Colonial Trauma in Canada: Ethnostress, Public Stress and Political Stress among Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

In this paper, through the application of the concepts of ethnostress, public stress and political stress to Indigenous communities in Canada, I demonstrate how modern pressures have repercussions where there remains lasting transgenerational colonization-trauma. From the background of the context and social significance of French and British colonization in Canada, this paper examines how the current political circumstances and popular discourse perpetuate an unhealthy environment for Indigenous communities that is harmful to reconciliation prospects and to ending the long shadow of a traumatic past, sometimes despite the best intentions.