Healing Residential School Trauma. The Case for Evidence-Based Policy and Community-Led Programs

Abstract

The paper outlines the emerging theory of historic trauma and its relevance to residential school experience. Recent research on suicide and economic development is cited to demonstrate the importance of restoring the bonds of community to achieve change in various sectors. Key findings of research and evaluation conducted by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) are presented to identify healing strategies that are having an effect. The congruence between the AHF findings and recommendations of reports on mental health spanning the past decade is underlined. The article concludes with the argument that the evidence base for policy to support culturally adapted, community-led programming is well established. The time has come to translate knowledge into action.