Exploring the dream life of First Nations children from recovering alcoholic homes

• Main Author: Atleo, Geraldine V.
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4564

In studying the dreams of First Nations children, I honoured Native culture through gaining knowledge to plan for future generations and by acknowledging dreams, I hoped to revive the Native belief that empowerment and guidance could be obtained from dreams. The literature on children's dreams and the experiences of children of alcoholics was minimal. In this qualitative exploratory study, I analyzed the dreams of a Native boy and girls between the ages of 9 and 13. The child participants were from home environments where the mother was recovering from alcoholism. I examined the dreamer's perceptions in the dreams collected and the results indicated that dreams did not reveal direct evidence of alcohol, or First Nations themes. The dreams however did expose other issues that the children were dealing with, which were sometimes connected to alcoholism. Some of these concerns were: domestic violence, neglect, and abuse. Along with these grave issues, the children also dealt with less serious concerns in their dreams, such as quarrels with friends. The children's resiliency varied, individually, according to their dream perceptions of themselves, and others. The findings suggest that collecting a series of dreams could enable a counsellor to gain information about the child's situation that the child may not otherwise convey. This assessment from dreams can assist in planning interventions for the child and family.