Indigenous Women
By: Ellie Graham, Reagan Hancock and Medhanit Desta
TW: This article discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with caution.
““If we’re not protecting our women and we’re not protecting our girls and we’re not protecting the most vulnerable people in this society, who are we as a country?””
1 in 3 indigenous women are likely to be victims of rape, and half are likely to be victims of sexual assault(Political Scientist researcher Ellie Stanton). This is a harrowing statistic to take in, especially considering the fact that they take up such a small percentage of the U.S. population. Much more of the U.S. has begun to recognize the horrifying violence that women face, 97% of women to be exact, it is important to include indigenous women in this narrative.
In the fact of violence towards women everywhere, we as journalists and activists want to bring to light something that happens fat to much: the sexual violence, rape and assault that indigenous women go through. Indigenous women need protection. They need justice. Often, it may seem like the representatives and lawmakers in this country simply do not care enough to supply either of those things for them. However, one representative, Deb Haaland, is making history by fighting these injustices that her community faces., Not only is she the first indigenous women in a presidential cabinet, she is also speaking up about the mistreatment that he fellow indigenous women face.
In the country that we reside in, the people that are most heard are often those that are represented in the government. For example, white people are the largest group in the government. In turn, people of the white race are more privileged than others. The problems of indigenous women are often ignored, but now that New Mexico’s Deb Haaland has been appointed into a federal position, more attention can be brought to the issues that these women face.