Sexual Victimization in Indian Country

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

sexual victimization in indian country: barriers and resources for native women seeking help

the full article may be read here:

http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/arsvindiancountry/arsvindiancountry.html

even in the 21st century, victim blaming is alive and well in indian country. just last year, an indian health service (ihs) physician published a paper in which she recommended that victims be lumped into categories such as "unintentional game players" and "intentional game players." she recommended these harsh labels "to shed light on the experience of domestic violence in many american indian communities". even more amazingly, maceachen suggested that women with a history of child sexual abuse often "provoke rape and battery in order to satisfy [their] needs...". the stubborn persistence of these attitudes, and for that matter the implicit acceptance of such attitudes as indicated by their acceptance in a government-sponsored peer-reviewed journal, are just some of the many barriers american indian and alaska native women face when seeking help for victimization.

other barriers also confront american indian women who must decide how (and whether) to seek help after a sexual victimization. centuries of oppression by the united states government have left many lasting problems. sexual victimization itself is a part of the terrible history of oppression, violence, and maltreatment that american indians have experienced at the hands of the united states government and its citizens. today, the majority culture is still often prejudiced and uninformed about tribal cultures. because of u.s. actions, many reservations are in remote areas, and most american indian communities are fairly small. these realities create additional problems, such as obtaining access to culturally congruent resources.

looked at from another way, it is also important to realize that tribal membership offers resources that may help some american indian women who have been sexually victimized. many american indian women have access to both western and native healers. many american indians also have culturally specific spiritual practices that can help with their healing. tribal members are entitled to some financial benefits, including free health care, and sometimes housing or education subsidies. this paper summarizes the barriers facing and resources available to american indian victims of sexual victimization, with a focus on systemic barriers found in the organizations and communities most likely to serve native women.

[Selke]

Is that IHS physician NA or white? Would she apply her "approach" to any and all women subjected to DV? Or just NA? Those statements are unbelievable and highly inappropriate for a so-called health care professional. I thought consciousness has been raised about DV beyond those backwards assumptions. DV is too serious a crime, and affects women of every culture, socioeconomic class, racial group, and country, to make such statements. Whoever this physician is, she should be supporting the efforts of NA women themselves to address DV in their own communities and helping getting the IHS resources in line with these efforts. I like the idea of using traditional healing for these problems.

For the record I'm white (although supposedly have a great grandparent of unknown NA blood) but worked as a contract nurse at an IHS facility last fall. I was saddened at the reports of DV, alcoholism, and other things the NA staff told me about. It seems that women get blamed for their own victimization in every culture, and this proves that patriarchy and internalization of oppression, crosses all cultural boundaries. It's sad.