Healing from intergenerational trauma: narratives of connection, belonging, and truth-telling in two Aboriginal healing camps

ABSTRACT

Addressing intergenerational trauma caused through the impacts of colonization requires healing processes that are specific to the experiences and needs of First Nations peoples. This paper details an evaluation of two Aboriginal healing camps held in South Australia in 2021 and 2022. The camps focused on supporting members of the Stolen Generations, through a combination of First Nations and western healing practices. This paper details the framework used to structure the camps and provides an analysis of interviews with attendees. For the 2021 camp, nine attendees were interviewed before the camp and eight took part in a follow-up interview after the camp. For the 2022 camp, four attendees took part in a single time point interview. Thematic analysis of the interviews resulted in the development of five interrelated themes, focused on connections, belonging, healing, and truth-telling. The paper concludes by considering what the findings suggest for institutional change and growth in terms of future iterations of the camps, and the importance of First Nations-led opportunities for healing from intergenerational trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• Intergenerational trauma
• healing
• Stolen Generations
• colonization
• First Nations

Acknowledgements

The research reported in this paper was approved by the Relationships Australia South Australia internal ethics review committee and the Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee #4209.

Notes

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