Hosted by PACES Connection CEO Ingrid Cockhren
In honor of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIW/MMIP) movement and in consideration of the mental health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in America, as a part of mental health awareness month's focus, we will air a encore interview of "Women of the PACEs Movement: Agnes Woodward". (During the month of March, our focus was on "Women of the PACEs Movement." The series included this episode which previously aired March 3, 2022.)
In this episode, we talk with Agnes Woodward, who uses her knowledge of historical trauma and the healing power of the arts to raise awareness of the adversity indigenous women face, and how they can also heal themselves, their families and future generations.
About Agnes Woodward:
Beginning in 2013, Agnes Woodward often awakened in the middle of the night to check that all doors in her house were locked and her five children were safe. Thanks to knowledge about the science of adverse childhood experiences, she later realized her fears, were symptoms of trauma related to her childhood, and to her parents’ childhood traumas as well.
Woodward experienced domestic violence and outright racism growing up as a Plains Cree from Kawacatoose First Nation, in Saskatchewan, Canada. She also was the child of generational trauma as she later discovered her parents’ histories as survivors of the Canadian government’s brutal assimilation actions.
A 17-year resident of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota, Woodward says that trauma balanced by activism to promote Indigenous rights was in her blood. Her father, born in 1944, was removed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from his home when he was just seven years old. He was kept in residential schools until he was able to leave at the age of 15. Only in recent years has he begun to share the traumatic experiences of his time at the school and his many escape attempts. (To read the rest of this blog post by Sylvia Paull, please click here.)
About Agnes Woodward:
Beginning in 2013, Agnes Woodward often awakened in the middle of the night to check that all doors in her house were locked and her five children were safe. Her fears, she later realized, thanks to knowledge about the science of adverse childhood experiences, were symptoms of trauma related to her childhood and to her parents’ childhood traumas as well.
Woodward experienced domestic violence and outright racism growing up as a Plains Cree from Kawacatoose First Nation, in Saskatchewan, Canada. She also was the child of generational trauma as she later discovered her parents’ histories as survivors of the Canadian government’s brutal assimilation actions.
A 17-year resident of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota, Woodward says that trauma balanced by activism to promote Indigenous rights was in her blood. Her father, born in 1944, was removed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from his home when he was just seven years old. He was kept in residential schools until he was able to leave at the age of 15. Only in recent years has he begun to share the traumatic experiences of his time at the school and his many escape attempts. (To read the rest of this blog post by Sylvia Paull, please click here.
More about our new, weekly podcast: History. Culture. Trauma., airing weekly on Thursdays at 1PM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel, hosted by Ingrid Cockhren, CEO PACEs Connection and Mathew Portell, Director of Communities.
According to Resmaa Menakem, trauma decontextualized over time looks like culture. We at PACEs Connection agree. With COVID-19, the climate crisis, and a racial reckoning, 2020 showed us that trauma is embedded in our institutions, our culture, and our history. 2020 was a collective trauma. With the addition of technological advances such as the internet and social media, we are more connected to our collective selves than ever before. We no longer live in silos that focus on the individual. Our shared experiences matter. Our podcast examines trauma and resilience at the individual, systems and cultural levels. How has the trauma of slavery and genocide impacted our current society? Why are the cultural manifestations of trauma—community violence, school shootings, etc.— so pervasive? We and our guests discuss the true impact of trauma and resilience on the human experience and show how both are rooted in the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs).
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