral outcomes in adulthood. A more balanced narrative that includes positive childhood experiences is needed. The construct of benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) facilitates assessment of positive early life experiences and their impact on well-being for Indigenous peoples. We consider associations between BCEs and well-being when taking into account ACEs and adult positive experiences. Participants are from Healing Pathways, a longitudinal, community-based panel study with Indigenous families in the Midwestern United States and Canada. Data for the current analyses are derived from 453 participants interviewed at wave 9 of the study. Participants reported high levels of positive childhood experiences in the form of BCEs, with 86.5% of the wave 9 participants reporting experiencing at least six of seven positive indicators. BCEs were positively associated with young adult well-being. This relationship persisted even when accounting for ACEs and adult positive experiences. While ACEs were negatively correlated with young adult well-being, they were not significantly associated with well-being when considering family satisfaction and receiving emotional support. Evidence of high levels of BCEs reflects realities of strong Indigenous families and an abundance of positive childhood experiences.