Imagine living in a world where your government is not allowed to protect you. A world in which your family and yourself could be brutally victimized while your government has no power to interfere. Now imagine living in a community where sexual violence is so common that over 50 percent of women can expect to be victims of sexual violence.

People don’t often recognize who is actually perpetrating these crimes. We know that the majority of perpetrators are non-native. Usually in America, sexual violence happens within the same racial group, and the only exception to that rule is Native Americans.

We need encourage activism, we need to employ the help of the federal government whenever we can and it’s important to give native women legal voice when possible. Improving the lives of native women could go a long way towards achieving justice for all.

Check out the below video of Professor Deer’s 2016 Langston Hughes Lecture at the University of Kansas, where she discussed possible feminist legal reforms to reduce sexual violence against Native American women. Access works by Professor Deer here, as well as her complete bibliography.