The Courage of a Nation: Healing From Intergenerational Trauma, Addiction and Multiple Loss

By Teresa Naseba Marsh PhD

This book will evoke in the reader a Spiritual energy, hope, compassion and understanding of healing from Intergenerational Trauma and Addiction. The author brings to life our journey as Indigenous Peoples globally from atrocities, oppression and multiple loss to healing and liberation of Spirit, mind, body and emotions. Written with soul language, poetry and story telling, Elders' teachings and ceremony, the author brings to life resilience and transformation. The author allows us to journey with her through her oppressive life and poverty in South Africa to her journey onto Turtle Island (Canada) and her joining with the Indigenous Nations in British Columbia and Northern Ontario. With audacity and courage, she reveals that anything that is loved can be healed and that we are born to heal. Furthermore, Teresa brings love, compassion, kindness, prayer and ceremony to life that will touch every soul with renewed faith and hope for healing. She teaches that no matter what has happened in your life, you have the capacity, light and ability within you to heal. Her presence and authenticity move through every word in this book and bring forth a connection to self, others and the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Aug 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780228825807

Teresa Naseba Marsh PhD

Dr. Teresa Naseba Marsh, PhD, MA, RN, RP, SEP Psychotherapist, Healer, Author, Yoga and Meditation TeacherTeresa Naseba Marsh immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1992 and continued to contribute to healing approaches to overcome suffering, trauma, addiction, intergenerational trauma, multiple loss and the aftermath of oppression. She also works closely with, supervises and teaches Indigenous professionals how to work through a trauma informed, decolonizing lens. She has established programs for care of the caregiver and vicarious trauma. Dr. Marsh works extensively with clients who have experienced multiple loss, intergenerational trauma, addiction and life-threatening illnesses. She is a Nurse with certification in Psychiatric and Oncology Nursing. Teresa completed her degree in Nursing Education and Community Health Nursing Science at the University of South Africa, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology at the Adler School, Chicago. She also completed her PhD in the School of Rural and Northern Health with a focus on Indigenous Health. She is the founder of her private practice, Thunzi Umphefumlo, Assistant Professor, Clinical Sciences with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine at Laurentian and Lakehead Universities.Teresa is the author of an Oncology Textbook for Health Care Professionals published in South Africa and also the author of Enlightenment Is Letting Go! Healing from Trauma, Addiction and Multiple Loss. She works as a consultant with Indigenous Communities with a focus on Healing from Intergenerational Trauma and Addiction. Teresa is a certified yoga teacher and teaches Yoga and Meditation individually and in groups. She lives in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Doctor David Marsh.

Book preview

Foreword

My first connection with Dr. Teresa Naseba Marsh was a telephone call I received in 2003. She called to tell me of her work implementing Seeking Safety with Indigeous people in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I was immediately moved by her profound passion for healing and her personal story. This conversation was followed by many visits and conversations about trauma and healing, Indigenous people, Seeking Safety and other topics.

It has been an honour to walk alongside this woman for so many years and to directly witness her enormous heart and boundless energy for healing and change for the world.

When I read the manuscript of this book, I was inspired and amazed by what she has accomplished. She brings cultural practices to life and moves masterfully from strong background literature to stories that capture the healing journey in the words of those who lived it. She offers a guidepost to show the way forward for transforming the deepest wounds and pain caused by trauma, addiction and loss. She takes the reader on a truthful journey within the self to explore processes of healing that are so very much needed in the world.

Teresa has the imagination of an artist, the gift of eloquence and the spirit of a healer. She joins her experiential knowledge of Indigenous cultures and people with her accomplished knowledge of Western counselling methods. She joins past and present, despair and hope, always summoning the best of those around her. She shows that spirituality and reclamation of that which was taken away by colonization is connected to the soul’s infinite compassion, love and creativity. Through the teachings of her Elders, she begins to understand that we lack nothing and that healing is always possible.

