Traumatizing Drama—Dramatizing Trauma: The Residential School Legacy in Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes and Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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Global Perspectives on Indigenous Film and Literature. ed. / Amar Ramesh Wayal; A. P. Anupama. Springer Science + Business Media, 2025. p. 17-33.
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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RIS
TY - CHAP
T1 - Traumatizing Drama—Dramatizing Trauma
T2 - The Residential School Legacy in Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes and Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian
AU - Henck, Maryann
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
PY - 2025/1/1
Y1 - 2025/1/1
N2 - After providing an overview of the residential school system and its legacy in Canada, this paper will discuss the implications of historical trauma for Native people and assess primarily traditional Indigenous approaches to healing, as well as Western psychological treatments. The main focus will be placed on the role of Native playwrights as contemporary storytellers and on the use of theatrical productions to create a critical Indigenous counternarrative, give a voice to the silenced survivors, and provide pathways to healing for wounded communities. Two post-apology dramas—Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes (2009) and Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian (2014)—will be analyzed to offer deeper insights into the insidious nature of traumatic experiences, various coping mechanisms, and potential sources of healing using the experiences of the fictive characters as examples. Will these characters remain eternal victims, or will they break the vicious circle and emerge as victors? Finally, there will be a call to action not only to raise more awareness about the damage wrought by colonial policies, but also to further decolonize the minds of the settler population.
AB - After providing an overview of the residential school system and its legacy in Canada, this paper will discuss the implications of historical trauma for Native people and assess primarily traditional Indigenous approaches to healing, as well as Western psychological treatments. The main focus will be placed on the role of Native playwrights as contemporary storytellers and on the use of theatrical productions to create a critical Indigenous counternarrative, give a voice to the silenced survivors, and provide pathways to healing for wounded communities. Two post-apology dramas—Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes (2009) and Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian (2014)—will be analyzed to offer deeper insights into the insidious nature of traumatic experiences, various coping mechanisms, and potential sources of healing using the experiences of the fictive characters as examples. Will these characters remain eternal victims, or will they break the vicious circle and emerge as victors? Finally, there will be a call to action not only to raise more awareness about the damage wrought by colonial policies, but also to further decolonize the minds of the settler population.
KW - And Decolonization
KW - Historical Trauma
KW - Indigenous Healing
KW - Residential School System
KW - Theatrical Counternarratives
KW - Language Studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105022361306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-981-96-7113-7_2
DO - 10.1007/978-981-96-7113-7_2
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:105022361306
SN - 9789819671120
SP - 17
EP - 33
BT - Global Perspectives on Indigenous Film and Literature
A2 - Wayal, Amar Ramesh
A2 - Anupama, A. P.
PB - Springer Science + Business Media
ER -