Rape is a tool of patriarchal control and is a gender violence. If sexual violence is not simply a tool of patriarchy, but is also a tool of colonialism and racism, then entire communities of color are the victims of sexual violence. According to Smith (2003) she cites Neferti Tadiar arguing that colonial relationships are themselves gendered and sexualized. Within the context of colonization of Native nations, sexual violence does not affect Indian men and women in the same way. When a Native woman suffers abuse, it is not just an attack on her identity as a woman, but as a Native as well. The issue of colonial, race, and gender oppression cannot be separated. When Indian women are raped, it is has added distress than when white women are
…show more content…
While the bodies of both Indian men and women have been marked by sexual violence, Native women have been particularly targeted for abuse because of their capacity to give birth. Her child bearing ability makes her a target to be singled out to inhibit the production of the next generation. And in this genocide the nation is destroyed. Andrew Jackson ordered the troops to systematically kill Indian women and children after massacres in order to complete extermination. This practice of controlling Native women’s ability to reproduce continues in new forms. As late as the 1970’s Native women were being sterilized without informed consent. Twenty-five percent of all Native women of childbearing age had been sterilized without their informed consent, with sterilization rates as high as eighty percent on some reservations. Informed consents have curbed this practice, however it was replaced with dangerous contraceptives. Depo-Provera has been proven to be cancerous, and it was used on Indian women prior to FDA approval. There cover-up excuse was it was given to Indian women with disabilities to control their menstrual cycle for the purpose of hygienic. It was also said that it helped with their emotions, and the sterilization was just a side benefit. On the other hand there was a problem with giving it to young attractive girls who one day would …show more content…
This is apartheid where sacrifices imposed on some do not carry the same weight as the benefits obtained by others. Unfortunately for colonizers, it is not so easy to contain environmental degradation to those populations deemed expendable. Not only that, they do not have any type of policies or laws on their side to prevent such atrocities. Case in point, hypothetically speaking, if there was an old house George Washington slept in it would be preserved no matter how run down it is. And if the land was needed for something that would benefit the community, the historical preservation society would step in and get a court order to keep it intact, even if the space is the only space available for something beneficial to the community. Lands that are not rich in resources are then used for waste sites. One hundred percent of uranium production takes place on or near Indian land. To date over fifty reservations have been targeted for waste dumps where toxic waste are dumped. Military and nuclear testing also takes place almost exclusively on Native lands. Native peoples, the expendable ones, are situated to suffer the brunt of environmental destruction so that colonizers can
While the bodies of both Indian men and women have been marked by sexual violence, Native women have been particularly targeted for abuse because of their capacity to give birth. Her child bearing ability makes her a target to be singled out to inhibit the production of the next generation. And in this genocide the nation is destroyed. Andrew Jackson ordered the troops to systematically kill Indian women and children after massacres in order to complete extermination. This practice of controlling Native women’s ability to reproduce continues in new forms. As late as the 1970’s Native women were being sterilized without informed consent. Twenty-five percent of all Native women of childbearing age had been sterilized without their informed consent, with sterilization rates as high as eighty percent on some reservations. Informed consents have curbed this practice, however it was replaced with dangerous contraceptives. Depo-Provera has been proven to be cancerous, and it was used on Indian women prior to FDA approval. There cover-up excuse was it was given to Indian women with disabilities to control their menstrual cycle for the purpose of hygienic. It was also said that it helped with their emotions, and the sterilization was just a side benefit. On the other hand there was a problem with giving it to young attractive girls who one day would …show more content…
This is apartheid where sacrifices imposed on some do not carry the same weight as the benefits obtained by others. Unfortunately for colonizers, it is not so easy to contain environmental degradation to those populations deemed expendable. Not only that, they do not have any type of policies or laws on their side to prevent such atrocities. Case in point, hypothetically speaking, if there was an old house George Washington slept in it would be preserved no matter how run down it is. And if the land was needed for something that would benefit the community, the historical preservation society would step in and get a court order to keep it intact, even if the space is the only space available for something beneficial to the community. Lands that are not rich in resources are then used for waste sites. One hundred percent of uranium production takes place on or near Indian land. To date over fifty reservations have been targeted for waste dumps where toxic waste are dumped. Military and nuclear testing also takes place almost exclusively on Native lands. Native peoples, the expendable ones, are situated to suffer the brunt of environmental destruction so that colonizers can