On National Aboriginal Day, and always, it must be understood that such freedoms were not always possible.
Canada is evolving from its colonial past when the Indian Act outlawed traditional ceremonies of First Nations beginning in the 1880’s, continuing until the revision of the Indian Act in 1951. Increasingly coercive government regulations empowered Indian Agents working for the Government of Canada to seek out, name and have arrested by the RCMP, those First Nations peoples who were continuing to practice their ceremonial and spiritual life.
For a period of 71 years, generations of young people grew up without the transmission of culture and ceremonies and were impacted by the residual trauma of being disconnected from their identity and history.
Recovering culture and history
Today, Aboriginal peoples are engaged in the stages of Nation Building to recover those cultural and political institutions that were once banned. Historical trauma passed through the generations, can become intergenerational trauma, causing long-lasting impacts on the well-being of Aboriginal peoples. We now understand how trauma can play itself out in the mental health and addiction challenges faced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
A new day for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples at CAMH
- A new day for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples at CAMH
