There were no addictions among Tribal people prior to colonization

Oct 12

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. This "holiday" is to recognize the original people of this land, the Native populations that were displaced and decimated after contact. I want to also recognize that with that displacement and decimation came addiction.

According to Gabor Maté MD there were no addictions among Tribal people prior to colonization.

I am so proud of who I am and where I came from as a Karuk person. I had the privilege of growing up on my land, learning my language and participating in my ceremonies. I had that privilege because colonizer contact with my Tribal people was not until around 1850. After that, the Hoopa Reservation is where the U.S. government attempted to move my people. It is only 20 miles from my ancestral land, and because of that short distance, my ancestors just went home. Most Native Americans and First Nations people in Canada were not as fortunate.

The history of Indigenous people in this country is only that, "history" to so many, something to learn and "recognize". For Native people, the ways our collective history and trauma plague our everyday lives, continues today. One of those ways is addiction. "The rate of substance dependence or abuse is higher among Native Americans than any other population group in the country." From: https:// americanaddictioncenters.org

I have not had a lot of social media words lately, I have been dealing with my own trauma and the process of healing. Part of healing for me is educating myself. In (the 2018 introduction of) Gabor Maté's book, "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts- Close Encounters with Addiction" he talks about his work with Indigenous clients in Canada and he says, "In our civilized times we are punishing and tormenting people for having suffered trauma. Inevitably addictions are the most prevalent and most deadly among populations who historically have suffered the most enduring trauma and dislocation."

Indigenous Peoples Day is to recognize the original people of this land, let's also recognize the healing that needs to be done. Maté says, "The opposite of addiction is connection" and that "truth as we know brings freedom, even as it may invoke pain."