Examples of Systemic Trauma
Racialized Trauma
The Indian Act
Here in Canada the “Indian Act” came into law in 1867. In the book 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, author Bob Joseph shares details of the Act that created the colonial system that continues to traumatize Indigenous peoples today. The Indian Act included things like:
- Creating reserves
- Mandating residential schools
- Restricting First Nations from leaving their reserve without permission from a government official
- Forbidding First Nations peoples from forming government, or even voting
- Forbidding First Nations peoples from speaking their language, practicing their religion, or any form of culture–from potlatches to wearing traditional regalia
This is just a sampling of the Indian Act. Basically, the act treated First Nations people as non-human. Over time the act has shifted and changed, but the stage was set in 1867 for an unjust system that oppresses Indigenous peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation movement is working to break down the deeply racist colonizing roots we still experience today. However, in order for any kind of lasting cultural shift to occur, all of society needs to participate in creating change.
Impact of Slavery on the World Today
Similarly, if we consider the roots of slavery in North America, we can become aware of why our society still struggles with systemic racism. Canadians tend to think that Canada wasn’t involved with slavery. However, this is not fully accurate. Canada became a sovereign country in 1867, 33 years after slavery ended within the British Empire, of which Canada was part. . Abolition happened later for the US, and in those years in-between Canada did give safe haven to enslaved people from the US through the Underground Railway. However, slavery was also legal here for 200 years. Enslaved people had no legal rights and were not considered fully human under the law.
Because the slave trade was intrinsic to the development of North America, it has deeply impacted the system of government we know today. Slavery – and later segregation – meant that laws governing our lands elevated the value of white lives over black lives. This problem continues to be systemic, because it is so ingrained in the way laws are written. This is something we still struggle with today.
Patriarchal Systems and Trauma
Sexism, and the oppressively patriarchal nature of Western society are systemic problems that can perpetuate trauma for all genders. That has created constant and ongoing opportunity for systemic trauma to affect people outside of that demographic.
Most women in Canada were only allowed to vote after 1916, with Quebec being the last province to allow women to vote in 1940.
Until 1985 (when there was a change to the Indian Act), Indigenous women did not have autonomy of their own status. Before 1985, an Indigenous woman who married someone non-indigenous would lose their status.
We could go on and on, but the point is that there are m