Indigenous coastal communities are interdependent with the environment and families are vulnerable to the environmental changes that disrupt culture, continuity, and livelihood. The purpose of this study was to elucidate meaning from shared cultural perceptions of experiencing repeated disasters and other environmental changes among a United States Indigenous coastal community. This study is part of a larger community- engaged study and reports results from phenomological semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews (n=19). Participants were enrolled tribal members with a strong ethnic identity and earned a majority of their income from subsistence activities. The results highlight that discrimination, which is part of the broader context of historical oppression, has set the stage for heightened vulnerability in Indigenous communities. Indigenous families are highly connected to their place and environment, yet environmental changes (e.g. repeated disasters, chronic land loss, and climate change) creates barriers for many elder participants pass on traditional knowledge and lifeways to their grandchildren and future generations. Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the land is spiritual, cultural, and place-specific. Interruption of Indigenous Peoples’ ability to interact with the land acculturation, lack of self-determination and discrimination are contemporary forms of trauma
