SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Advocates are stepping up awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) and girls, but even with efforts in South Dakota and at the federal level, a key group said gaps still exist, including prevention.

In recent years, May 5 has served as a day to honor victims, but in 2021, organizers launched an action week.

Justice Department data show murder rates for Native American women are more than 10 times the national average.

Paula Julian, senior policy specialist for the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, said there are a lot of underlying factors, including lack of access to legal aid and shelters.

"Because we understand that MMIW is part of the spectrum of violence, where there aren't services, then we see that there is a greater likelihood that women will go missing or be murdered because they have nowhere to turn to for help," Julian explained.

South Dakota recently approved a specialized office to help find missing Native women and girls.

And at the federal level, the Interior Department is starting a new unit to help with such cases. It follows last year's law called Savanna's Act, to spur more efforts from the Justice Department.

Julian acknowledged it all helps, but argued it shouldn't just center around data collection and case assistance. She cited the need for restoring more tribal authority to investigate, on top of reducing resource disparities.

According to state data, roughly 70% of South Dakota's missing-persons cases involve Indigenous people.

Julian pointed out economic conditions on many reservations around the state open the door to dangerous situations, including human trafficking.

"Not only do you have tribal communities in South Dakota that experience some of the highest rates of poverty and resource disparity, but you see the related rates of violence against women," Julian observed.

The Resource Center said there are fewer than 60 tribally created or Native-centered domestic violence shelters around the U.S.

Despite the gaps, advocates stressed there's hope, including a new shelter planned for the Rosebud Reservation. Led by a local woman who secured CARES Act funding to make it happen, the facility is geared toward teen girls who are victims of sexual violence.

A great way to observe National Native American Heritage Month is to support Native artists but some in Wyoming said there are barriers to their exposure and success.

Some new programs and exhibits support Native art in the region, including a Native Arts Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council and a permanent space in Boulder, Colorado's Dairy Arts Center dedicated to Native arts, called the Creative Nations Sacred Space.

Bruce Cook, a Native American artist based on the Wind River Reservation, is a fellow this year and was awarded a startup challenge grant from the Wyoming Innovation Partnership to help emerging Native artists become established creative professionals.

"We just closed the Homeland Show for the welcoming back of the Arapaho and the Cheyenne to their homelands," Cook noted. "We're going to continue on that theme with bringing emerging artists from the reservation down there to get them a show and professional development."

Cook is a celebrated wood carving artist in the Haida tradition and has been expanding his ledger-painting work in the Arapaho tradition. His work will be on display at Scarlow's Art and Coffee in Casper through the end of the month.

Cook pointed out there is not a lot of opportunity for Native artists in the area. Business was easier in Seattle, he said, where he was represented by a gallery. In Wyoming, the road for Native art to be accepted, recognized and funded has been more difficult.

"There's a lot of sales of beadwork within the reservation," Cook acknowledged. "But it's not really being seen outside the reservation. As far as the arts scene in Wyoming, it's pretty nonexistent."

With fellow artist Robert Martinez, Cook cofounded the Northern Arapaho Artists Society and this was the second year they ran a Native arts market in Jackson. He reminded supporters of arts in the West that Native artists are "alive and well, creating art."


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President Joe Biden's recent apology on behalf of the federal government for harms done to generations of Native American children and their families in boarding schools was long overdue, according to Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the Denver-based American Indian College Fund.

And she said the apology is also a good start toward reconciliation.

"I feel like when you acknowledge something, you take a step toward healing that," said Crazy Bull. "You can't really have reconciliation unless people acknowledge that harm was done."

The U.S. Government removed Native children from their homes and families by force, and placed them in boarding schools where connections to their culture and language were severed.

Children were routinely beaten for not speaking English, and many were killed.

Until now, the program which operated between 1819 until 1969, was justified by U.S. officials as a necessary evil in order to achieve Manifest Destiny.

Crazy Bull said Native people believe that destiny is laid out by the Creator, not people.

She noted the Tribal College movement is in part an effort to take back control of education, and allow members to learn through a Native lens.

"If Manifest Destiny says that somebody else gets to dictate the path that you take," said Crazy Bull, "Tribally Controlled means that you get to dictate that path as a tribal person."

A bill making its way through the U.S. House would create a truth and healing commission, similar to efforts in South Africa in the aftermath of Apartheid.

Crazy Bull said native communities are still struggling - not only with inter-generational trauma - but also a lack of adequate housing, jobs, health care, and education opportunities.

"I feel like there needs to be a significant investment for the reparative work that needs to be done," said Crazy Bull, "in order for Native people to be healed of the harms."



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By LaVerne Whitebear for Arts Midwest.
Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Greater Dakota News Service reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collaboration

“Traditional games comprise the foundation of who we are as a people,” said Jeremy Red Eagle.

Red Eagle, ‘Mato Zi,’ is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, located in North and South Dakota. In 2007, he began studying and working with the International Traditional Games Society. They are dedicated individuals working to recover, restore, and re-introduce games developed by Indigenous nations in North America.

“I wanted to work with Native youth because they are the future, and I wanted to do my part,” he said. His focus has been the origin and history of Plains Style archery and lacrosse and of the Dakota people, and how he can guide the transference of this knowledge to both young and old.

“The best way I could think of ‘how’ was to meet them [the youth] on their level, by utilizing play-based learning programs or traditional games—the Indigenous form of education,” added Red Eagle. 

However, the lack of information on traditional ways has posed difficulties. Due to the late 1800’s assimilation of the Dakota people and the boarding school era, much of the first-hand knowledge has been lost. And documentation is limited. 

Research has been key in this revitalization process. Various Dakota elders have shared some oral history. Visits to museums have provided a wealth of visual information. These include stylistic, geographical, functionality, and elemental distinctions used by various tribes throughout North America. 

“The way a bow is made is true beauty. The design elements we incorporate tell their own stories. How cool is that!” he said. 

Still, there is much to learn.

The purpose of traditional games was based on the continued life and survival of Indigenous nations. They were introduced to members at a young age. Red Eagle shared that some tribes even presented their infants with lacrosse sticks upon the celebration of their birth—exemplifying their cultural importance. 

Plains Style traditional games have classifications such as ‘games of chance and intuition’ and ‘games of skill and agility/endurance.’ Individual games are said to awaken and strengthen inherent human senses, increasing one’s chances of survival.

The use of Indigenous language plays a key role in learning and sharing mechanics of these games. It infuses a deeper meaning of their importance to dakod wichohan or the Dakota way of life. 

Red Eagle has studied and acquired the Dakota language as a second-language speaker. He uses it as part of his traditional games teaching method in hopes of its parallel revitalization. 

His families’ relocation to South Dakota in 2014 coincided with his first attempt in introducing traditional games on a larger scale. The formation of a lacrosse team, Susbeca Lacrosse, included young members from his home district, Enemy Swim or Toka Nuwan. Red Eagle took this as a chance to coach the team using his knowledge of the Dakota language.

Today, through local Native non-profit Nis’to Incorporated and other partnerships, youth of all ages practice lacrosse and archery weekly, hosted by the Sisseton-Wahpeton College. And Red Eagle is often present at these gatherings. He guides participants in the “rules” of play or in making “equipment” for traditional games from natural materials he has collected.

“Everything we need to make these games (happen) can be found right on the land we call home,” he said. 

The history of these games reminds us of the connection between language, culture, history, and land. They can reconnect Indigenous populations and people, in general, with the natural world. Most importantly, they bring communities together. 


LaVerne Whitebear wrote this story for Arts Midwest.


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