Background

Since the colonization of the United States, white settlers have abused the kindness and hospitality of the Native Americans who originally inhabited the land. They would sterilize, rape, and slaughter the Native women so that they were unable to reproduce and continue their lineage. The modern abuse and disregard of crimes against Native American women stems from the original mentality of the white settlers that Natives were “savages” that needed to be controlled and silenced, meaning they were not seen as equals. The kidnapping, rape, and murder of Native women originates in the idea that Native people were lesser than white people. Although many original white settlers attempted to make peace with the tribes on the lands they wished to conquer, others completely wiped out the tribes and paraded around the spoils of their slaughter. As time progressed, less people thought to negotiate treaties and found it easier to kill the Natives on their own land because Natives were “barbarians”, meaning they were not civil like the white settlers. Many white people saw the Natives as needing to be civilized because of their power dynamics within the tribes. Women were in power, able to own land, and had say over their children and possessions. The power of Native women threatened white settlers, as patriarchy is unable to persist if an egalitarian society is thriving alongside it. It also threatened European settler's control of their own women, scared they would prefer a Native American lifestyle to a European one. With this idea in mind, one can see the importance of demonizing Native women to the white settlers. Believing that Native women and their status was unnatural and a threat to their civilized society made it an easier decision to go in and mass sterilize tribal women. These past ideologys directly aid in the modern abuse of Native women due to the idea of white supremacy that is still alive and rampant today.