aboriginal — Recovery Stories

Back Blogging and an Update

September 27, 2021 by David Clark

Firstly, an apology for my longer than planned break. I had decided to take some time out from my websites before our wonderful holiday in magical Broome.

I’ve also been busy preparing a new version of my eBook Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe which I will be sending to a publisher for consideration. I really want this important Story to find a wider audience. In addition, I’ve been writing content for our website The Carrolup Story and have linked up with a children’s author/illustrator, Lisa Martello-Hart, to develop a new exciting project. Busy times – no peace for the wicked!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, Background Briefings, marion kickett, Our Recovery Stories

Describing Healing: Professor Helen Milroy

June 30, 2021 by David Clark

I came across a beautiful description of healing in the Forward of the fascinating book Traditional Healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari. I quote this description here, although I have altered the paragraphs

“Healing is part of life and continues through death and into life again. It occurs throughout a person’s life journey as well as across generations. It can be experienced in many forms such as mending a wound or recovery from illness.

Mostly, however, it is about renewal. Leaving behind those things that have wounded us and caused us pain. Moving forward in our journey with hope for the future, with renewed energy, strength and enthusiasm for life.

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, healing, Helen Milroy, renewal

What is Healing to Me?: Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation

June 30, 2021 by David Clark

Here are quotes from six different people participating in a national consultation process:

‘Initially, I think healing is about recognition. Recognition, both internally and externally, of self, of others and as a collective that there are ‘issues’. That there is pain. That there is anger and hurt and sadness that stems from past events. And that this anger, hurt and sadness is handed down, like an unwanted legacy, though the generations of our people. Once there is that recognition, collective recognition, of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and of all Australians, then begins the process of healing. Healing is a change. A change of attitude, a change of behaviours that have become entrenched.’

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, acceptance, healing, recognition

What is Healing to Me?: Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada

June 30, 2021 by David Clark

Here is a summary of the findings from interviews of clients and staff of five healing programmes in Canada:

“… healing is an active, not passive, process: it is something you do, not something you think or that is done to you. In this sense, healing is work, it is ongoing and requires dedication. First and foremost, it requires commitment from the individual. No one can heal you or make you heal. Personal agency is stressed above all else.

The dominant metaphor in our research describes healing as a journey… The journey has a clear direction toward healing, yet it is a journey fraught with challenges. Falling off the path of healing is common, even expected by treatment staff. There is no shame to temporary setbacks, nor are these seen as failures; rather, the individual is welcomed back to continue on his or her journey when he or she feels ready…

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, canada, connection, healing, relationships

How Trauma Flows Through the Generations

June 26, 2021 by David Clark

‘Our first generations were killed and imprisoned, and females sexually misused. Our second generations turned to alcohol or drugs as their cultural and spiritual identity was damaged; in our third generations we had spousal assault and societal trauma.

In our fourth generations the abuse moves from spousal abuse to child abuse or both. In the fifth generations, the cycle repeats as trauma begats violence, begats trauma. And in our sixth generations the grown children of the conquerors begin to live in fear of the grown children of the conquered.’ Judy Atkinson

The title of Judy Atkinson’s book is particularly well-chosen—trauma leaves trails across the generations. In the quote above, Judy briefly summarises the violence that has been experienced by Aboriginal people, violence that has produced trauma which has become cumulative and more complex across generations. This trauma has impacted upon individuals, families and communities.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, healing, Helen Milroy, judy atkinson, transgenerational trauma, trauma

Gabor Maté: Our Strange Indifference to Aboriginal Addiction

June 19, 2021 by David Clark

“Addicts are made, not born, and the most common precursors are early childhood privation, neglect and abuse. For several generations, Canada’s native children have been far more likely to suffer grinding penury, abuse and childhood substance addictions than non-natives.” Gabor Maté

Marlene, a 46-year old native woman, sat in my office last week, slumped on her chair, blinking away her tears. I’d just shared the news that her most recent blood test confirmed she had “seroconverted” to HIV, become infected with the AIDS virus.

Although an injection drug user, Marlene had always been careful to use clean needles. Her route of infection was sexual contact – with the resigned naiveté characteristic of so many aboriginal women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, she had trusted a man, himself a drug addict, who assured her that he was a safe partner.

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, addiction, Bruce Alexander, canada, dislocation, Gabor Maté

Ruby’s Healing Story

June 12, 2021 by David Clark

It’s hard to believe that it is over seven years ago since I launched Sharing Culture, an educational initiative to facilitate the healing of intergenerational trauma. [I don’t upload new content on the website now, but the content is still there for viewing.]

