An Indigenous family faces another tragedy tied to trauma

Over the weekend, I learned Chantal Moore’s younger brother Mike Martin, 23, took his life.

Moore, 26, made the headlines in June when she was killed by police in New Brunswick during a wellness check. The First Nations mother was shot after police say she ran toward an officer with a knife.

Her grandmother, Grace Frank, told me she viewed Moore’s body and counted seven bullet holes.

Moore’s family questions how she, who was five-foot-six and 115 pounds, could have posed a physical threat to a towering male police officer.

“Chantal was the kindest, caring, loving, supportive, bubbly person. She never had hate for anyone. People loved her,” Frank said.

This heartbroken family is now dealing with more anguish than most of us can imagine. Less than six months after Moore’s violent death comes more devastation from the suicide of her brother.

It is all connected. Indigenous peoples in Canada grapple with violence and suicide in epidemic rates. In fact, Indigenous suicide rates in Canada are some of the highest in the world.

You see, suicide was once a very rare occurrence among Indigenous peoples. It was only after contact with Europeans and the effects of colonialism that suicide became prevalent. According to the Centre for Suicide Prevention, the effects of colonization and governmental policies of forced assimilation continue to cause acculturative stress and marginalization among the Indigenous population.

These effects can be passed on from one generation to the next; this is referred to as intergenerational trauma. They can ultimately manifest in behaviours that may place individuals at risk for suicide. Some of the effects of colonization include: > Residential schools experiences. > Forced adoptions and foster care. > Forced relocation from one community to another.

> Denial of existence as people.

But imagine if Indigenous peoples were given the chance to heal the traumas of the past. If Indigenous people were treated equally in all aspects of society and free from the oppression of racism. What if Indigenous peoples had hope of a future with opportunities to live and thrive and follow the dreams of their heart? Freedom from discrimination. Expectation and security. Imagine.

Alas, this is far from reality for most Indigenous peoples here. There’s hardly any time to focus on healing when the assaults keep coming. The rates of violence against Indigenous people in the justice system, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, enforced poverty, racism and much more cause oceans of adversity. We keep treading to stay above water, so how can healing begin?

Imagine, fighting to stay alive on a daily basis and the heaviness of the burden of this continuous cycle.

It’s all connected — the murders, the violence, poverty, the suicides — it’s in this circle of tyranny, which is systemically kept in place by the powers that be. And frankly, most Canadians do nothing. They’re happy in the comforts of the status quo and stand by as this insanity continues to take the lives of the First Peoples.

December will mark five years since the release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And I wonder what really has been done?

Conflicts involving Indigenous peoples continue to rise, whether it is land claims, forced removal from lands, denial of rights and all the consequences that ensue.

I can’t imagine the pain this mother is going through with the distressing loss of two children back to back. But, do you know trauma and loss like this is a regular occurrence in Indigenous lives? To the mainstream it may be shocking, but it’s a reality that many of our people live with. A day-in and day-out war to survive while barely getting a breath to recuperate.

To those who want a better future for Canada and to those whose hearts are open; to those who see the wrongs going on, I challenge you to do something. To learn, to reach out to your Indigenous neighbour, to call on governments to stop perpetuating oppression and racism; and once and for all, for you to take a stand against it.

This country will never move forward if it’s not done hand in hand with the original inhabitants of these lands. Imagine if these were your children. Imagine the aching of your heart. Imagine a better way. Because we can change it together.