What is it about?
The article focuses on the Mission Indians of California and how the stress they experienced can be transmitted to their descendants in modern times.
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Why is it important?
The stress the Mission Indians experienced can be encoded in the body. Thus, when the Mission Indians suffered from stress and abused alcohol or committed acts of violence to cope with frustration and anxiety, they established patterns of self-harm that persist to the present. If the stress from the past can be identified and treated, the descendants of the Mission Indians can escape a legacy of self-harm.
Perspectives
I hope to contribute to the discussion about the experience of the Mission Indians and show how events from the past can make their mark on the human body for centuries.
Michael Gonzalez
University of San Diego
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Enduring Flame: Stress, Epigenetics, and the California Indian 1769–2000, The American Indian Quarterly, September 2022, Project Muse,
DOI: 10.1353/aiq.2022.0021.
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