![]() In a previous article, I stated that Native American scholars view historical trauma as the psychological, physical, social and cultural aftermath of the process of colonialism and post colonialism to which Indigenous people have been subjected. This resistance is based on philosophical, methodological, and in some cases on preconceived and prejudicial views regarding the validity of a concept, which ties colonial historical events to the development of psychological and physical distress. The literature on historical trauma is huge, and its reality undeniable, even though mainstream academia is still resistant to accept the validity of its concept. Therefore, the author proposes an alternative, but not an adversary explanation, to the influence of Epigenetics on Historical Trauma by introducing the concept of Historical Proxy as a way of avoiding a segregation of historical memories into an epigenetic frame, which still necessitates more investigation, and risks to become both a cliché and catchphrase, gaining acceptance without solid scientific evidence.Īlthough a definitive empirical conceptualization of historical trauma has to be reached yet, a working definition from the writing of Native American scholars views historical trauma as the psychological, physical, social and cultural aftermath of the process of colonialism and post colonialism to which Indigenous people have been subjected. This theory, as well, is in need of validation, which, in the future, will be found in the analysis of qualitative work on the subject of Historical Trauma. The concept of Historical Proxy, which was coined during some of the work on Historical trauma IIKD ( Indigenous Institute for Knowledge and Development), at the University Of New Mexico in Albuquerque, refers to the effect of memories, facts, tales, images, places, circumstances, reenacting historical traumatic events and triggering emotional and physical distress. Besides exploring the possibility of Epigenetics as a conduit for the transmission of Historical Trauma, it approaches the concept of Historical Proxy as an alternative explanation to Epigenetics, without asserting that the two are mutually exclusive. The article focuses on the possible modalities of transmission of traumatic experiences among generations in Native American populations. Lately, this intergenerational effect has been postulated to be a result of a process called Epigenetics, representing multiple effects of environmental influences on individual genetic makeup. This emphasis makes sense, since traumatic experiences have a profound effect on psychological and physical health not only for the individual, but for communities, and generations to come. Trauma has been the focus of much research for more than three decades.
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