Since the first discovery of the American continent, native people have suffered various instances of violence. Indigenous women, however, is the group that is more likely to experience abuse even nowadays since there the current system is not capable of protecting them. The book Sharing Our Stories of Survival is a collection of essays by Native women, where they shared their stories of rape, battery, and discrimination. However, aside from merely describing those episodes, women also included how they healed and moved from it; that is why these essays are called “survival stories.” Moreover, the book also contains poems of indigenous women, where they portrayed their experiences through imageries, like in Wolf (Deer et al., 2007). The narration demonstrates the heartbreaking and cruel reality that Native women had to face at some point in their lives: nevertheless, they are also full of hope.
Some stories in the book can leave a strong impression on the reader. For example, in the chapter “Healing,” the woman tells about how she was sexually assaulted. She talks about how she blamed herself and wondered if she could have done something to prevent it from happening. That stress caused her to abuse alcohol until she forgave herself and found other ways to deal with her emotional problems. Ultimately, she notes that since “a lot of guys avoid conviction, they may take it as a message that it is okay to hurt another human being” (Deer et al., 2007, p. 126). In that way, she states the problem in the U.S. justice system, which often turns a blind eye on cases of rape. In conclusion, it would appear that the book managed to demonstrate what surviving means for Native Women. Besides, it determined several problems of violence that require change and effort.
References
Deer, S., Clairmont, B., Martell, C. A., & Eagle, M. L. W. (2007). Sharing Our Stories of Survival: Native Women Surviving Violence. Rowman Altamira.