Genocide causes suicide?

Expert says past genocide linked to suicides in Native AmericansHistorical trauma is the intergenerational post traumatic stress that is the result of the genocide perpetrated on American Indians, Brave Heart said. The resulting "cumulative group trauma" was aggravated by the boarding school system imposed on Indian children by both the United States and Canada, robbing them of their traditions, language and families, she said.

The children of the massacre survivors, the boarding school survivors, passed on this trauma to their descendants, Brave Heart said. Hope for Native American children lies, Brave Heart said, in recognizing that this historical trauma exists and reclaiming traditional culture and spirituality through the power of the tribal community and "grass roots healing."Domestic violence:  The view from a Navajo counselorNative Americans trying to overcome learned behaviors may have more difficulty because of historical trauma or intergenerational trauma, said Clifford Jack, community educator for the Home for Women and Children. Jack also facilitates a men's group to help offenders overcome issues regarding domestic abuse.

"There is a backlash of forced assimilation—boarding schools, experiences of attempted extermination. All those backlashes lead to social ills," he said.