I have learned a great deal by watching how she connects Seeking Safety with Indigenous practices. This book exemplifies how to bring cultural practices into the heart of counselling, to unite these worlds in ways that become bigger than each alone. It has been exciting to watch Teresa’s work unfold and to see how she has helped so many people, with ever widening circles of influence from her direct work with the Indigenous communities to her broader teaching and writing.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

~ Dr. Lisa M. Najavits

Acknowledgments

In my life, there was a presence I recognized as the Stream of Love that accompanied me. During the writing of this book, I merged with the stream and I experienced passion and bliss. There are so many people I want to thank. You made this gift possible and I will be forever grateful.

I thank the Creator and all my ancestors for the stream of love, light, inspiration, hope and joy that walked with me as I was writing this book over the years.

This book would not have been possible if it were not for Elder Allen Dick and the entire Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation on Vancouver Island, particularly the two Nuu-Chah-Nulth communities of Tseshaht and Ahousaht. Kleco (thank you)! Elder Allen and his beautiful family are embedded in the foundation of this book. Kleco! Audrey, Andy, Victoria and Noahlani for the care, love, laughter and food you always shared with me.

My deepest appreciation goes to Jeannette Watts, Nene van Volsen, Gail Gus, Jane Jones, Gloria-Jean Frank, the late John Frank, Dave Frank, Louie Joseph, Rif Kamil, Anne Murray, Charlotte Rampanen, Jacqueline Watts and all the people in both communities. Also, thanks to all the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people who worked with me and who willingly shared their difficult and sometimes devastating stories with me. I thank you for your courage and strength to speak your truth with your voice and name. Kleco! Critch, Jailen, Lloyd, Andy, Elder Dave and all the staff who contributed their time, love and guidance.

Elders Julie and Frank, Che Miigwetch for your grace, quiet strength, love, inspiration, guidance and teachings. I could never have walked that road on my own. I honour you both and also all the Elders of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake First Nation) reserve in Sudbury.

Thank you to all the Elders who honoured me at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) Community Gathering. Thank you to all the NOSM staff for their support and guidance. I often watch you work in all the different areas of NOSM, be it Indigenous affairs, admissions or the associate dean of community engagement. You are all involved in making, remaking and creating a change that will go down in history. I am honoured to be an Honourary Elder of this school.

Dr. Lisa Najavits, my mentor and heroine, you are strength, courage, inspiration and hope, and you gave willingly and joyfully to the world. I am grateful for the guidance and respect you gave me throughout my doctoral research and more. Also, thank you for writing the Foreword and for the insightful guidance and support you gave throughout the development of the book’s content.

I would like to thank my thesis supervisors, Dr. Sheila Cote-Meek and Dr. Nancy Young, and my committee members, Dr. Lisa Najavits and Dr. Pamela Toulouse. Pam, during my difficult first year and my struggles with discouragement, you sat and guided me through my studies.

Che Miigwetch to all the magnificent Storytellers, you willingly and joyfully permitted the publishing of your life stories. You inspired me to the core with your bravery, compassion, respect, love and hope for healing. So many people, as they read your stories, will find their healing and their Spirits through your giving and sharing. Thank you to Healer Mike, Grandmother Sue, Patrick, Jade, Angel, Charlaine, Krystal, Pascal, Chris, Denis, Ron, Angela, Joanne, Judy, Nathan, Marina, Jane, Angele and Jamie.

Thank you, David, my best friend, helper, guide and husband for your unconditional love and support. You guided me throughout this process with patience, kindness and vision.

Thank you, my dear children, Shireen, Ashley, Reon, Helen and Catherine for encouraging me during the most difficult times in my life. Catherine, thank you for your contribution to painting the cover for this book. The Blue Heron was very appropriate and will continue to inspire people when they feel down and out. Thank you, Maya, Jordan and Acacia, my beautiful grandchildren—this is my gift to you.

I thank my mother, father and grandmother and all the other family in Spirit World who often ventured out to bring me teachings and guidance.

Thank you, Hannah, my healer, for always believing in me.

And finally thank you to all my dear friends, yogis and yoginis and my editor, Virginia, my project manager, Redjell, and all the staff of Tellwell Talent for their support and for cheering me on.

