Celebrating and Understanding Native American Heritage Month

Every November, the United States and Canada celebrate and recognize Native American Heritage Month to honor the resilience, creativity, and enduring strength of Indigenous peoples. The legacy of Native Americans is the reason this land holds the rich history it does, as Indigenous communities are the first inhabitants, with deep-rooted languages, cultures, and traditions that continue to shape America today. In celebrating their existence, we must also confront the realities of abuse, exploitation, and sexual violence that still threaten Native populations at alarming rates. With such a rich and powerful history comes the responsibility to acknowledge the ongoing struggles that Indigenous communities face, while uplifting their continued survival and resistance.

While this month honors the beauty and perseverance of Indigenous life, it also urges us to confront the ongoing violence that disproportionately affects Native communities. Native communities across the entire United States are susceptible to the continuation of systemic barriers such as poverty, lack of access to healthcare, and jurisdictional challenges that limit justice for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. With an increasingly targeted threat to Indigenous women and girls, A report from the National Congress of American Indians (Rosay, 2016) found alarming rates of sexual and physical violence among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women:

• 56.1% have experienced sexual violence

• 55.5% have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner

• 48.8% have been stalked

• 63.8% have endured psychological aggression (Breiding et al., 2014)

Furthermore, AI/AN women are 1.7 times more likely than white women to experience violence each year (Rosay, 2016). Even when it comes to reporting statistics and the effects this has on the community, discrimination and lack of resources affect these findings. There have not been reliable counts of native women being killed and reported missing due to misclassification of their race (Being confused or marked down as Hispanic or Asian mispresents all communities in question (Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA] 2020). Native communities across the entire United States are susceptible to the continuation of systemic barriers such as poverty, lack of access to healthcare, and jurisdictional challenges that limit justice for survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

These high rates of violence, both sexual and domestic, are deeply rooted in centuries of displacement, exploitation, and systemic neglect. Specifically in the United States and Canada, Indigenous communities were targeted by colonial systems, including church-run boarding schools where countless Native children suffered physical and sexual abuse. Investigations by the U.S. Department of the Interior (2022) and the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) revealed the devastating scope of these abuses, many of which remain unaccounted for today. In Virginia, two reservations and tribes are still in existence: the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Nations. These native communities and several others here continue to fight for further federal recognition, land rights, and protection from violence. Addressing these sexual violence trends and concerns in Native communities requires care and attention to the intersecting issues of poverty, limited healthcare access, and jurisdictional barriers that often prevent justice.

One of the continuous movements that relentlessly fight for the protection of Native survivors is the MMIW movement. Marked by the color red and the national day of recognition being May 5,  Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, is a movement that brings attention to the epidemic of violence, disappearances, and murders of Native women, girls, and Two-Spirit people across North America. In 2009, The Senate of the United States released a joint resolution and apology to the Native Peoples that acknowledges the genocidal and generationally lasting abuse and maltreatment while also commending and honoring (United States Congress, 2009). Noted from the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Jaqueline Agtuca shares that “The movement for justice for MMIW challenges these separate crimes against Indigenous women and the system that allows this crisis to continue.” The MMIW movement creates an everlasting call to justice and honor towards Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered. It also exposes the ongoing crisis of human trafficking, sexual violence, and systemic neglect facing Native survivors. As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, we must pair our recognition with responsibility to uplift Indigenous voices, protect Native women, and commit to lasting change.

The Center celebrates the continuance of resilience and strength of native and Indigenous people. As the days turn in November, here are several ways you can support and show solidarity with the native community:

• Supporting movements like MMIW, and committing to research and self-education

• Learning or unlearning local and country-wide Indigenous histories and respecting their sovereignty in reference to each respective area.

• Uplifting Indigenous art, storytelling, and leadership either locally or through online garnered support.

 Citations:

National Congress of American Indians. (2021, October). Research Policy Update: State of the Data on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Girls. Washington, DC: NCAI. Retrieved from https://www.ncai.org/section/vawa/overview/key-statistics ncai.org

·         Breiding, M. J., Chen, J., & Black, M. C. (2014). Intimate partner violence in the United States — 2010 findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

·         Rosay, A. B. (2016). Violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men: 2010 findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

·         United States Congress. (2009). S.J. Res. 14, 111th Congress (Apology to Native Peoples of the United States). https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/14/text