Child Sexual Abuse: Understanding Problem through an Indigenous Lens

With colonialism, broken Government treaties, forced removal of Indigenous people om their homelands, and goals to eliminate Indigenous populations in the U.S., it makes sense why Indigenous populations experience may have a lack of trust for Governmental systems.

Indigenous families were broken up and separated. Children were removed from their family and support systems. Many children were abused, neglected, and punished when they spoke their language and were not allowed to take part in ceremony. How, then are traditions, oral stories and vital skills (i.e. parenting) past along?

Indigenous people possess strengths that bind us to our communities and traditions. We rally around tasks and other priorities we find pride in. We practice gadugi. Some collective behaviors that ensure our children's safety are not kept. Violence is allowed to remain through thriving off it's invisibility. 

Child Sexual Abuse lay in silence throughout the world. The United States and, tribal communities are no different. This is a topic that no one wants to talk about. It is hard to understand that children are being child sexually abused by their own friends and families or in some cases other children.

Oftentimes, social norms (behaviors; like child sexual abuse) are left to the child welfare system, police, jail, and probation to impact change. The community has to have a role to ensure true impact.