Since the onset of colonization Indigenous women have experienced violence with reckless abandon, today it is a public health emergency. Traditionally, many of our Native societies are matrilineal but settler colonialism has disrupted our traditional value systems. These shifts have tragically contributed to the epidemic of violence we see committed against our women and Two Spirit relations. The issue is systemic and this episode discusses how we must hold systems and people accountable.
Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee) is a playwright and lawyer with Pipestem Law, a firm dedicated to legal advocacy for the safety of Native women and tribal sovereignty. She represents families of victims and has testified before Congress for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Her perspective on the legal issues regarding MMIW expounds how tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction is so important in combatting the crisis. She also explains how political participation and allyship is necessary to fight subversive systems which propagate violence.
Abigail Echohawk (Pawnee) is Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute and a leader in the movement to bring visibility to MMIW through political advocacy work, data, and research. Her organization conducted a seminal report on the crisis to better understand the prevalence of the crisis which has harmed our relations for 500 years.
This episode is raw, real, and heart wrenching. The crisis must be addressed and we need allies to join us in making it visible so we can all take action. We need to hold non-Natives upholding these systems accountable. Further, we need Natives to step into roles of political power to demand change.
Every statistic represents a Native woman. We must honor and protect our sisters. No more stolen sisters.
Links and Resources
Fill out our form Letter in support of VAWA
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
Mary Kathryn Nagle New Yorker Article
Montana Community Foundation
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Music
Special thanks to Antone and The West Shore Canoe Family & Joanne Shannendoah
AMR Team
Creative direction, sound engineering, and editing: Teo Shantz
Film Editing:
Follow us on Instagam @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, amrpodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Wado for being on this journey with us.