Colonialism is the leading cause of trauma, intergenerational trauma and marginalization of Canadian Aboriginal women who have lost their sense of health and well-being, which has led to countless disappearances and murders. Trauma can be defined as an “extreme and major event against a person's body or self-concept” (Frideres, 2011, p. 80) and, unless measures are taken to counteract the serious injuries and damage caused from trauma, this can result in a person's inability to self-heal (Frideres, 2011). Trauma among Aboriginal people began to occur more than 500 years ago. This trauma is the result of cumulative emotional and psychological wounds resulting from massive group tragedies that have been passed down through generations (Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004). In the process of colonization Canada attacked the core of the Aboriginal peoples' identity, their family, language and spirituality. The term “soul wound” has been used to describe the historical trauma suffered by the loss of land, lifestyles and entire culture (Frideres, 2011). The period called “cultural transition” which occurred immediately after Aboriginal peoples came into contact with colonizers was when they were initially stripped of their cultural authority and social power. Once Aboriginal peoples realized they had minimal control over devastating events, they began to exhibit behavioral patterns of helplessness and compliance (Wesley-Esquimaux & Smolewski, 2004). These disempowering behaviors have led many Aboriginal peoples to choose to withdraw socially, reduce their cultural and spiritual activities, and engage in repetitive cycles of conflict. The continuous acts of conflict in turn led to profound psychological problems (drug addiction, sexual abuse, alcohol... half of the document... tell us: research findings from the Sisters in Spirit initiative. Retrieved from http ://www.nwac .ca/sites/default/files/imce/2010_NWAC_SIS_Report_EN.pdfVarcoe, C., & Dick, S. (2008 The Intersecting Risks of Violence and HIV for Rural Aboriginal Women in a Neo-Liberal Canadian Journal of Aboriginal Context Health, 4(1), 42-52. Retrieved from http://www.naho.ca/jah/english/jah04_01/07ViolenceHIV_42-52.pdfWesley-Esquimaux, C. C., & Smolewski, M. ( 2004). and Aboriginal Healing/prepared for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation by Cynthia C. Wesley-Esquimaux, Magdalena Smolewski: Aboriginal Healing Foundation, 2004. Wilson, A. and Wellbeing Research Bulletin on Women's Health Centers , 4(2), 6-8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218958153?accountid.=46683