Historic Trauma and Aboriginal Healing

Chapter 1
more than likely preserved only by practiced individuals, who may well have died in the epidemics.
Medieval “men” were not all literate either. At a minimum, their churches and governments would
have kept written records of their history, so that in times of crisis their deep cultural roots did not
become destroyed and fragmented to the same degree as in the Americas.
Prior to the exodus out of Europe after the discovery of the Americas, Medieval Europe had experienced
social, moral and spiritual disintegration from the trauma of hundreds of years of bubonic plagues.
Nevertheless, once the crisis was over, Europeans could go back to their “roots” as their cultural memory
remained intact. In a way, “they knew who they were” and this sustained identity helped in the recovery
process. After contact with Europeans, Indigenous people of the Americas also experienced social,
moral and spiritual breakdowns from the trauma of hundreds of years of infectious disease epidemics.
However, their cultural identity became shattered and the discontinuity of cultural identity prolonged
the recovery process; sometimes rendering it almost impossible.
During the 30 to 40-year intervals between major plagues, Medieval Europe was able to experience
gradual reconstruction of social order and people were able to re-populate. Indigenous people were not
able to reconstruct their societies or re-populate because subsequent epidemics hit every 7 to 14 years,
leaving insufficient time frames in between for recovery. Nevertheless, European experience can explain
what might have happened if Indigenous people experienced the same level of reprieve. When time
frames to recover have been sufficient and assistance for healing is available, reconstruction and repopulation
can happen (is happening) among Aboriginal people. Comparison with European experiences
during and after the plagues helps to illustrate that once traumatic events stop for a sufficient length of
time (at least 40 years) socio-cultural reconstruction and healing (can) will begin.
The inclusion of historic European plague and Aboriginal epidemic experiences in a research project on
historic trauma and Aboriginal healing helps demonstrate to Aboriginal people and the general public
that Aboriginal people have the wherewithal to enter, define and complete a healing process. Given
enough time, resources and support, Aboriginal people will rebuild and reconstruct thriving sociocultural
domains, just as people did in Medieval Europe.
The comparative component is also related to whether or not what happened in the aftermath of
widespread death in Europe can be extrapolated to what happened in the Americas. Through a
comparative analysis, a clear demonstration can be given that devastation to Aboriginal traditions,
cultures and social domains is a direct consequence of human reaction to intense and unmitigated
traumatic experience. It is reasonable to assume that human reactions in Europe to death that came
suddenly, unbidden and ravenous in its quest, would have direct bearing on human reactions here. It is
recognized that total population levels in Europe and in the Americas were very similar, with both
populations being estimated at approximately 100 million. The death rate in Europe ranged around 50
per cent, although in the Americas, it was closer to 90 per cent. There were cities in Europe and in the
southern hemisphere that sustained huge human losses; had tribal people living in smaller villages; had
rudimentary medical care; had nature-based spiritual practices; and finally, had unprecedented mortality
and demographic collapse in both geographical zones.
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