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St. Mary's Seminary & University

Native Americans

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Story of Native Americans

Over hundreds of years, Native Americans were systematically stripped of their land, their language, their spirituality, and their safety. Colonization accounts for the vulnerability of Native women. Native American women and girls are thought of as less valuable. The trafficking of Native American children is a major problem in the United States. It is intergenerational trauma; if your mother and grandmother and great-grandmother were all victims of sexual assault, there is a normalization that the next girl in the generation will be assaulted/trafficked.

Reservations

Native people compose 1 to 2 percent of the American population today, with about half living on reservations, at any given time. An Indian Reservation is a piece of land in the U.S. designated as federal territory and managed by a Native American tribal council. There are around 300 overall reservations in the United States. In the past few years, sexual violence against women has dramatically risen on many Native American Reservations across the country. On these reservations, there are documented and undocumented “man camps”. Ranchers, farmers, and pimps coordinate the activities of “man camps”. Undocumented camps have 50-100 trailers set up by a rancher or farmer on his land, to rent out and make money. These undocumented camps do not exist on a map, nor do they have addresses. Therefore, it has been nearly impossible to get needed emergency services to them.

 How God is Working in the lives of Native Americans

The National Relief Charities (NRC) stands out from other Native American-serving charities in its broad scopes and approach to service. The NRC trucks and services reach most of the reservations in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska, as well as on reservations cross Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The NRC is able to access isolated and remote locations that other charities can’t reach. NRC has an established network of over 1,000 program partners who live and work in reservation communities. This organization also has an established inventory and logistics system and a fleet. They deliver goods to the reservations all 52 weeks in the year.

What I Plan to do

My main goal right now is to spread the word about Native Americans living on the reservations and especially the “man camps” because most of them do not exist on a map, nor do they have addresses. I signed the “Remember Native Americans” pledge on the National Relief Charities website. By signing this pledge, I have promised to “stay informed, get involved, and remember the Native Americans”. I will spread the word by sending “Remember eCards”, that are available on the NRC’s website, to my friends and family so they can also sign the pledge.

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