Welcome to the simulation titled Trauma-Informed Policing with Tribal Youth. This is a transcript of the simulation designed for screenreaders.
In this simulation, Sergeant Redbird tells us about her experience working with tribal youth, then we see an example interaction between Officer Harjo and a teen named Jacob.
Hi, I’m Sergeant Redbird. I’ve worked for my tribal police department for 24 years, and I’m part of an initiative to make more meaningful connections with our youth.
American Indians and Alaska Natives have experienced a long history of violence, resulting in traumatic conditions that change the way people think, act, and cope. Trauma is so widespread in Indian country that it’s safe to assume it impacts everyone you interact with to some degree.
Research links trauma reactions to many of the issues we see with youth: substance abuse, violent behavior, mental and physical health, and self-harm. That’s why there are efforts to implement trauma-informed practices for how police officers interact with youth. By understanding the history of American Indian and Alaska Native exposure to trauma, you can build relationships with youth that reduce the trauma reactions we typically label as delinquent acts. This lowers the number of arrests and increases opportunities for services.
There are a few different ways trauma can come to affect people. Historical trauma is a combination of immensely traumatic events perpetrated upon indigenous cultures: like the massacres of entire communities, the loss of tribal lands, or the relocation of people forced to journey hundreds of miles from their homes. When a community absorbs trauma like this, it profoundly changes the way people think, act, and cope.
This impacts how people raise families, and trauma passes from one generation to the next, which is known as intergenerational trauma. The cycle goes on, leading to present-day trauma--physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.
To see how these types of trauma can manifest through several generations, take a moment to read the story of the Bigbear family.
Trigger Warning: This story contains content about physical, mental, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse.
When Susan Bigbear was seven, she was taken away from her family and sent to a boarding school, where her teachers told her that American Indians were uneducated, needed help with schooling, and had to be told what to do. If Susan disobeyed any rules, spoke her native language, or asked others to use her tribal name instead of her English name, she was beaten.
When Susan turned 16, she married a boy from the boarding school and they had a family. They used physical punishment and emotional threats with their children. The cycle of violence continued with their daughter Crystal, including physical confrontations with others in school. At 12, when she was sexually abused by a relative, this resulted in her coping by smoking, drinking, and creating conflict by staying out late. By 18, she was living with an abusive boyfriend and gave birth to a baby boy. She felt trapped and didn’t know how to escape.
Crystal’s son Jacob witnessed his father beat his mother throughout his childhood. When Jacob was eight, his father went to prison for domestic violence charges compounded by substance abuse. Jacob’s uncle stepped in to help the family. His uncle included Jacob in tribal ceremonies, and Jacob’s school work improved. When Jacob was 12, his uncle died from a heart attack, and Jacob’s mom started drinking more. She turned her pain from grief and loss towards her children, targeting Jacob with verbal abuse and threats. She told Jacob his uncle would be ashamed by how he turned out, as he became increasingly angry, distrustful, and hopeless. Now, at age 15, he believes his life will never get any better and he doesn’t know what to do about it.
The Bigbear family is one example of a story I see time and time again.
Studies on adverse childhood experiences examine eight types of trauma: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; and mental illness, incarceration, substance abuse, divorce, and domestic violence.
From these studies, we know that almost all American Indians and Alaska Natives have experienced at least one type of trauma, with one in three reporting four or more types of trauma. This is not surprising if you understand the impact of historical and intergenerational trauma and how it influences present-day trauma.
Exposure to trauma—even witnessing trauma—causes a tremendous amount of stress and distress. Youth find short-term ways to cope with stress, decreasing their anxiety and masking depression with alcohol, drugs, avoidance, and risk-taking.
Unfortunately, these behaviors often lead to negative encounters with law enforcement. You might think, “Of course! A bad childhood means they are more likely to do things that mess up their lives. Kids end up delinquent because of how they are raised.”
And science has shown that hormones from stress actually change the form and function of a child’s brain as that child grows into adolescence. Child Psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Perry says, “The brains of traumatized children develop as if the entire world is chaotic, unpredictable, frightening, and devoid of nurturance.”
Childhood trauma changes how the brain experiences comfort and nurturance, how it controls impulses, and how it responds to perceptions of harm.
It’s like an egg. On the outside you see the protective shell of anger, hostility, mistrust, and defiance. But inside you find the fragile center, filled with anxiety, hopelessness, pain, depression, grief, confusion, a need for safety, and a heightened sense of vulnerability.
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