Karen Artichoker and Marlin Mousseau
StrongHearts Native Helpline
1-844-7NATIVE (762-8483)
is a 24/7 safe, confidential and anonymous domestic, dating and sexual violence helpline for American Indians and Alaska Natives, offering culturally-appropriate support and advocacy.
Restoring Ancestral Winds is dedicated to honoring the survivors of the Boarding School Era and their descendants. We understand as a Tribal organization that so many of the violences we experience within our homes have roots in the traumas our people experienced through an ongoing history of forceful and violent assimilation. Domestic Violence is not traditional. Restoring Ancestral Winds seeks to honor all relatives and their right to safety and healing within the home.
Restoring Ancestral Winds is honored to strengthen the voices of Native survivors and Indigenous intelligence into policy and action. We recognize that we are in a time of deep awareness, to the pain and exploitation of Indigenous land and body. Our strength through this time is matched with tremendous advocacy and love for our homelands, our ancestors and our people into future generations.
Domestic violence (DV) is one or multiple types of abuse, such as physical, emotional/verbal, sexual, financial, cultural, spiritual, or digital abuse toward a relative. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a form of domestic violence that happens when a current or former spouse or intimate partner (straight, cisgender, and 2SLGBTQ) engages in a repetitive, fear-inducing pattern of abuse toward their partner to maintain power and control in a relationship. This pattern of abuse can take place in relationships where couples are dating, married, living together, have a child together, or after the relationship has ended. While abuse can happen to anyone, the vast majority of victims of IPV are women with primarily male offenders. In Indigenous communities, violence is not traditional. The root cause of violence is colonization, as it imposes and promotes the domination and ownership of Native women by men and is reflected in violence against Indigenous women seen throughout history since contact. This reality has laid the foundation for present day violence against Native people.
#SupportSurvivors #Healing # DVAM2021 #NativeDVAM2021 #BreakCyclesBuildGens #HonorCycleBreakers #BreakTheSilence #TribalAdvocacy #DVAM #NativeDVAM #BoardingSchoolEra #Assimilation #Genocide #ViolenceIsNotOurTradtion
Violence Against Women is not a Native tradition. It was not tolerated and in the rare event that it occurred, it was taken seriously. Abuse wasn’t considered a “private family matter.”
It is important we examine our past and know where we were, understand how we got to be where we are today, and celebrate that the solutions to the problems of today can be found in our Traditions.
We understand as a Tribal organization that so many of the violences we experience within our homes have roots in the traumas our people experienced through an ongoing history of forceful and violent assimilation. Domestic Violence is not traditional.
Restoring Ancestral Winds seeks to honor all relatives and their right to safety and healing within the home.
One of the most difficult and continual issues Indigenous People face is the extremely high rate of missing and murdered relatives.
There are some numbers, stats, etc. to support understanding this violence but as Indigenous communities, we live with the reality in our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies.
A recent report from the Urban Indian Health Institue found Salt Lake City to be in the top ten cities for cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Before colonization Two-Spirit or Native LGBTQAI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning) individuals were treated with honor and respect. What happened to that honor and respect? History tells us that because of the effects of Historical and Intergenerational Trauma this once honored and respected individual is now ostracized within our tribal communities.
(via: Sovereign Bodies Institute)
You have a right to be believed. Whether you are reporting Intimate Partner Violence or Domestic Violence, reporting an act of violence you experienced, or sharing your story or your loved one’s story, you have a right to be believed, and to have your experience validated. You and your loved ones have a right to not be victim-blamed or shamed.
Indigenous survivors of violence must always be uplifted and given opportunities as leadership in the movement. As those most impacted by the violence, they know the issue in a way no one else will. We cannot achieve justice for DV and IPV victims, MMIWG2 or Indigenous survivors of violence without dedicating ourselves to caring for them and their families, and giving them platforms to share their stories and speak for themselves.