Injustice Against Native American Women

Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality… And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women “cry rape,” that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.

An ethical issue related to medical care is pain management and the inappropriate judgment of patients being labeled as “Drug Seeking”. There are statistics that prove there is a rise in abuse in opiates within communities. However, at what point does the nurse or provider get to decide what is an adequate pain threshold and how much they should endure? When does the ethical duty to relieve pain and suffering subside to personal biases? Patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as they entrust medical providers to relief their pain and suffering.

Battered Woman Syndrome has provided women who have been abused at the hands of their partners recognition in the criminal justice system and is allowing women to tell their stories. Although there are controversies surrounding battered woman syndrome, it should not be viewed as an excuse for killing their partners. It is a real disorder that has affected thousands of women 's lives all over the world. Discussing the Gladys Heavenfire case will bring awareness to the life of a woman who has been abused by her partner for several years. Furthermore, it provides information on Indigenous women who are more likely to suffer abuse than white women. Indigenous people have been discriminated and have been extremely mistreated

Although Native Americans are characterized as both civilized and uncivilized in module one readings, their lifestyles and culture are observed to be civilized more often than not. The separate and distinct duties of men and women (Sigard, 1632) reveal a society that has defined roles and expectations based on gender. There are customs related to courtship (Le Clercq, 1691) that are similar to European cultures. Marriage was a recognized union amongst Native Americans, although not necessarily viewed as a serious, lifelong commitment like the Europeans (Heckewelder, 1819).

Sexual violence is a sensitive topic for any and every woman. Whether it is sexual harassment, rape, or domestic violence, no woman wants to be taken advantage of by any man or even a woman. In the article, “Not an Indian Tradition. The Sexual Colonization of Native Peoples,” author Andrea Smith contrasts sexual violence and history from white woman to Native American women. Sexual violence differs for woman of color than white women alone. This has to do with the theory of intersectionality, which is the threats of discrimination when an individual’s identities overlap with other things such as race, gender, ethnicity, and so on. The demeaning of Native American’s worth is due to a white patriarchal society and intersectionality.

In a 2008 CDC study, 39% of Native women surveyed identified as victims of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, a rate higher than any other race or ethnicity surveyed. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs at least 70% of the violent victimizations experienced by American Indians are committed by persons not of the same race— a substantially higher rate of interracial violence than experienced by white or black victims Federal government studies have consistently shown that American Indian women experience much higher levels of sexual violence than other women in the U.S. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice indicates that Native American and Alaskan Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general (5 vs. 2 per 1,000).10 Additionally, 34% or more than one in three Native women will be raped during their lifetime, whereas for women as a whole the risk is less than one in five. 11 A 2004 study that examined intimate partner rape among American Indian women found that one in five respondents (20.9%) reported they had been a victim of at least one incident in their

At the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado in 1864, hundreds of women, children, and elderly people were killed while the men were away hunting. They were killed because people of the Colorado militia wanted that land so they fought for it against defenseless people. This made the men afraid to go on hunts for fear that another attack would occur. Document two shows the Native Americans being surrounded by a militia, and they couldn’t do anything about it because they had no one to protect them. Their way of life was also harmed because with the expansion came the building of a railroad. The U.S. citizens were killing buffalo to feed railroad workers and to give leather to factories. Around 1 million buffalo were killed each year and soon they were dying off. In document five, it shows what each part of the buffalo was used for. It shows that the Native Americans used every part of the animals just to survive. They used it for food, clothes, shelter, and tools. With the buffalo being killed so rapidly this was causing the Native Americans to rethink how they were going to get supplies and

The final concern in which needs to be addressed is the fact that these negative stereotypes of Native Americans make it very dangerous for them because of the rise of crime rates against the Natives. The rates for crimes against the Natives has increased and puts many of them in danger. These crimes are classified as hate crimes because of the fact that these crimes are done in hatred of them as a people and not a personal cause. According to Department of Justice analysis, "American Indians are more likely than people of other races to experience violence at the hands of someone of a different race." These factors only show that we need to take serious actions soon in order to prevent this violence to continue before its too

Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.

Junípero Serra has been decapitated, defaced, and became a saint all within a month’s time. He is surrounded by controversy. Many celebrated for he was the first Latino to become canonized. Rubén Mendoza of California State University of Monterey Bay explains, “Father Serra was not only a man of his time, he was a man ahead of his time in his advocacy for native people on the frontier.” However, Valentin Lopez who is the chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band explains that “Serra’s and the Church’s failure to learn form the teaching of Christ or from the life of St. Francis resulted in the complete extinction of many, many California tribes and great devastation for many others.”

During the period 1860-1890, western expansion negatively impacted the lives of Native Americans, by turning their lives upside-down under the order of the orders of the federal government. I say this because The Americans massacred the friendly Indians, Disrespected the culture and beliefs by slaughtering the buffalo, and Forcing Indians to assimilate to American culture.

After the Civil War ended many people were in hope of finding land since population was increasing. Since the West was underdeveloped and uncivilized, many decided to expand the land. First the Louisiana Purchase increased the opportunity of expansion.Then industrialization and the Homestead Act also caused many companies encouraged to move West due to the low cost of land and that the transportation was provided through the railroads. In order to complete such goals, something had to be done with the Natives since it conflicted with their home area. Before the 1860’s the native americans were living in peace until the Colonists attacked. The Western Expansion of 1860-90 greatly affected the lives of Native Americans, due to the powerful role

Latino’s suffered very harsh treatments as well however, most of Latino’s were born in their native countries, that seemingly is a negative and a positive the positive was that they knew who they were before coming to America. At a minimum this was a buffer to the dominant group, as they could not control their ideals of who Latino’s were. The barriers and doors of discrimination for this group often comes through language or the in ability to communicate however, they are the largest minority group soon to not be minority according to reports. Poverty and education as diminished as they struggle to be taught and learn through their native tongue. The upside to Latino’s is that they are the largest minority group. Their voices are listened to because they have many, they also have realized their power in numbers

Sexual violence against Native American women and girls is not a new issue. It has been happening since colonial times when British soldiers believed that Native women’s freedom in sexual expression made them impure and therefore gave them the right to

Legal systems and cultures are intertwined in such a way that allows them to influence one another. While most Western countries focus on top-down approaches that result in changing culture and behavior, others have concentrated their efforts to make the law reflect the culture and values of the people. In the past, when common law heavily influenced tribal courts, tribe members worked towards the preservation of traditions. Now in the modern age, tribes are working to conserve the unity of their people by using programs that center on tradition to bring forth a community. One tribe that has adopted such a program enhanced aboriginal’s Cody Kimewon understanding of his identity through a culture as cause, law as effect approach. Had he not