Sharing One Skin

In the reading “Sharing One Skin” the writing revolves around identity and how certain things either make us become more self aware or tear us apart from finding our own identity. It goes into the four capacities of self and how they tie into us as native peoples. The four capacities of self are the physical self, the emotional self, the thinking intellectual self, and the spiritual self. This article also talks about how technology is ruining our native communities. It states that our language is dying and many of us would rather be in front of the screens instead of interacting with each other face to face. Lastly, this article talks about the importance of community.

MLA Citation: Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

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Native American Identity

In the reading “Native American Identity” the author is talking about all the different aspects of what it really means to be Native American and how there are some individuals that identify as Native American but have no proof : like a CIB to state that they are Native American. Also, this article talks about different subgroups and how individuals are divided and put into those specific groups. Another topic that was discussed was Nationhood. This section of the article explained how Nations come together and they are able to make treaties with one another. Lastly, what it means to be American Indian in today's society is a major issue in the Native American community. We all can’t define what it truly means to be Native American no matter how hard we really do try.

Horse, Perry G. “Native American Identity.” New Directions for Student Services, no. 109 Wiley Periodicals, Inc, 2005. Pp. 61-68.

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Devastating History

The first article I read that ties into the history of Sexual Abuse is called “South Dakota Boarding School Survivors Detail Sexual Abuse.” This article consists of individuals who attended the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota boarding school in the 1900’s. Holy Rosary Mission boarding school was founded in 1888. This boarding school was created to help in the religious conversion of the Oglala Lakota. When this article was published, court settlements revealed that the education the Church offered Native American children featured not just brutal bodily punishment but also uncontrolled Sexual Abuse. Priests, brothers, nuns and lay employees at the boarding school raped and molested the children who were attending this boarding school for multiple years.

"American Indian Boarding Schools." en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_boarding_schools . Accessed on 8 April 2022.

The second article I read that ties into the history of Sexual Abuse is called “Native American victims of sex abuse at Catholic boarding schools fight for justice.” This article is about a woman named Charbonneau. She talks a little about her experience at Saint Paul’s Indian Mission Boarding School in Sioux Falls. She mentioned that behind the silence at the boarding school all there was was sadness and horror. There was a lawsuit against the church. In March of 2019, eleven priests were named that were accused of commiting child sex abuse between 1950 and 1992. But Sioux Falls diocese officials looked over discussing any allegations of problems at the Cathilic-ran mission school. One priest that was named Father Suttmiller was brought up by several victims that attended St.Paul’s. Child sexual abuse was a common thread joining the boarding school that the Catholic Church operated in South Dakota, an additional damage on the souls of the Native American children who were already severely neglected, dehumanized and used as a marketing tool in solicitations.

"Honoring Native Ancestors." honoringnativeancestors.blogspot.com. http://honoringnativeancestors.blogspot.com/2017/09/holy-childhood.html . Accessed on 8 April 2022.

A news video that I found about the history of sexual abuse in Native Americans is called “Native American boarding school survivors speak out.” Yvonne Cheschik steps foot on what was once holy childhood catholic boarding school. She remembers being physically abused and harshly sexually abused. She said every time the priests and nuns would mistreat her, it continued to get harder and harder for her to learn. Sexual Abuse also took a huge toll on these children and now that they are elders they finally realized how poorly and how disgustingly they were treated. Fred Kiyogma also shared his experience of being sexually and physically abused. It took a huge toll on him mentally and even physically. He still has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (otherwise known as PTSD to this day.)

Works Cited

Woodward,Stephanie. “South Dakota Boarding Schools Detail Sexual Abuse.” Indian Country Today,https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/south-dakota-boarding-school-survivors-detail-sexual-abuse . Accessed 8 October 2021.

Anderson,Patrick. “Native American Victims of sex abuse at Catholic boarding schools fight for justice.” Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/05/16/native-american-sex-abuse-victims-catholic-boarding-schools-south-dakota/1158590001/ . Accessed 8 October 2021.

Native American boarding school survivors speak out. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/native-american-boarding-school-survivors-speak-out-119236677609

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Current state of the issue

The first article that I read is called, “Murdered and Missing Native American Women Challenge Police and Courts” by Garet Bleir. This article discusses the many women that have been raped and then murdered in Missoula Montana. Many of their offenders and murderers are white and non-native. Their offenders often come onto the native reservations first, find a woman and then do what he pleases with her. I think this disgusting and I really wish that those poor women did not have to go through those tragic events. This article also discusses the fear that spreads from woman to woman concerning sexual assault and the murder that follows.

