As the genocide began, men lost their traditional roles and experienced a sense of failure as protectors and providers. HRT theorizes that this sense of loss has been transmitted down through the generations, affecting many generations of Indian men with a deep sense of pain, anger and powerlessness. These destructive feelings manifest themselves as violence toward their loved ones, substance abuse, suicide, and an inability to communicate feelings and experiences. For Native women, the traditional role of educator, healer, nurturer, head of the home, and sustainer of the family and Nation was gone. Faced with being victims of abuse and abandonment, women turned to substance abuse, suicide and hopelessness.
Depression is widespread among Indian women, with many turning to substance abuse as a way to cope.
With the breakup of the extended family, many indigenous women found they had no role models to teach them parenting skills. As many Native people were raised in boarding schools, the traditional roles and ways of parenting by both Native men and women were lost. The attitudes and norms which then sprang up in parenting styles, such as harsh physical punishment, emotional abandonment, lack of parental involvement, and insensitivity to the children's needs added to the imbalance in the family. The Cycle Continues As generations continued with these ways of parenting, the trauma was passed down, until many believe it has become a cycle of despair and desperation. The HTR may point to a different perspective.