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Loss Trauma and Grief

Loss Trauma and Grief

Not only did white settlement bring such social disintegration but it brought enormous loss, trauma and grief through the following:
• Lack of recognition of human status (by Terra Nulius)(this was not totally dispelled until recent High Court Decision)
• Loss of land
• Loss of hunting grounds and hence starvation
• Social fragmentation, war
• Loss of good health
• Enforced relocation onto missions and reserves
• Loss of freedom
• Loss of culture and legal norms
• Loss of citizenship
• Loss of control over their lives and the environment
• Forced removal of children

The theft of Aboriginal children by non-Aboriginals in authority was a systematic attempt at cultural genocide, and to this day has produced the backgrounds for many years of horrific memories, distressed and mental health problems that still need to be addressed.

The devastating experiences of Aboriginal parents and their families brought on by the removal of their children, the loss of control over their own lives, powerlessness, prejudice, and hopeless have left many problems for us to deal with today.

Some children were fostered out and repeatedly rejected by an assortment of non-Aboriginal foster parents. It was government policy at that time to “civilize” these children and train them as unpaid domestic servants, and useful non-voting citizens. They were raised in a foreign, regimented environment that was loaded with strong negative messages about their Aboriginality.

Most families provide growing children with stories of their past that help children gain a sense of self, belonging and a sense of history.

Attachment helps the child to:
• Achieve full intellectual potential
• Attain cultural identity
• Sort out perceptions
• Know the importance of family
• Think logically
• Develop a conscience
• Become self reliant
• Cope with stress and frustration
• Handle fear and worry
• Develop future relationships

There are a number of issues identified as being necessary to maintain mental health (Swan, 1988).
• High self esteem and self confidence
• The freedom of communicate needs and feelings
• The ability to love and be loved
• A sense of belongings to family and community
• Ability to cope with stress
• Being able to cope with stress
• Being able to relate, create and to assert oneself
• Having options for change that help the development of a problem solving approach
• Being comfortable with your environment, and
• Believing in something (family, community, culture, religion).

Extract from “Ways Forward” The historical and sociopolitical of Aboriginal mental health

Ways Forward