INDIAN COUNTRY'S HISTORICAL TRAUMA AND THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OF THE 21ST CENTURY
By Mike (Ali) Raccoon Eyes Kinney
About 85% of Native People nationally have mental health issues such as anxiety-panic attacks, depression, and anger- violence issues. We as Native People must ask ourselves - "Why?"
It stems from two places; the first part is we suffer from Historical Trauma from the past. It is inter-generational. The second part of Historic Trauma is how Native People inter-generationally manifest the mental, emotional, and psychology along with the physical symptoms of diabetes, obesity and alcoholism. This combined equates both mental and physical health issues of Indian Country.
According Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Ph.D. " Five hundred years of conquest death cultural deprivation, and mistreatment have left North American native populations with unresolved grief about their history, which must be openly discussed if it is going to be resolved."
Medical anthropologist Spero Manson, Ph.D.,: "What Native people living today experience counts more than what happened to their ancestors. Trauma is also associated with risk for and high rates of onset and poor control of diabetes, asthma,and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
Whether it is government commodities on the reservation or the food you buy in the super market or fast food restaurants, all of it has high quantities of sugar. Sugar contributes directly to diabetes, obesity and alcoholism, which in turn contributes to the mental health issues; anxiety-panic attacks, depression and anger-violence issues. They in turn manifest into cardio-vascular problems, strokes and heart attacks. All of these are directly linked and inter-connected as being the biggest killers of Native People in Indian Country.
Considering the issues of mental and physical health that transpires from Historical Trauma, it is imperative we have Spiritual answers to resolve these problems. I cannot emphasis enough that we as Native People are Creator's Holy People.
We must make a real spiritual commitment as Native individuals to quit beating ourselves up, pounding ourselves and attacking ourselves for crimes we have never committed with regards to Historical Trauma. In this Spiritual commitment, we as Indian people must empower ourselves by working daily at having better self-esteem, self-worth and self-value.
We have to learn how to reprogram ourselves as Indian individuals from a spiritual place. When you understand how Historical Trauma has handicapped and destroyed us mentally, psychologically and emotionally, then we can be better prepared to embrace the empowerment of our Native Spirituality and in turn the power of Spiritual transformation.
The second part of the reprogramming is addressing the sugar based food and drink you consume, and the issues of food consumption that lead to sugar addictions that lead to obesity, diabetes and alcoholism.
I am former 22-year alcohol career drinker, like many people in Indian Country. I have been sober for 12 years now. When I was abusing alcohol, I saw no vision, no hope and no tomorrow. While I was active in the Movement for more Human and Civil Rights for Indian Country, I still had no real plan with my alcoholism.
I had attempted to gain my sobriety, but always failed. I had issues of hatred for mainstream society and self-hatred issues of myself as being a mixed-blood Native person. All of the men of my family were inter-generational alcoholics who died in their late 30's or early 40's due to alcohol related diseases or accidents. Being sober and reaching the age of 57, I have outlived all of the men on my father's side of the family.
By my mid-40's I was still drinking and abusing alcohol. One day I was in a local bookstore looking in their Native section and saw a book that changed my life spiritually. It was entitled 'Lame Deer- Seeker of Visions'. In his autobiography, Elder Lame Deer had reclaimed his life from alcoholism and became a famous Spiritual Lakota holy man and doctor.
The chapter 'Getting Drunk and Going to Jail' had a profound message for me. I devoured every word describing what he experienced while being a career drinker. He clearly explained the cycle of alcohol addiction of why we as Native People drink-the sugar in the alcohol. He explained that all Native People were on a treadmill cycle of great quantities of sugar-based food and drink consumption. The sugar in the alcohol was a part of that cycle.
Elder Lame Deer radicalized me when I saw sugar and its relationship to alcohol.
At that time in my life, sugar was the only thing I lived for. Each day began with ten cups of coffee with great amounts of sugar before I went to work. My mornings at work included countless donuts and pastries, more coffee, and of course, more sugar. At lunchtime, I was off to the local bar for several glasses of wine ... more sugar. I finished the workday with more donuts and pastries, coffee and more sugar. Drinking malt liquor and eating overly processed foods like macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, fast food and more malt liquor kept me on the treadmill of destruction.
I had become a compulsive eater and craved foods that were high in sugar. I eventually beat the compulsive eating disorder during the first year of my sobriety from alcohol and lost 58 pounds. I am still working on my goal to reduce my intake of processed foods like white flour and sugar.
I went to the Creator and did prayer to ask for spiritual guidance and help to ensure my spiritual commitment to break the cycle of compulsive drinking and sugar addiction. By the third day of my sobriety, I knew that I had the strength to beat the addictions.
