Photo of the week: Glass globe. Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day and World Mental Health Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a time to honor the histories and cultures of indigenous people and World Mental Health Day is a time to take note of the status of mental health around the world.

Trauma occurs when people experience a threat and are “unable to complete a satisfactory fight, flight or freeze response,” according to Dr. Peter Levine. Generational trauma occurs when this continually happens and is passed through generations. It can occur when systems are in place to oppress cultures and can cause generational poverty, illness, and death.

I am not a person with an indigenous heritage. The systems I live in have privileged my race. Sometimes I have heard white people speak of not knowing what to do or feeling guilt or shame. I think that it is important for all of us, but particularly for those with more cultural power, to move toward healing generational trauma and the pain that systems incur.

How?

I will speak for myself. I believe it is my responsibility to learn about people by listening to them. It is my responsibility to accept the experiences of others as their real experience–validation. It is my responsibility to vote and do what I can where I am to enact or support policies that move society toward healing these wounds. It is my responsibility to encourage others to act as well. I believe that if I do not do these things, I will contribute to more suffering–of others and of myself.

So, on this day, consider what sort of world you want to live in and consider what you can do to move in that direction. What are your ideas?

(P.S. One idea is to visit virtual museums. This is a link to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian online exhibit page! https://americanindian.si.edu/online-resources/exhibition-websites)