You’re Invited: Healing Historical Trauma

“Since I was a teenager, I understood that it was really impossible to address racism without understanding the true reality of our history, because pretty much all of us have been miseducated [on] the history of this country,” says Faith Holmes, a development consultant for Oceti Wakan — a nonprofit dedicated to fostering healing and preserving the language and culture of the Lakota people.

Faith says that many people are not aware of our nation’s gruesome past of colonization and genocide and were instead taught stereotypes and false narratives, like the idea that indigenous people were savages for instance. 

“Only when we understand our true history, when we see the psychological impact that it’s had on all of us, can we truly make significant changes,” Faith says.

So, this Sunday, October 24, at 5:00 p.m. PST on Zoom, Faith will be speaking about the historical impacts of racism on the Lakota and African American communities. She will be joined by her friends Arya Badiyan and Lora Catches.

Arya Badiyan is a Baha’i and an artist who painted a series about liberty after the killing of George Floyd. She will share these pieces, as well as other paintings that illustrate what happened to the Lakota lands over a period of time.

Lora Catches, the Lakota Cultural Resource Director of the Oglala Lakota County School District, will share the Lakota perspective about spirituality, kinship, and the oneness of all living beings.

Faith continues to draw inspiration from the following quote from Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith:

The light of men is Justice. Quench it not with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men.

“The only way for us to truly have unity in this world is [to] have justice,” Faith says. “And we have to understand where we come from to be able to move forward.”

So, if you’re interested in a moving, diverse, and artistic presentation about historical racial trauma and healing, RSVP here.

As Faith says, “It’s the responsibility of every single one of us to find what contribution we can make to our community, to our society around healing from historical trauma, and to find our voice and then to act.”