Violence against Native American women prevalent on reservations

John Smith never threw a punch at Pocahontas in Walt Disney’s classic children’s movie.
However, in reality, 70 percent of American Indians will experience violence victimization during their lives, said Cynthia Willis-Esqueda, associate professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“What makes American Indian violence unique is not only it’s prevalence, but the fact that’s it’s more prevalent intra-racially,” she said. “American Indian people are much more likely to be assaulted by whites.”
UNL’s Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services hosted a workshop led by Willis-Esqueda last night in the Nebraska Union. The workshop, “American Indians and Violence: Social and Legal Issues,” focused on the prevalence, attitudes and laws surrounding violence and domestic abuse in American Indian culture.
Willis-Esqueda’s workshop began with a lesson on American Indian law. Today, 561 American Indian Nations are recognized by the U.S. government, each one has its own tribal laws.
Tribal law includes jurisdiction over minor offenses on reservations, while federal law handles major offenses. State governments often feud with tribal governments for jurisdiction, she said.
However, tribal governments can only prosecute Indians.
“The U.S. legal system has not addressed the problem of non-Indians committing crimes on Indian lands.” Willis-Esqueda said.
Many non-Indians have realized the loophole in the law system and have begun moving methamphetamine labs onto reservations and committing acts of violence against American Indians without punishment.
Another aspect of Willis-Esqueda’s talk included results from studies she’s conducted. One study surveyed people’s anti-American Indian bias. The results showed that people with a high bias blamed the American Indian woman victim for the violence.
“What that shows me, is it explains why our society has let this go on for so long,” Willis-Esqueda said. ”That’s why there’s higher rates of domestic violence on American Indian reservations than the rest of the populations. People who don’t like Indians very well blame the woman rather than the man.”
Another study gauged American Indian women’s and European American women’s perceptions of domestic violence. Indian women downplayed violence, while white women heightened it, said Willis-Esqueda. The study also showed that Indian women perceived domestic violence as physical only, while white women considered verbal arguments domestic violence.
More than a dozen students attended the workshop, including UNL freshman Jordan Nelson.
“I thought it was really disheartening to know how much violence goes on in the reservations, and I thought it was scary how much they let the white men get off without any punishment just because they were white,” she said.
Kendra Haag, a UNL freshman arts and sciences major, wasn’t surprised by the statistics Willis-Esqueda provided.
“I’m Native American myself, and I kind of grew up near a reservation in Kansas, and none of this stuff was really surprising to me. The statistics was interesting and informational, but I already knew what went on.”
The attitudes revealed in Willis-Esqueda’s studies have ramifications; they can prevent intervention, arrest, prosecution, sentencing and psychological treatment, she said.
At the end of the workshop, Willis-Esqueda presented solutions including establishing tribally controlled medical units and shelters, conducting more research and restoring Indian women’s power in Indian communities.
“I think students should come away from this with a new awareness about the relationship between American Indian people and dominant culture in terms of law and in terms of significant social issues like violence,” she said.
“It’s important that students learn about all kinds of issues that relate to diversity on an academic campus, because this is the time that students have in their lives to really devote themselves to learning about new experiences and new people and new traditions and cultures.”

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