Justice for Native American Women

Sexual crimes are a huge problem on Native American reservations, where nearly 40 percent of women report they have experienced some type of domestic violence. And an estimated 80 percent of Native American rape survivors say they were assaulted by non-Indian men, since the current legal system essentially empowers serial rapists who know they can get away with it. -A Historic Turning Point

Reading Andrea Smith's article titled "Sexual Violence as a tool of Genocide" was very powerful for me to read. It was so useful to read the history behind violence and how people have grown accustomed to seeing such acts of violence in media yet are afraid to talk about it in the home. Seeing these cases in movies about colored women (think Tyler Perry movies) has brought these topics to mainstream attention. Despite these movies focusing on colored stereotypes, I still think this topic should be brought up in new forms of art.

What really stood out to me was Smith's quote about "If sexual violence is not simply a tool of patriarchy but also a tool of colonialism and racism, then entire communities of color are the victims of sexual violence" (422). I must agree with this statement because the results of colonialism has forced the patriarchy upon otherwise peaceful communities. This has been destructive because of the case of the Chicana feminist, the concept of dominance becomes implanted. Personally, I know too many people that have been sexually assaulted and therefore, this topic should be one where everyone is aware of effects people on a daily basis (whether we know it or not). The patriarchy in Mexican communities was transformed into 'machismo' which has also been linked to sexual violence.

What I would like to point out is that in Native American communities, rape is often perpetrated by men outside of theirculture. To me, this is a direct result of colonialism and racism that Smith mentions. In addition, colonialism is present in the way males have in turn dominated Native Americans despite their structure having many women in charge before the colonizers arrived. In addition, males feel entitled to the women in the tribes because of their appearance. These women are thought of as less then others because of their skin colors. These notions are inherently racist and essentially fortify sexual violence.

An article related to this issue can be found  here which states that "that for the first time will allow Indian tribes to prosecute certain crimes of domestic violence committed by non-Indians in Indian country." Although this does not do much for the plight of native american women, this is a small step towards justice. It is clear that more must been quickly because "In at least 86 percent of the reported cases of rape or sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska native women, both on and off reservations, the victims say their attackers were non-native men, according to the Justice Department." These women on the reservations have many issues to overcome and to bring their rapists to justice. In fact, what is even more troubling is that several years after the fact that native american women are being assaulted, there is no authority tribes have against non-natives. "“Over the years, what happened is that white men, non-native men, would go onto a Native American reservation and go hunting — rape, abuse and even murder a native woman, and there’s absolutely nothing anyone could do to them,” said Kimberly Norris Guerrero, an actress, tribal advocate and native Oklahoman who is Cherokee and Colville Indian. “They got off scot-free.” Women are being raped in their own tribes and feel that their identity is being tainted. Post colonialist issues are still prevalent in areas that are always overlooked. What really got me was the fact that "on some reservations, the murder rate for native women is 10 times the national average." This is absolutely unacceptable and the government should focus more on the well-being of women and families on these tribes. These articles felt very important to read because it covers the injustice of minorities who should have the same rights to seek justice for people who are guilty of such violent crimes.