It is also over seven years since Michael Liu and I went out with Professor Marion Kickett to her home country in York to film her describing her life, country, culture, spirituality, family, education and resilience. Marion is a Noongar Elder from the Balardong language group, who is Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University in Perth.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, addiction, child removal, forgiveness, marion kickett, prison, sexual abuse, Stolen Generations, trauma

Youth Suicide & Self-harm: Indigenous Voices, Part 2

June 4, 2021 by David Clark

“Culture has become life-giving medicine for our people, closing the wounds of the past and standing us strong to face the future.

Our Elders have been fundamental in this process. They are our wisdom keepers. They have seen the changes, so dramatically incurred in their lifetime. They are the vital bridge between the modern world and Aboriginal culture. They are the leaders of our communities, to whom we continue to rely on for guidance and counseling.

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, community, culture, elders, self-determination, suicide

Youth Suicide & Self-harm: Indigenous Voices, Part 1

June 4, 2021 by David Clark

This ‘Culture is Life’ Campaign video highlights the problem of youth suicide amongst Indigenous people of Australia. Youth suicide is a problem amongst Indigenous peoples of other colonised nations.

Below, are some quotes from The Elders Report into Preventing Self-harm & Youth Suicide. This is a seminal report that brings together the voices of Elders and community leaders from across affected communities that wished to speak publicly about the causes and solutions needed to address this issue. These quotes reflect what the Elders see happening on the ground:

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, Elders Report, government, self-determination, suicide

The Stolen Generations

June 2, 2021 by David Clark

When I came to live in Australia in December 2008, I knew little about the past government policy of removing Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. This policy was introduced by Federal and State government acts in order to assimilate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children into the white-dominated society of Australia. In essence, to help ‘make’ these children ’white’. Children taken from their families as a result of this policy are now known as the ‘Stolen Generations’.

I felt embarrassed that I did not know more about the Stolen Generations. However, I was soon to realise that I was just one of a vast majority of people outside Australia who knew nothing about Australia’s policy of removing Aboriginal children (in particular children of mixed race) from their families. In fact, I know few people outside of Australia who have heard of this policy. It is one of Australia’s best kept ‘secrets’.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, child removals, Moore River Native Settlement, Stolen Generations

Healing Section of Recovery Stories

May 15, 2021 by David Clark

Healing The aim of the Healing section of Recovery Stories is to take you on a journey into the fascinating field relating to the healing of intergenerational trauma, sometimes called transgenerational or historical trauma. The section ‘operates’ differently to other parts of the website. If you are new to this field and are keen to learn, I suggest you start reading my first post, entitled Indigenous Trauma and Healing. You can then access the second post by clicking the link at the bottom of the page…. and so on.

At present, there are sixteen posts, mostly relating to intergenerational trauma (rather than healing) at this stage. I will gradually add more and more posts over time. Here is the current list:

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, colonisation, government, healing, indigenous, transgenerational trauma, trauma

The ‘Bringing them home’ documentary

March 30, 2021 by David Clark

The documentary Bringing them home: separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, found on the Australian Human Rights Commission YouTube channel, ‘was produced in 1997 and forms part of the Bringing them home education resource for use in Australian classrooms.

This resource is based on ‘Bringing them home’, the report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, and on the history of forcible separation and other policies which have impacted on the lives of Indigenous Australians.’

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, child removals, genocide, human rights, Stolen Generations

The Stolen Generations

March 30, 2021 by David Clark

When I came to live in Australia in December 2008, I knew little about the past government policy of removing Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. This policy was introduced by Federal and State government acts in order to assimilate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children into the white-dominated society of Australia. In essence, to help ‘make’ these children ’white’. Children taken from their families as a result of this policy are now known as the ‘Stolen Generations’.

I felt embarrassed that I did not know more about the Stolen Generations, particularly as I am a person who is very well read. However, I was soon to realise that I was just one of a vast majority of people outside Australia who knew nothing about Australia’s policy of removing Aboriginal children (in particular children of mixed race) from their families. In fact, I know few people outside of Australia who have heard of this policy. It is one of Australia’s best kept ‘secrets’.

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, child removals, Moore River Native Settlement, Stolen Generations

Reflections on Healing: A Canadian Aboriginal Perspective

March 4, 2021 by David Clark

I’ve been reading a fascinating article from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada entitled Aboriginal Healing in Canada: Studies in Therapeutic Practice and Meaning. What of course is said in this article is relevant to recovery in the western world. Here are some interesting thoughts about healing:

‘The first thing that emerges from our work is that healing is a concept that is difficult to articulate, in part, because most [people participating in the research – DC] seem to feel that there is no need to articulate it and/or simply have never been asked to.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, acceptance, canada, healing, personal agency, relationships, self-transformation, therapist

Breaking Trauma Trails: Facilitating the Healing of Indigenous People

October 17, 2014 by David Clark

Since moving to Australia, I’ve become increasingly saddened, concerned and angered by the way that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are treated by many non-Indigenous people (including government). As a friend said the other day, it has to be seen to be believed.

