Sexual Violence as a Threat to Cultural Survival
In 1978, the United States Supreme Court held that Native American tribes cannot criminally prosecute non-Native people for crimes committed on reservation lands. This case, Oliphant v Suquamish Indian Tribe, established a precedent that turned a cheek to the systemic violence against Native people in this country that has arguably been occurring since 1492, but also an ignorance of the often sexual violence caused against Indigenous women, who experience higher rates than other women (Oliphant v Suquamish Indian Tribe, 1978 & Rematriation Magazine, 2019). Furthermore, historical relations between tribes and law enforcement overall have not been strong and were dampened by the effects of geography, racism, and jurisdiction.
Andrea Smith, who uses her academic work as a tool for women empowerment, social justice, and anti-violence activism, largely centers on Native American women. Written in 2005, Smith's book (pictured to the left), Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide:
- examines the influence of colonization on Native Americans
- how colonizers used patriarchal violence against Native American women
- how that patriarchy penetrated Indigenous communities to the present
Smith's work is critical in the fight against the domination of our Nation's Indigenous women in order to keep their culture alive. Through sexual violence awareness and the movement towards justice, many stand together in this fight for equal protection under the law. For contemporary applications, locate the "Applications to Resiliency" tab to the right or click on the hyperlink for more information on the conflict of sexual violence perpetuated on Indigenous Women through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women campaign.
Citations
Smith, Andrea, 1966-. Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2005.
Oliphant v Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 (1978) Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1685760140612800397&q=Oliphant+v.+Suquamish+Indian+Tribe&hl=en&as_sdt=2006/.
The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. (2019, May 4). Rematriation. Retrieved from https://rematriation.com/mmiw-may-5-2019/.