Challenge to Equality: "We Made It, Why Can't You?", The

Multicultural Education, Spring 2007 by Bhavnagri, Navaz Peshotan, Pr�speri, Jorge Dante Hernandez

Consequences: Multigenerational Trauma

Danieli (1998) laments that the long-term reverberations of continuous atrocities (e.g., slavery, forced relocations, colonization, holocausts, apartheid, genocide, war, terrorism, and brutality of police governments) results in multigenerational trauma, which has not been taken seriously. We further lament that the multigenerational trauma of colonization is rarely, if ever, discussed in multicultural education courses.

The descendents of the traumatized African Americans and Native Americans now suffer from problems such as depression, meaninglessness, hopelessness, intensive rage, desire to commit suicide, committing acts of violence, frequent disregard for human life, alcoholism, child and family abuse, vulnerable health problems, and pessimism regarding America's will to justice (Duran & Duran, 1995; West 1993). Since these problems manifest themselves across generations, it could be one explanation given to those who say, "We just can't understand why you minorities can't do what all of our ancestors did."

On the other hand, we are not of the opinion that lack of perceived or presumed current success and achievements could be solely attributed to an historical past of multigenerational trauma. We too believe in looking into the future and overcoming the adversities. However, we have to acknowledge that if an entire race of people (e.g., African Americans) or ethnic groups (e.g., Native Americans) for generations are persecuted, exploited, violated, and traumatized, it may deplete their energies, psychological resources, and coping mechanisms.

New empirical data on multigenerational trauma as a consequence of colonialism and racist ideology is not fully known to most teacher educators. The following findings make a compelling case that it needs to be included in the critical pedagogy of multicultural education.

Studies indicate that Native Americans currently have a disproportionately high percentage of exposure to traumatic events, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic disorder (Gagn�, 1998). The National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research did three studies, interviewing 477 native youths, ages 8 to 20, and from grades 2 to 12. These studies' results summarized that between 50.8% and 62% youths had experienced at least one traumatic event such as a drug overdose, shooting, car accident, or rape (Gagn�, 1988).

Duran, Duran, Brave Heart, and Yellow Horse-Davis (1998) also report that the Lakota people's present problems have their etiology in past traumatic events. Over 800 themes in their dreams that were collected for four years had an overwhelming message of a hostile environment, thus indicating a trauma to their psyche. This decimation of a positive world-view and joy in living is what they call "soul wounds." West (1993) also states that African Americans today experience nihilism, which he says is "a disease of the soul" (p.18).

Gagn� (1998) reports that four or more generations of Indian children who attended boarding schools in Canada and the U.S. experienced intense mourning, grief, and suffering, which is called a "residential-school syndrome." This is because they totally lost their parental ties, cultural identity, language, and an entire way of life-a "cultural genocide." Given that these children had never experienced effective parenting, they in turn could not demonstrate such parenting skills to their offspring. Thus, their children and grandchildren suffered as well (Gagn�, 1998).