Lack Of Sovereign Recognition Of Indigenous Women Essay

Lack of sovereign recognition of Indigenous land and bodies Since this paper is addressing the lack of bodily autonomy that Indigenous people are receiving in many aspects of the United States I feel it is important to acknowledge my positionality. I am a white woman. I have grown up in Marysville Washington and currently live in Bellingham Washington. I feel it is important to acknowledge the places I have taken up space in. The land that we live on is precious and the health of the land and earth is vital to our survival. Indigenous people have a different relationship with land than I do. I feel it is important for me to acknowledge I do not begin to grasp the understanding of the relationship that Indigenous people have with the land

Throughout history, Native Americans have been subjected to medical experimentation, forced sterilization, and other forms of violence that have left a legacy of mistrust and trauma on indigenous bodies and land. We also see the lack of sovereignty recognized from the amounts of missing and murdered indigenous women, specifically the people taken off of Native land. The article Decolonizing VAWA 2021: A Step in the Right Direction for Protecting Native American Women by Sheena Gilbert states “the loss of tribal sovereignty to the federal government poses significant challenges for prosecuting perpetrators of violence against Native women” (Gilbert) Trying to protect Indigenous women is a struggle because of the loss of sovereignty that is given to Indigenous women. The government still controls how Indigenous nations are able to prosecute and protect Native women and girls when they are victims of crime. There is no consent when it comes to how women are able to seek justice on native land because there is a lack of recognition of Indigenous land sovereignty. Off of native land, it is still a monumental struggle for indigenous women and girls to be able to have their assailant caught and prosecuted, there is a fewer legal restriction that is placed upon how the prosecution could

There have been many ways that outsiders have disrespected the sovereignty that Indigenous land is supposed to have. One of the most well-known current issues that have affected Indigenous land sovereignty and bodily autonomy is the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 brought this issue to the forefront of public consciousness, as the pipeline was built through sacred Indigenous sites and land that has threatened the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. In spite of the widespread protests and outcry from Indigenous activists, the pipeline was completed, showing that there is still an ongoing lack of respect for Native American land sovereignty. The lack of recognition of Native American land sovereignty has far-reaching consequences for Indigenous communities, land, and bodies. It perpetuates poverty, unemployment, and inadequate access to healthcare and education. It also leads to environmental degradation and the destruction of sacred sites and natural resources which have gravely affected how Native Americans are living and surviving on their own lands. The effects that the lack of Indigenous land sovereignty has is astronomical on how it affects Indigenous bodies. Pipelines have been a big issue for Native Americans, large companies nonconsensually place pipelines through