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The second article that I read is called, “Native American Women still have the highest rates of rape and assault” by Lyndsey Gilpin. This article discusses the blackfeet reservation and what is happening when it comes to sexual assault and violence on the reservation. Native Americans are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault and rape than any other ethnic group. In 2013 the violence against women act was reauthorized but violence is still occur ing on reservations as well as off reservations. This article does say women in the title but it does discuss how these issues affect men as well. I could not find many articles that discussed children concerning these issues which was disappointing. It is also good at the same time because that means not that many children are being sexually abused or murdered as much as adults. As of 2016, tribal courts do not have the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals who are not a tribal member for crimes such as sexual assault and rape, even if they do end up occurring on tribal lands.

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The AV article that I chose is called, “Native American Women speak out about sexual abuse and violence.” A couple of women talked about their experiences. One woman spoke out about how she wanted to commit suicide a couple of times and actually planned it out due to how bad the molestation became. She was only at the age of six when she was first molested and raped. She was also physically and mentally abused by her family members who she thought loved her at first. She was upset at her family members, especially her mother for not protecting her and telling her about sexual abuse and what was a good touch and a bad touch. 1 in 3 Native American women/Alaska native are survivors of sexual violence. More than 50 percent are survivors of sexual abuse or sexual violence. One woman says “we are not seen as human, we are not seen as alive in this generation, we are seen as in museums. We are glorified in movies, we are the Pocahontas’ of cartoons but they don’t view us as human, as valuable. And our Native Women are, you know, not worth the effort.” A woman named Caroline works for free to swab native american sexual abuse victims if it has been 5 days since their assault because sometimes, the victims are too afraid to go to the legal systems for help due to their own personal problems with the legal system. One woman who wished to stay anonymous, felt that all her life she felt like an object rather than a person.

Bleir,Garet. “Murdered and missing native women challenge police and courts. ”The Center for

Public Integrity.

https://publicintegrity.org/politics/murdered-and-missing-native-american-women-challen

ge-police-and-courts/ . Accessed on 4 November 2021.

Gilpin,Lyndsey. “Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault.” High Country News. https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-why-native-american-women-still-have-the-highest-rates-of-rape-and-assault . Accessed on 4 November 2021.

“Native American Women speak out about sexual abuse and Violence.” YouTube, NBC Left Field. 12 January 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55Yr2msrAw . Accessed on 4 November 2021.

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Global Connections

The first article that I chose to read is “Justice for Victims of Sexual Abuse in Prison”. This article consists of the documentation of sexual abuse in male and female prisons. One main point that really stood out to me was the percentage of prisoners that are being sexually abused. Somewhere between 5 to 20% of inmates in prisons have been sexually assaulted at least once during their sentence. Majority of the time sexual abuse happens amongst inmates and sometimes sexual abuse does not have to be any form of penetration, it could be just touching or grooming other inmates. What happens very often is that the sexual abuse that happens in prisons goes unreported. This occurs because the inmates know that no one will believe them or they will go unheard due to the fact that “criminals’” voices are not taken into consideration. One thing I found very interesting is in men's prisons sexual abuse amongst each other is a form of social control.

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The second article that I chose to read and write about is celebrities who have been sexually abused sometime in their life, even before they became famous. The article is called, “Celebrities who survived sexual abuse”. This article talks about and names all of the celebrities who have come forward with their stories on them being sexually abused. One woman who has come forward with her story was Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is such a big name in today's world that it was shocking to me that she was sexually abused. She was only nine years old when she was raped by a relative.

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The video that I chose to watch for this paper is called, “Georgia rehab facility worker charged with sexual assault of patient”. In Georgia a resident of a nursing home was sexually abused by a worker. The person that was sexually abused was a 53 year old man and the person that sexually abused him went to jail or prison for doing that even though they are both adults.

Robenalt, Thomas. “Justice for victims of sexual abuse in prison.” Robenalt Law, Robenalt Law Firm, 12 March 2021. Accessed on 17 February 2022. https://www.lawyersthatfightforyou.com/sexual-abuse/2021/03/12/justice-for-victims-of-sexual-abuse-in-prison/

Celebrity Lists. “Celebrities who survived sexual abuse.” Ranker, 12 January 2019. Accessed on 17 February 2022. https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-were-sexually-abused/celebrity-lists

11Alive, Georgia rehab facility worker charged with sexual assault of patient.” YouTube, 11Alive, 28 August 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkZMU2OypQo .

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