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Native American Women Essay

1449 Words6 Pages

“Bad people commit these horrible crimes against native women, but it is the system that allows it to happen generation after generation.”(Limberhand, NIWRC) Indigenous people have a history of being underserved and overlooked by law enforcement, politicians, the media, and many more. Native American women and girls make up a significant part of missing and murdered cases. Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native American women and girls. Not only are they victims of murder, but they are also victims of domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault. The root causes of these missing and murdered cases are colonialism, racism, and sexual objectification of these women and girls. Indigenous women should not be targeted for these crimes …show more content…

According to native hope, “America has written a stereotypical narrative for its first people. They are seen as lazy, drug addicts, and alcoholics who rely on the government to survive." (Native Hope) Also in an article, it states that “Many Americans think of being American Indian not as a real identity for people but as something that is a fun thing to pretend about.”(Hunter) Later in the article, it states that “men who commit these horrible crimes can do so because they don't see their victims as real persons.” (Hunter) These stereotypes come from colonization. This shows that they are viewed as women and girls who are not important and not worth being protected. Because of these negative stereotypes, the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls has continued. This leads to a lack of action and accountability for those who are responsible. Not only does this affect the crimes, but it also affects the investigations of these …show more content…

In northwestern British Columbia, hitchhiking is common among indigenous women and girls. There’s this highway called the Highway of Tears, also known as Highway 16. According to Morton, the primary mode of transportation used by women who have disappeared on the highway of tears is hitchhiking. This highway has had many cases where indigenous women and girls go missing and are then found dead near the highway. This shows that not only is it the violence that leads to these cases but it also is the choices that they have to make. Fortunately, some signs can help women and girls to avoid hitchhiking. It is important to educate women and girls about the potential dangers of hitchhiking and provide them with alternative transportation options. Additionally, law enforcement agencies should increase their efforts to prevent and go after the criminals who are making the highway of tears

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This is why the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) has a national mandate to make recommendations to eliminate the systemic causes of violence and to ensure the safety of indigenous women and girls throughout Canada. MMIW was founded in 2012 by Sheila North Wilson while she was working for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. North Wilson started MMIW as a hashtag on social media. She started this to bring awareness to the over 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women. What started off as a small foundation turned into a foundation of over 1,500 people, ranging from family members of missing indigenous women to survivors, 83 experts, and 819 other individuals.

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Monture Angus, a law professor and member of the Mohawk Nation, shares in this peer reviewed article, [Thunder in My Soul: A Mohawk Woman Speaks] by Native American women, that the society is allowing misleading representation to take away from their culture, she expresses that we should “- Understand it, understand where the pain comes from and why. I have to struggle with that...without understanding, (it) does not mean anything, does not reflect reality, and does not reflect people's experiences,” although her view is bias, it’s a very valid point, that we should understand that what we seek out as ineffective, is truly damaging

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Because the Hayden family covered up the crime, Native Americans continuously suffer in this corrupt society. Therefore, the lack of proper justice and ethical value endangers the existence of laws and destabilizes society by letting culprits perform more crime and creating insecurity among

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The novel There There by Tommy Orange is an influential social commentary on the contemporary issues of violence and addiction in Native American communities. These issues came from historical trauma, and continue to affect Native American communities today. The first key issue that is exposed

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The movie Smoke Signals portrays the many stereotypes Native Americans face. Victor, a Native American makes a joke of how they must remain stoic, “you gotta look like you just came back from killing a buffalo” (Smoke Signals). This may be a joke, but many Americans still view Native Americans as outlanders prancing across the prairie living in teepees and skinning buffalo. Once aware that someone is Native American people tend to make snap judgements based on the stereotypes seen for that particular race. A woman of Native American descent often faces these misconceptions when people learn of her heritage, as if everything about her revolves around the fact that she is Native American.

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Domestic violence against American Indian women is an outbreak within their community. They are victimized at more than twice the national rate. More than one in three American Indian women will be raped or sexually assaulted during their lifetime, according to the United States Department of Justice statistics. Crimes against American Indian women is 2.4 the rate of women nationally, while Alaska Native women were 4.5 times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner most of which were non-Indian. Stacy Leeds writes about herself becoming a law professor and serving as a Tribal Judge to help out in her community.

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They were the country 's foundation before the 18th century. However, the media plays a major role in the misrepresentation of the Native Americans and refuses to reveal the hidden truth about them and their culture. Native Americans are seen as “savage people” and always have been since the first settlers arrived to America. This is not how all Natives are but that 's how the TV and media have shown them.

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