Photo Credit: Raul Llopis Martin
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time where the United States must shift its focus to the history of Native Americans in this country, amplifying the voices and partnering with Native American leaders, and asking ourselves how we can better understand and advocate for solutions to issues facing this community today. One of these issues is sexual violence, a form of violence disproportionately impacting Native American and Alaska Native people. This Native American Heritage Month, we’re highlighting some of our favorite books by Native authors that grapple with sexual violence and how it impacts their communities.
Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah Miranda
Deborah Miranda is a member of the Ohlone-Costanoan Esselen Nation of California. In her memoir, Miranda dives into her family’s history and the history of her tribe through newspaper clippings, poems, oral histories, and anthropological recordings. Interweaving Native American history along with her own family’s story`, the book sheds light on how storytelling is a powerful tool to preserving cultural identity and resilience. One of the many topics covered is sexual violence against Native American women. In an interview about her book, Miranda states:
“[Native American women] could probably not conceive of a future in which sexual violence was not still a reality for Indian women – and sadly, tragically, they were right about that. So I put this story in Bad Indians, and whenever I read it, Indian women in the audience let me know – either in conversation afterwards, or in emails and notes days later – that the story speaks to them, personally…Indian women have to claim our wounds, our history, in order to recover.”
Beginning & End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America by Sarah Deer
We previously highlighted Sarah Deer in our article, “5 Sexual Violence Advocates To Know On International Women’s Day,” and with good reason. Deer, member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, is an acclaimed scholar with incredible expertise in the area of sexual violence research pertaining to Native American populations. Her book explored how the legacy of colonialism has contributed to the longstanding, increased risk of sexual harm against Native American people. As we noted in our blog, “the late former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior and member of the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin, Ada Deer, found Sarah’s book to be a, ‘compelling and compassionate revelation of the eternal violence against Native women. It is a call to action for all of us.”’
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
Mona Susan Power is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. In this fictional novel, multiple generations from the Yanktonai Tribe (a sub-tribe of the Dakota) deal with the effects of settler colonialism. This narrative is partially told through the perspective of their dolls. The dolls and girls can talk with one another, and the dolls have the power to help their girls through their struggles. Child sexual abuse and how it impacts future generations is one of many important topics that Power explores throughout this story. As Power notes in her book, healing isn’t possible when we ignore our emotional truths. She writes, “we can’t heal the story by changing the plot, pretending the awful stuff didn’t happen. Tragedy just breaks out somewhere else along the line. The story won’t heal until the players do.”
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
Mary Crow Dog (also known as Mary Brave Bird) was a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist from Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota. Her memoir, Lakota Woman, uncovers many issues she and her community experienced due to racism and systemic oppression. This includes being raped at Catholic school and the broader context of sexual violence being perpetrated by law enforcement and survivors being unsupported by the criminal justice system. In this 1991 American Book Award-winning memoir, Crow Dog makes central a traditional Cheyenne proverb: “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground.” She draws on that proverb throughout her book to demonstrate how, even amid personal struggle, women as a collective hold the power to keep each other and their community at large surviving.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, a federally recognized Ojibwe people. Her crime novel tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who seeks justice after a poor investigation into his mother’s nearly-fatal rape. This book, winner of the 2012 National Book Award for fiction, explores the impacts of sexual violence, sexism, and a criminal justice system that so often does not find justice for victims. In a USA Today review of the book, it says the following:
“The Round House delivers justice and redemption in unlikely ways. No healing comes without great suffering. Acts of violence beget further violence. Calm is shattered by loss. This is painful material to be sure, but in the face of sorrow, Erdrich’s characters are defined by quiet determination, courage and resilience. ‘We just kept going’ are the last four words of this haunting story. That’s as close to a happy ending as the author is willing to get.”
This month and every month, we will be honoring all our communities by reading about the ways in which sexual violence impacts them. Through stories, we see ourselves and the world we live in reflected. Here’s to all of us working together until the stories we read reflect a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, equitable, healing world.
RALIANCE is a trusted adviser for organizations committed to building cultures that are safe, equitable, and respectful. RALIANCE offers unparalleled expertise in serving survivors of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse which drives our mission to help organizations across sectors create inclusive environments for all. For more information, please visit www.RALIANCE.org.