Guest Blogger.

Not being very into blogging of late. Not that there aren’t any issues, too bloody many issues not addressed by powers that be realy and they are starting to spin around in my head making it mushy in there. It is always best to get things out but I just can’t seem to priorize in writing in a way that is fair, truthful and yet without exposing myself to libel.

Fran to the rescue; I have been encouraging Fran to do a piece on the workshop she attended some weeks back. Out of the blue there was this hand written contribution sitting on the key board this morning.

Here is an interesting story as told by Dr. Joe Solanto during an Inter Generational Trauma workshop I attended over a month ago:

A survey in aboriginal communities in British Columbia showed that the suicide rate amongst aboriginal people was 20 times higher than the national average.

Some researchers in BC found this interesting and to say the least disturbing and wanted to find out why this was the case.

The researchers went to many aboriginal communities in BC and interviewed the residents.

They found that indeed in many aboriginal communities’ suicides rates were high, but they found that in many other aboriginal communities the suicide rate was lower than the national average-and they discovered than in some aboriginal communities there were no suicides.

Then the researchers decided they needed more information on the towns with no suicides; this is what they discovered:

The aboriginal towns without suicides had their land claims negotiated, they ran there own economic opportunities, operated their own education system, aboriginal people held positions of authority, their culture was visible, the justice was run by their own people and in many of these towns woman were leaders.

The researchers wanted to find out more about towns with woman leaders. addendum:They discovered that the towns with woman leaders were more successful and thriving than those with men as leaders. The researchers discovered that the women had dealt with their own issues, emotional or addictions. They were using their power as leaders to help their people.

On the other hand male leaders had not dealt nor coped with their trauma or addictions problems and were using their power as leaders for their own purposes or use.

This is how I remember it-It’s pretty mach the way Dr. Solanto told it. Fran Williams.

There you have it, and thank you Fran, very profound, subtle but to the point.