“Indigenous children today are still being very much impacted by colonial harm,” shared Dr. Nicole Ineese-Nash. Dr. Ineese-Nash was recently a guest on the Little Eyes, Little Ears podcast hosted by Dr. Linda Baker and the Western Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children. If you work with Indigenous communities or simply wish to learn more about the Indigenous experience in Canada, I encourage you to listen in. Here is a link to the podcast: Learning Network – Western University
Dr. Ineese-Nash shares her insights on supporting the well-being and resilience of Indigenous children and youth exposed to violence through connections to the land, culture and community.
“In terms of how we can support children and youth to heal both from that first hand trauma as well as that intergenerational aspect, I really think it’s important that we adopt, a really holistic and culturally grounded approach and ultimately provide safer spaces, these landing spaces for Indigenous young people to engage in that process of healing that we don’t shy away from the conversation, but that we allow for these communities to thrive,” she said.
Dr. Ineese-Nash also discusses the impacts of colonial trauma on Indigenous children and youth, particularly in relation to experiences of intimate partner violence in the home and the disruption of family structures. She highlights how Indigenous communities must negotiate healing from colonial trauma in the context of increased social awareness of the harms and pain they have experienced. Lastly, she shares the importance of supporting Indigenous children and youth to find a sense of rootedness in who they are and creating safe and trauma-informed spaces that can connect them to their lands, territories, communities, nations and clans.
“In terms of the supporting the healing of children and youth, I think we need to create safer spaces, really taking a trauma-informed approach in all of the spaces that we are working with young people. And I think that so many of our young people today are experiencing a myriad of traumatic events, you know, whether they’re Indigenous or not,” she explained, adding: “We need to be supporting that healing and that growth and that teaching about how to relate to each other well in the early years, so that translates throughout the lifespan and ultimately, hopefully creating that generational change.”
Dr. Ineese-Nash is an Indigenous researcher, educator and community worker with over 10 years of experience working with Indigenous children, youth and communities. Her research with Indigenous young people spurred the foundation of her national charitable organization, Finding Our Power Together, which offers mental health coaching, group psychoeducation, and cultural healing to Indigenous youth across Canada. Nicole’s skills in community-based research, social justice education, and Indigenous cultural practices have allowed her to work with Indigenous communities both in and out of the academy, informing her research, writing, teaching and practice.
