Native American Women, Scourge of Rape, Rare Justi

[heightsyankee]

This is an issue close to our hearts. My husband is white but grew up very entrenched with Indian life, 1st through scouting and then on his own. His legal speciality was actually American Indian Law- not casinos, he worked as a liaison of sorts between the tribal courts and the US system. Now he does commercial litigation to pay the bills but still does a lot of pro-bono work and other Indian related outreach.

People often say "Oh, well Indians have all this money from casinos now" and they also like to give the whole "boot straps" speech. This article is just one example of the hard lives faced by many Indians, especially women. THe article is a long but worthy read. Here are just some excerpts of interest:

FULL ARTICLE HERE

"Nationwide, an arrest is made in just 13 percent of the sexual assaults reported by American Indian women, according to the Justice Department, compared with 35 percent for black women and 32 percent for whites.

In South Dakota, Indians make up 10 percent of the population, but account for 40 percent of the victims of sexual assault. Alaska Natives are 15 percent of that state’s population, but constitute 61 percent of its victims of sexual assault.

The Justice Department did not prosecute 65 percent of the rape cases on Indian reservations in 2011. And though the department said it had mandated extra training for prosecutors and directed each field office to develop its own plan to help reduce violence against women, some advocates for Native American women said they no longer pressed victims to report rapes."


"The issue of sexual assaults on American Indian women has become one of the major sources of discord in the current debate between the White House and the House of Representatives over the latest reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994.

A Senate version, passed with broad bipartisan support, would grant new powers to tribal courts to prosecute non-Indians suspected of sexually assaulting their Indian spouses or domestic partners. But House Republicans, and some Senate Republicans, oppose the provision as a dangerous expansion of the tribal courts’ authority, and it was excluded from the version that the House passed last Wednesday. The House and Senate are seeking to negotiate a compromise."

“We should never have a woman come into the office saying, ‘I need to learn more about Plan B for when my daughter gets raped,’ ” said Charon Asetoyer, a women’s health advocate on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, referring to the morning-after pill. “That’s what’s so frightening — that it’s more expected than unexpected. It has become a norm for young women.”

In the Navajo Nation, which encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, 329 rape cases were reported in 2007 among a population of about 180,000. Five years later, there have been only 17 arrests. Women’s advocates on the reservation say only about 10 percent of sexual assaults are reported.

Nationwide, an arrest is made in just 13 percent of the sexual assaults reported by American Indian women, according to the Justice Department, compared with 35 percent for black women and 32 percent for whites.

[Deleted]

From what I understand, most indian tribes do not have all this money, especially those who stay on the reservations in the midwest.

I saw a documentary on this and it's very sad.

[munkii]

I watched the documentary "Rape on the Reservation" about this. It's heartbreaking that girls grow up assuming they're probably going to be victims.

Here's a link to the film: www.clanstar.org/featured/rotr-2/

[heightsyankee]

May 23, 2012 9:43:31 GMT -5 @habbsies said:

From what I understand, most indian tribes do not have all this money, especially those who stay on the reservations in the midwest.

I saw a documentary on this and it's very sad.

No, they don't. They live in abject poverty most of the time. We sponsor a woman through Family To Family who has 8 kids on a reservation outside Thoreaux, NM. THey live in a 20x20 shack made primarily of found materials and have no electricity and no running water. They're not an anomaly on their reservation. There is an overwhelming chance that more than one of those children was conceived during a rape (she has 2 sets of twins). It's terrible and sends me in to a blood boiling rage when people say she should have used protection or just not had sex. This demonstrates a very sad lack of understanding about the cycle of poverty and the situation of women like her.

[Melissa W.]

heightsyankee, you have a pm.

[druidp]

Next time anyone's driving north of North Platte, Nebraska - keep going up through Valentine and across the state line. The casino is right there on the state border, and about 30 minutes north is Mission - and it's nothing but rundown government housing, broken down cars, feral dogs, kids riding around without car seats, and total poverty. All the young people want to do is get out of there.