Introduction

The writing of this book was inspired by my visits to the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation on Vancouver Island and meeting Elder Allen Dick and the two Nuu-Chah-Nulth communities, Tseshaht and Ahousaht. Other inspirations emerged from my experience as a PhD student and my experiences working with the Anishinaabek peoples in Northern Ontario. As an Indigenous woman from Cape Town, South Africa, I have witnessed and experienced the debilitating symptoms of intergenerational trauma (IGT) and substance use disorder (SUD). As a witness to trauma and the range of ways in which it can degrade the human mind and soul, I am once again compelled to share the voices, experiences and viewpoints of the recipients of such atrocities.

The chapters are embedded with resilience, strength and courage of a Nation to embrace healing. For Indigenous peoples in Canada and across the globe, historical and IGT has sprung forth from colonialism, residential schools, the adoption sweeps (where Indigenous children were taken from their families of origin), loss of land, massacres, racism, and the loss of cultural practices and language. This book will trace some of these traumas and the healing that is possible with Indigenous knowledge.

This book is written in a similar style to my first book, Enlightenment Is Letting Go: Healing from Trauma, Addiction and Multiple Loss, but in the Indigenous context and voice as a testimony of the impact of intergenerational or abuse-related trauma, addiction and multiple loss on the lives and well-being of the Indigenous peoples in Canada and globally. Similar to my first book, this book is written through storytelling and poetry, as well as researched knowledge and wisdom.

This book will inspire you to rethink and understand the connections between IGT, SUD, multiple losses, and the healing and therapeutic process. This book is about the unbounded strength and unending courage of men, women and children who emerged from the depths of poverty, severe neglect and residential school trauma. They moved from IGT, SUD, loss of land, culture, language and traditional values to hope, awareness, self-determination, healing, reclaimed identity, peace, joy and freedom.

Through storytelling, spoken word and poetry, I explore the message that we are all born to heal. We all have the capacity for growth, transcendence, joy, unconditional love, peace and self-determination when we receive culturally sensitive and Spiritual support from Elders, healers, health-care professionals and families. The book will take you on a journey of the complexity and courage of the human Spirit and soul. My hope is that this book will inspire our capacity and ability to reconnect with the body, mind and Spirit through Indigenous healing practices that have sustained Indigenous peoples for centuries.

Furthermore, the content in this book explores treatment models from both Indigenous and Western Spiritual and health-care practices. Finally, the book discusses the impact of combined interventions and—through the stories of participants—showcases the impact and healing powers of these interventions. The journey through the book embarks upon unknown territories of truth telling, deepened Spirituality, strength and determination that will touch your heart with healing energy. The narratives are empowering and inspirational for clinicians, healers, professionals and a broader general audience. The desired outcome is an understanding that we as peoples are all connected and that we all have a responsibility to bring about healing in a world that can be cold, aloof and even cruel at times.

Chapter One

A Nuu-Chah-Nulth Elder Speaks

Our human compassion binds us to the other—not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. ~ Nelson Mandela

This chapter is about meeting the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation. I accepted the position as clinical nurse specialist and set out to help this community with the challenges of suicide, depression, obesity, diabetes, intergenerational trauma and substance use. I met Elder Allen Dick and ventured through a deeply Spiritual experience with him. I was inspired through poetry to document these experiences. The community was in awe, shared their struggles with me and accepted me into the community. They encouraged me to write this book. The Elder became my teacher.

Introduction

It was on a beautiful day on October 21, 2008, when I first met the Nuu-Chah-Nulth (meaning all along the mountains and sea) Nation. During that day and through all the experiences that followed, these words followed me around: We make plans but there is a greater power that directs our course. This was exactly what happened during my meeting with the Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoples.

Let me introduce you to this beautiful Nation. In 1958, Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nations formed the West Coast Allied Tribes and in 1973 incorporated as a non-profit society called West Coast District Society of Indian Chiefs. Six years later, they changed the name to Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC). Fourteen Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nations are divided into three regions: South, Central and Northern Regions. From earliest contact with European explorers up until 1830, more than 90 per cent of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth died as a result of infectious disease epidemics of malaria and smallpox. Europeans carried these endemic diseases, but the First Nations had no immunity to them. The high death rates added to the social disruption and cultural turmoil resulting from contact with Westerners. In the early 20th century, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth population was estimated at 3,500.

The Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoples are described as gentle, loving and kind people. Today, this Nation is self-determined, strong, growing and vibrant. Sadly, like many other Indigenous communities in Canada, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoples face significant challenges with intergenerational trauma (IGT) and substance use disorder (SUD). The negative health outcomes experienced by Indigenous peoples may be understood as direct consequences of colonization. Most notably, these effects are seen in the multi-generational effects of the residential school system (Cote & Schissel, 2008; McCormick, 2009).

I accepted the position as clinical nurse specialist in a Primary Health Care Project to prevent and treat suicide and depression in the Ahousaht Community. The second part of the project was to prevent and treat obesity and diabetes in the Tseshaht Community. I was also hired to support and supervise staff members that would be involved with this project.

I Meet My Elder

A few days after I accepted my position as clinical nurse specialist, I was orientated for this new position with four other nurses. During this orientation, I met Elder Allen Dick and ventured through a deeply Spiritual experience with him. I was inspired to document this experience through poetry. One of the gifts I received as a healer is to write when deeply inspired. During such inspirations, I can channel from deep within my being. Often these writings emerge as poetry. During the Elder’s teachings, I noticed that something very powerful was happening within my body. I suddenly experienced the room filled with all of my ancestors and the ancestors from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation. My entire being felt open and receptive as this energy transformed the room into a mist of love, wisdom and magic. I realized that my entire embodiment was in a vibrational mode with the energy of the Elder. As I listened to his teachings, it was as if I could see him as a child with his Elders. It was as if the knowledge of past and present came together, and a magical energy was created. I was consumed with feelings of hope, strength, joy, healing and love. I was awestruck, and my heart opened up with deep gratitude and humility.

As the Elder was preparing to leave, I walked to my bag in a trance, took out a rose quartz stone, handed it to the Elder and thanked him in this trance-like manner. My heart was beating rapidy, and I experienced an excitement and energy that I felt I could not sustain. At this point, I realized that everyone had left the room. The only desire I had was to write. I took out my journal, and before I knew it my hand was moving as I wrote this first poem. I was channelling an ancient energy that came from deep within. As I wrote, I experienced this joy, peace and love. The only way I could describe this is that I was connected to Spirit. I was inspired to write and that was what I did. Suddenly, I knew that what I needed to write was completed. This was a deep-felt sense. At this moment, I felt an immense peace and connection, and then I ate some lunch. When the other nurses returned, I shared my writing with Sharon, one of the nurses. She simply gave me a strange but reassuring look and she smiled. As I recall, she said, I think I know what you mean. Here’s what I wrote:

A Nuu-Chah-Nulth Elder Speaks

A face of wisdom, strength and eyes so bright

He walked into the room and brought the light

Humility I said, wisdom I wrote it down

In awe and surprised we received that first sound

First teaching was about parent and child

The importance of that role that so long ago died

Wisdom poured from the Elder’s heart so clear

I could feel his ancestors and mine so near

Now he shared his childhood experiences so proud

Taught us how to pass on the love so loud

He was loved, taught, held and protected

Such beautiful words, like a song the magic erected

He shares his gift and his experience with his first canoe

The great teachings of grandfathers, family and friends so true

Word by word the Elder revisits with stories and feel

So profound, every word, I wanted to pray and kneel

He now speaks of his leaving the path to addiction

With wisdom and care he healed from this affliction

God, he said, Great Spirit entered my heart

Healing came, Spirit remained and that was the start

We travel back with him working as a logger

His experience with all beings from every single place

He tells us about the oppression, the name-calling of his race

The way he handled them and how he defended his case

Now he tells of clergy of the west who sought him out one day

They talked, shared stories and learned about the Nation’s way

It was about Spirituality, beliefs, values so many questions came

They said Elder, your ancestors, your God is it the same?

Elder said, I stood up, supported by love and connection

Again, I experienced my ancestors’ and God’s protection

I raised up my hands so high and faced the east

The voices of grandfathers in language created a peace

Elder said, with my hands up high I continued to pray

I remembered my grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ rituals that day

Morning, evening they would face the east and give thanks

Those moments were about gratitude and never about ranks!

The clergy of the west wept as I continued my teachings and story

I was in awe, in Spirit, love in the Creator’s glory

This connectedness to ancestors,