Intergenerational trauma

ILLUSTRATION BY TSISTA KENNEDY

It's rare for me to experience emotional labour when writing a story that isn't a personal one. For this piece about intergenerational trauma, specifically regarding Indigenous peoples, I felt spent on more than one occasion throughout the process. I had to first learn about the concept for myself; there was so much to learn and understand to do the piece right--even asking about someone's trauma can trigger pain and further trauma. And I didn't want to use anyone's pain to tell a story they didn't want to tell. So it took a while to even find someone who was willing to share. What I experienced was but a fraction of what Indigenous peoples may experience their whole lives. I did find someone to share their experiences (thank you, Christy Morgan) and I hope her story helps explain what intergenerational trauma is so that the burden on Indigenous peoples to continually have to educate on top of their pain, can ease even a little. I felt honoured to listen and share Christy's story.