Honoring Our Women
By Tinnekkia M. Williams-Three Legs
As a tradition in Native cultures, we honor those who have helped us in one way or another through our trials and tribulations, by sharing a meal and/or gifting of some kind like for example holding a giveaway. After all of the initial research and interviews were done and the Maze of Injustice report written, then published and released I had this nagging inside of me. I knew that as taught by our elders and handed down to us, a thank you of some sort needed to be done for those who took part in the creation of the Maze of Injustice report. This nagging grew and grew. I waited for someone else to step up and step forward, when it grew to the point that I could no longer handle or ignore it I took my desire for this to happen to a friend and that desire was born into reality and took its first breath of life.
Georgia Little Shield speaks to audience at Honoring Ceremony.
In the waters of a whirlpool, my friend Amanda and I talked about what exactly I wanted to happen, or rather what I thought I saw happening as a thank you for the women. I began to tell her what I wanted to see happen for these women from there through collective energy and hard work; it came to life. When I brought the idea/desire to Winona Flying Earth and Georgia Little Shield, they immediately began to help in the process of helping to bring everything together. I am grateful for the ones who had the strength, determination and the will to come forward and I am thankful for Amnesty International for their part in getting our voices heard! As you all know this is a work in progress and change does come slow, but we have taken the first steps!
When the day came for us to honor our women, we were all nervous. Deep inside me I could feel the energy that this had produced and it was like this beautiful butterfly that was emerging out of its cocoon for the very first time! When the first of the women began to flow into the casino banquet hall, the months of planning and seemingly endless hours spent on the phone no longer seemed as important as they had been just moments before. When the time came for the Honoring to begin, my heart was racing. Winona suggested that we start and I told her go ahead, she laughed at me and stated “we are doing this together not alone!” We motioned to Georgia and things got under way. After brief introductions of our selves, I introduced Larry Cox the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. His words moved many of the women to tears and you could see the hope, joy and gratitude on many of their faces as well.
Tinnekia and Larry Cox, AIUSA Executive Director
Before the release of the report by Amnesty, the voices of our Native women seemed to fall on deaf ears! Now the many voices of our Native sisters from around Indian country are being heard and more then that they are being listened to and changes are being made on an almost daily basis. As a direct result of the report Standing Rock is getting 18 new officers that will be here as their permanent duty station. There is talk of more changes to come in the near future to the entire judicial system here on Standing Rock. I remember a couple of years ago when there was some of us women who live here on Standing Rock and in Mobridge were sitting trying to think of someone we knew that hadn’t been affected by sexual assault or domestic violence and not a one of us could think of one woman that we knew who hadn’t been affected by it!
As the Stop Violence Against Women (SVAW) Coordinator for the Dakotas I have done some speaking and tried bringing as well as increasing awareness about sexual and domestic violence. I would like to increase the awareness about what goes on here in Indian country, not only here on Standing Rock but on all reservations. Here in Indian Country as we call it, we have been fighting to end these types of violence against our women for centuries now and finally we are gaining allies in our fight! The violence against our women began with the coming of outsiders into our villages and imposing their way of life upon us! These outsiders believed that our ways were primitive and savage; here’s a question that I want each of you to ask yourselves, which is more primitive and savage - a culture that sees its women and children as sacred or one that treats its women and children less then the dirt they walk on?
