Intergenerational Trauma Isn’t Ancient History — It’s a System We’re Still Living In
Let me say this clearly: telling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to “just get over it” is not only dismissive — it’s violent. That phrase isn’t neutral. It’s a form of erasure. It’s the language of a system that’s still benefiting from our dispossession.
Intergenerational trauma isn’t something we read about in textbooks. It’s something we live. It’s in the homes of Stolen Generations survivors and their children — who grew up not knowing their true names, their family lines, their Country.
It’s in the funeral after funeral we attend because our people die younger, sicker, and more often (Dudgeon, Milroy & Walker, 2014). It’s in the way we’re overrepresented in prisons, child removals, and suicide statistics. This isn’t a chapter in a history book. It’s our lived reality — today.
“We carry our grandparents’ grief in our bones. And still, we show up. Still, we fight for our future. That’s not weakness — that’s strength.”
Why Can’t We Just Get Over It?
Because the trauma never ended. Colonisation wasn’t a one-time event. It’s an ongoing system. Dispossession, forced removals, missions, assimilation, and systemic racism haven’t stopped — they’ve just evolved (Sherwood, 2013).
Healing isn’t just about time. It’s about justice. And when the systems around you are still built on your oppression — from the police to the health system, to the education system, to housing — there’s no room to “get over it”, because we’re still in it (Zubrick et al., 2014).
Trauma isn’t just psychological. It’s biological. Researchers have shown that trauma changes how our genes are expressed. This is called epigenetic inheritance. What does that mean? That the impacts of grief, fear, and violence can be passed on — literally — through generations (Atkinson, 2013).
Why Do Non-Indigenous People Say “It Had Nothing to Do With Me”?
Because it’s easier. Easier to believe racism ended with a handshake. Easier to believe colonisation is in the past. Easier to turn away from the truth than sit with the discomfort of complicity (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2022).
But here’s the truth: if you benefit from stolen land, unequal opportunity, and systemic advantage, then you are part of the system — whether you like it or not.
You may not have created the problem, but you are standing in a system that maintains it. And choosing not to act? That’s a decision.
“You don’t have to have owned a whip to benefit from the chains. Intergenerational trauma exists because intergenerational privilege does too.”
Accountability Is Not Blame
This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about responsibility. If you’re a non-Indigenous person in this country, you have a role to play in truth-telling, reconciliation, and justice. That means:
Learning the true history of this land — not the sugar-coated version (Dudgeon, Milroy & Walker, 2014).
Supporting First Nations-led solutions, services, and businesses.
Calling out racism — not just when it’s easy.
Listening. Sitting with the discomfort. Staying in the conversation.
And yes — it means doing this even when you feel guilty or uncomfortable. Because Mob don’t have the luxury of opting out.
A Note to Our Blaks
To our First Nations brothers, sisters, and kin: You’re not broken. You’re surviving a system that was built to erase you. Your grief is valid. Your resistance is powerful. And your healing — that’s revolutionary.
At Indigenous Job Match, we don’t just connect people with jobs. We fight for culturally safe workplaces, truth-telling, and spaces where our lived experiences are respected — not silenced.
“Healing from intergenerational trauma doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t happen. It means owning our truth — and building futures rooted in justice, dignity, and pride.”
Statement from Indigenous Job Match
At Indigenous Job Match, we work with employers to unpack the real impacts of intergenerational trauma. We support organisations to create culturally safe workplaces, shift power, and build policies with—not for—First Nations people.
Because we’re not interested in ticking boxes. We’re here to change systems.
References
Atkinson, J. (2013). Trauma-informed services and trauma-specific care for Indigenous Australian children. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/trauma-informed-services-and-trauma-specific-care/summary
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2022). Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices): Securing Our Rights, Securing Our Future. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/publications/wiyi-yani-u-thangani
Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., & Walker, R. (Eds.). (2014). Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.telethonkids.org.au/globalassets/media/documents/aboriginal-health/working-together-second-edition/working-together-aboriginal-and-wellbeing-2014.pdf
Sherwood, J. (2013). Colonisation - It’s bad for your health: The context of Aboriginal health. Contemporary Nurse, 46(1), 28–40. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2013.46.1.28
Zubrick, S. R., Shepherd, C. C. J., Dudgeon, P., Gee, G., Paradies, Y., Scrine, C., & Walker, R. (2014). Social determinants of social and emotional wellbeing. In P. Dudgeon, H. Milroy, & R. Walker (Eds.), Working together (pp. 93–112). Commonwealth of Australia.