I have been sober for 12 years and can proudly tell you I have never once relapsed with alcohol and I lost 58 pounds in the first year of my sobriety.
'IN ORDER TO HAVE BASIC SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION, ONE MUST BE EMPOWERED BY TRADITIONAL NATIVE SPIRITUALITY '
The Creator shows us by example that we must sacrifice something lesser in order to have something greater. In order to return to Native spirituality and to make Spiritual transformation, one must learn our songs, our dances, learn the medicines and above all else; learn the Prayers.
Every thought and word is a prayer. There are different ways of Praying. The Spiritual power of prayer can permit Native people to do anything in a good way. If you do not do the medicine or prayer in the right way, then you can't expect to benefit from it. Every thought and word, 24 hours a day is a prayer.
That is what has to guide our lives.
The Creator is interested in what is good and spiritually right for us. We have to approach the Creator in a good and humble way. When a Native individual has become gifted with spiritual blessing from the Creator, it represents a different kind of power, a different kind energy and a different kind of strength for we Native people.
The Creator wants you stand up and be proud when you pray. Be proud to be alive and thank the Creator for the life he has given you on Earth Mother. Be thankful at the same time you are standing before the Creator, rather than bowing down like a slave.
I would like to see our Native youth and young adults learn to pray like the old time Natives with proper respect and regard for all the life forces that Creator has placed here including ones self.
Always pray over all of your medicine, even modern medicine to give it strength and direction as to what you want it to do, you should pray over all of your food and drink to make healing medicine out of it.
If you are returning back to Native Spirituality and becoming empowered, the time for your spiritual transformation will occur when the Creator has blessed it to be! You should start thinking about what you are going to do with your new life. You will not be repeating mistakes as before. A better life will occur once your mind and body is cleaned up from the mental and physical issues of Historic Trauma.
With Spiritual transformation, it will mean Native People can redefine and rethink how we perceive ourselves as Native people. You can redefine what your spiritual commitment to Native families and communities shall be as well.
A spiritual objective for Indian individuals and families is to try to do everything a little better tomorrow than it was today. Continuous improvement is the path to a higher standard of spiritual leadership for today's issues in Indian Country. We need to acknowledge that attachments such as power, privilege and material possessions can make it difficult to maintain high moral and spiritual standards for Native people.
By the same token, personal observations and a spiritual commitment to the truth, will lead us to see things as they really are and to understand the true needs of Indian Country people. We must be able to spiritually feel our Indian communities, not just intellectualize the needs of our People.
When you as a Spiritual Native person stand up for what you believe is right, you must have the spiritual courage to acknowledge your actions and face the consequences. With spiritual courage, Native people can win battles for their communities, but it takes a spiritual will to win the war. It is the spiritual moral and values of the Native community that gives us the confidence to overcome the barriers for more Human and Civil Rights for Indian Country.
We must spiritually strive to serve Indian Country. It will increase our bonds with our People and move us forth as individuals, and challenge us to reach higher standards that will help place us in step with the times.
"WE MUST ASK OURSELVES FROM A SPIRITUAL PLACE, WHAT IS INDIAN COUNTRY WILLING TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL?"
Each of us in Indian Country must have a spiritual commitment to live by, a standard code of spiritual conduct. For if we do, our Native and non-Native leaders will have to follow. Each one of us in Indian Country is setting a spiritual example for someone else, and each one of us has a spiritual responsibility to shape the future of our families and communities.
I hear people in Indian Country say that poverty/unemployment, lack of education, alcohol, drugs and violence are killing off our Native People. These issues are all valid, but I believe the underlying issue is the loss of our Spirituality, our Traditional way of life and our self-esteem. Our Spirituality, self-esteem and commitment to ourselves, to our Tribes and Indian Country can empower us to overcome the obstacles that so many of us face.
At one time, our Nations were strong with our ceremonies, dances, prayers, songs and medicines. We must now recapture and use the forms of spiritual power that the Creator has given us since Sacred Time, Creation Time, First Man and First Woman Time, if we are to survive as Native People.
We will regain our spiritual strength and power, our pride and dignity and use it to start healing families, our communities, along with Earth Mother and ourselves.
We must learn to be proud of our rich Native heritage and culture, our Spirituality and knowledge. We should no longer be ashamed of it. As Native People, our one common bond is our direct connection to the Great Creator of All Things.
Our Native medicines, our Sacred and Holy power centers and sites, our spiritual forms of knowledge are now ready to be used. We should use these things with sincerity and respect.
We must try harder as Native People to make a real Spiritual commitment to re-connect with Creator, our Ancestors, the earth Mother and each other as Native People.
And from this point, we become the spiritual change we wish to see in Creator's World!
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