Healing the Soul Wound: Eduardo Duran

Recorded live at our May 2026 online gathering celebrating Little Singer, the Diné film in The Eternal Song series, this conversation with psychologist Eduardo Duran (Apache/Tewa/Lakota) begins with the prophecy of Crazy Horse and moves through the teachings of the elder who trained him, the soul wound and the origins of the term historical trauma, why Indigenous languages of verbs change how we understand diagnosis, and the Diné teaching of K'é: the universe wired in complete relationship. Trauma, he reminds us, is a movement and not an identity, and the medicine is in the song itself. Eduardo joins the teaching panel of our upcoming live course, Liberation Psychology: Roots, Memory & Practice.

Eduardo Duran (Apache/Tewa/Lakota) is a psychologist and Vietnam veteran who has spent most of his career working in Indigenous communities, informed by Buddhist practice, Native teachings, and heart knowing. His work introduced the concepts of the soul wound and historical trauma into clinical practice. He is the author of Buddha in Redface, Healing the Soul Wound, and Native American Postcolonial Psychology.

Topics

• 00:00:00 — Introduction
• 00:01:00 — The prophecy of Crazy Horse
• 00:04:00 — Meeting the elder
• 00:10:00 — Ordered to write
• 00:13:00 — Languages of verbs
• 00:19:00 — "They're there"
• 00:22:00 — Ceremony and the eternal song
• 00:26:00 — Quantum entanglement and K'é
• 00:30:00 — Trauma is not an identity
• 00:35:00 — Healing the land with prayer
• 00:40:00 — "Already holy, sacred, and divine"
• 00:44:00 — The dream had you
• 00:49:00 — Finding your own roots
• 00:55:00 — Closing gratitude

Resources & Links

Eduardo Duran

• Buddha in Redface
• Healing the Soul Wound: Trauma-Informed Counseling for Indigenous Communities
• Native American Postcolonial Psychology (with Bonnie Duran)

SAND & The Eternal Song

• Liberation Psychology: Roots, Memory & Practice — a new live course by SAND, registration is now open
• Watch Little Singer — the Diné film in The Eternal Song series
• The Eternal Song film series
• Watch Sila — streaming now

 

Referenced in the conversation

• International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers

Contact SAND

• [email protected]
• Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member