The damage that has been done to Indigenous people here (and in other countries) as a result of colonisation is huge and it continues today. It is a great demonstration of the resilience of Indigenous people that they have survived.

I’ve decided to devote most of my time from now on to working with Indigenous people. I’ll be running this website and working on recovery-related projects.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, culture, education, empowerment, healing, historical trauma, indigenous, sharing culture

Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing

October 6, 2014 by David Clark

Indigenous people have a holistic view of health that incorporates the physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, social and environmental.

It includes healing oneself and relationships with others, such as family and community members. It recognises the importance of connecting to land, culture, spirituality and history, as well as the importance of bonds of reciprocal affection, responsibility and caring.

The Indigenous view of health people also recognises the importance of healing the community, rather than just focusing on the individual.

Indigenous people focus on social and emotional wellbeing, rather than on mental health. They view social and emotional wellbeing problems arising from a broad range of circumstances – unresolved grief and loss, trauma and abuse, domestic violence, removal from family, substance misuse, family breakdown, cultural dislocation, loss of land, racism and discrimination, and social disadvantage.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, culture, healing, health, indigenous, land, strengths approach, wellbeing

Sharing Culture

February 20, 2014 by David Clark

Please check out my new website, Sharing Culture, which focuses on Aboriginal healing. Here is what we say on our home page:

What is Sharing Culture?
Sharing Culture is a unique initiative to empower Aboriginal people to heal and develop resilience to historical trauma and its consequences. These consequences include poor physical health, mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, abuse and suicide.

Sharing Culture is based on the core values of authenticity, connection, courage, creativity, empathy and forgiveness.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, healing, health, historical trauma, holistic, indigenous, mental health, sharing culture

Ruby’s Healing Story

February 4, 2014 by David Clark

“But she said what she had to do first, before she started to heal, was to let the past go. And in order for her to let it go she had to forgive… she had to forgive the people in the mission, the missionaries, the manager of the mission. She had to forgive the station owner and his sons and workers. And she also had to forgive herself.”

Professor Marion Kickett shares the harrowing story of Ruby and describes how her early life experiences impacted on her later life, including the development of a drinking problem. By forgiving people involved in these terrible events, Ruby started a healing (or recovery) process which led to her realising a dream.

Marion is the new Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University in Perth and co-founder (with David Clark and Mike Liu) of Sharing Culture, a new initiative to tackle historical trauma and its consequences in Aboriginal peoples.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, alcohol problem, children, healing, marion kickett, prison, recovery, the stolen generation

Historical Trauma: Nature of the Problem

January 31, 2014 by David Clark

With the launch of our new Sharing Culture initiative and website, here is a description of The Problem:

‘Colonisation and its associated violence and control still exert a marked negative impact today on Australian Aboriginal people. Trauma and an associated unresolved grief have been transmitted across generations in ways that have influenced individuals, families and communities.

Expressions of historical trauma in Aboriginal people can be seen in: adults who feel inadequate in their day-to-day functioning: the poor physical and psychological health and much lower life expectancy; the escalation in addiction to alcohol and other substances which are used as a coping mechanism; the increase in domestic violence across generations; the self-harm, suicide and risk-taking that occurs when people can find no meaning to their existence and have no sense of purpose for their day-to-day activities.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, australia, colonisation, generational, health, historical trauma, judy atkinson, suicide

Sharing Culture: Healing Historical Trauma

January 30, 2014 by David Clark

Yesterday, I began promoting a new website that I have launched with two colleagues, Professor Marion Kickett and Perth filmmmaker Michael Liu. Here is what we have said on the home page of the website:

‘What is Sharing Culture?
Sharing Culture is a unique initiative to empower Aboriginal people to heal and develop resilience to historical trauma and its consequences. These consequences include poor physical health, mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, abuse and suicide.

Sharing Culture is based on the core values of authenticity, connection, courage, creativity, empathy and forgiveness.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aboriginal, aims, empowerment, healing, historical trauma, indigenous, sharing culture, values

Available now as a downloadable eBook

Connection uses ‘faces’ and ‘voices’ of the past to take you into a world where Aboriginal children rise above great adversity to create beautiful landscape drawings that are acclaimed on both sides of the world. Connection is a story of trauma, and the overcoming of trauma. A story that resonates in today’s world of the oppressed and their oppressors. A story of Hope, Heart and Healing.

‘… the book is nothing short of incredible.’
Carlie Atkinson, CEO, We Al-li Programs