Braiding the sweetgrass: An innovative program experience for preventing intergenerational trauma in Indigenous families in an urban Canadian community

Objective: Braiding the Sweetgrass aims to build a foundation for Indigenous families that is healthy and free from the trauma cycle. Method: Change strategies blend traditional Indigenous activities and Western therapies... [ view full abstract ]

Objective: Braiding the Sweetgrass aims to build a foundation for Indigenous families that is healthy and free from the trauma cycle.

Method: Change strategies blend traditional Indigenous activities and Western therapies to wrap participants in Indigenous culture; use Indigenous spiritual practices that include the Sweat Lodge, the Pipe, Elder guidance, and smudging; and use the trauma-informed lens of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. Two cohorts of eight to ten families run each year from March to June, and September to December. Parents participate in individual and group discussions and activities that emphasize the impact inter-generational trauma has on parenting capacity, children’s self-regulation, and overall family functioning. Children participate in culturally-based activities that facilitate the building of trusting relationships (e.g. sharing circles), introduce repetitive patterned activities (e.g., program rituals, drumming) that foster greater self-regulation, and create opportunities for connection to community and culture (e.g. traditional games, Elder teachings). Children and parents together focus on activities that can be extended into the community to create a sense of belonging and positive identification with their Indigenous culture.

Results:
• Increased understanding of: the history of Indigenous people; the impact of intergenerational trauma on individuals; and the resource and supports available to address the impact of intergenerational trauma.
• Participants valued information on brain development and impacts of trauma on the brain, and began to understand the relationships among self-regulation, co-regulation, and cognitive functioning.
• Increased access to traditional supportive practices such as smudging or ceremony where they feel like they belong and are supported.
• Enhanced knowledge of positive and traditional parenting practices.
• Emergence of the feeling of hope through participants’ experience in the program.

Conclusions:
Braiding the Sweetgrass reach its target population. Data and information gathered suggests that the program has achieved positive outcomes in most short-term outcome areas identified.