ABSTRACT
This essay serves as an epigenetic case study demonstrating the impacts of historical, cultural, and environmental colonization rippling through both native people and people transplanted to this continent, as well as efforts we can make to heal that transgenerational trauma. The author states that nearly all of his ancestors came from England to “New England” in the seventeenth century and claimed land. He shares how 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, the author 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, the author draws attention to the potential for deep collective healing by relationships with native people and taking initiatives on the path of peace.
