In this presentation we learn the family history that led Andrew to write an important chapter in the anthology, Re-Visioning the American Psyche, entitled, “Defiant Remembering: A Quest for Transgenerational Healing” (For more about this book and its other contributors, see the September program listing.) His chapter demonstrates the impacts of historical, cultural, and environmental colonization rippling through both native people and people transplanted to this continent. It also outlines efforts we can make to heal that trans-generational trauma.
Andrew shares that nearly all of his ancestors came from England to “New England” in the seventeenth century and claimed land. He sees his family of origin’s complete silence about Native Americans as an indication of complicity in genocide as defined by international conventions. Working against the collective amnesia, he seeks to understand his ancestors in context and stand with them beyond good and bad. Along the way, he describes encounters with particular forebears—a Scottish prisoner of war and a Nantucket whaling family—and reflects on the transmission of shame and guilt across generations as a form of moral injury. While attending the historical trauma of his own lineage, he draws attention to the potential for deep collective healing by engaging in relationships with native people and taking initiatives on the path of peace.