Story by Suzanne Sunshower; Photos by Carla Rae Marshall
Health Education Resource Center’s (NAWHERC) Emerging Leadership Activist Training Program,
held in Pierre, South Dakota. NAWHERC, the Indigenous Women’s Political Caucus, and the South
Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault co-sponsored this training event by
the Sheila Wellstone Institute and Wellstone Native American Leadership. I have compiled this report
of the program based upon my notes; however, it is not a strictly linear accounting of events.
about the sponsors of this program and the Wellstone movement. The
Sheila Wellstone Institute is an arm of Wellstone Action, which offers
training to citizens interested in learning about progressive action,
leadership and lobbying. Sheila Wellstone, wife of progressive
Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, was a respected fighter against
domestic violence and sexual assault, and the Institute named for her
offers programs that train advocates working to end domestic and
sexual violence and help them further develop their organizing and
lobbying skills. Sheila Wellstone Institute Director, Lonna Stevens
(Tglingit/Dakota}, was one of our instructors for the day.
Dir. Sheila Wellstone Inst.
Native American leadership and civic engagement, in partnership with
tribes in Minnesota and the Dakotas, as well as the rest of the country.
Director Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) team-taught with Stevens
from the Wellstone program packet.
NAWHERC Executive Director, Charon Asetoyer (Comanche) was
instrumental in founding the Indigenous Women’s Political Caucus with
Cecelia Fire Thunder (former Oglala Sioux president) in 2006. The IWPC’s
mission is to support grassroots activism, encourage Native American
women to network and meet about women’s rights and social justice issues,
as well as develop strategies for dealing with legislation. Since its inception,
the IWPC has steadily gained membership, a clear indication that more
and more Native women are asserting their voices on the local and national
levels. Most women who were at the training session are IWPC members.
Native American women”, program attendees were community
leaders from several South Dakota reservations, including three
veterans of the campaign trail (Asetoyer, Faith Spotted Eagle,
Theresa Spry) and two former lobbyists for Native issues. The
conference room was full of many busy women, many of whom
are not only trusted leaders within their own communities but
have become known to non-Natives as well, because of their
dedication to speaking out on behalf of Indigenous women. In
that sense, the gathering was something of an abbreviated South
Dakota Who’s Who of Indigenous Women.
display"Indigenous Women's Health Book,
Within the Sacred Circle"
Women for Women Day at the state capitol. Women for Women Day started as a response to the
abortion ban bill of 2006. It’s a day when women (and some men) from across the state converge at
the state capitol to lobby and educate legislators on women’s issues. The Activist Training Program
was an acknowledgement that, beyond the 2008 Women for Women Day topics of Reproductive
Rights, Education, Violence Against Women, and Equal Opportunity, Indigenous women face
extenuating circumstances and difficulties which warrant special discussion and strategizing. Many
of these special concerns were voiced within the activist meeting, to which the Wellstone instructors
responded by giving thoughtful answers, and by suggesting innovative tactics and strategies that
Native women could employ to help themselves and others.
At a similar training session in Minnesota last year, trafficking of Native women was deemed to be a
top priority, as was the fact that there is only one trained Native American sexual assault advocate in
the entire Minneapolis area. However, in South Dakota, topics like Indian child removals, the
criminalizing of women who ingest drugs or alcohol while pregnant, and the state’s failure to
implement Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) regulations were some of the subjects in which attendees
were particularly interested. The issues of reproductive rights, and Sovereignty for Safety –
expanding tribal jurisdiction, and respect for that jurisdiction, to fight sexual assaults on Native
women – were also top meeting concerns in South Dakota.
mostly-Caucasion South Dakota Legislature to address bills
concerning Native Americans in a timely fashion. Laura Ross,
lobbyist for the S.D. Coalition Against Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault (the Coalition), agreed with complaints from the
room, saying, “Legislators don’t want to touch Native American
issues,” she then ticked off a list of bills put forward by Native
legislators Sen. Theresa Two Bulls and Rep. Tom Van Norman
that were still waiting for a vote. In exasperation, she said,
“That’s a lot of bills to have no one paying attention to!”
attendee Heather Olsen
(Sicangu Lakota, Rosebud Sioux). “That’s what I used to call it when bills go to committee and never
come out.”
“Except for fry bread,” Madonna Thunder Hawk (Cheyenne River Sioux) joked, referring to the
legislature’s naming of Indian Fry Bread as the official state bread. A former Native issues lobbyist,
also, Ms. Thunder Hawk added, ”Many legislators don’t vote on Native bills. In four years, no votes.
There’s a frontier mentality in South Dakota. They’re still fighting the Indian wars, that’s why they
haven’t voted on Indian bills.”
“It’s not our jobs to educate about racism,” Director Stevens said at one point, keeping the meeting on
track by suggesting the women learn to use the same political tools that have been used against them.
While she empathized with the frustration that many of the women have felt over legislative failures,
she opined that Red Rage (bitterness about treatment of Native people stemming from colonization by
whites and historically racist governmental policies) was “not going to heal our families. We need it
[Red Rage] – it gets us places, keeps us motivated – but we need to learn how to walk away from
oppression, whether it’s race, class or gender, with our dignity.” She then also noted that “some folks
aren’t at that place in their healing yet” and still experience Red Rage when frustrated with the
System.
Lobbyist Ross commented that it’s hard to get white women to understand the unique perspective
that Native women have when discussing issues of safety, family, and reproductive justice, which was
one reason why Native women were meeting separately before joining the other (all-white)
participants at Women for Women Day.
Ross reminded attendees, “Take the issue of access to birth control in South Dakota,” she said,
referring to the Birth Control Protection Act bill (which was killed in the S.D. Senate a few days later),
“and making white women understand that when they were having the Pill pushed on them, Native
women were being sterilized against their will. It’s a different historical perspective.” She spread her
arms wide to illustrate, “It’s miles apart.” She thought a moment then said, “White women progressed
to fighting for rights and laws to protect them from abuse. Native women had these cultural
provisions, but they were taken away through governmental controls.”
Yet, Ross pointed out, the Birth Control Protection Act had two Native sponsors, Sen. Theresa Two
Bulls and Rep. Tom Van Norman. In other words, even though Native people have a differing
historical perspective, they are working to defend the rights and safety of all women in the state.
As the discussion moved farther into reproductive justice and the Birth Control Protection Act
(a necessary bill to protect women, because pharmacists in S.D. can legally refuse to fill birth control
prescriptions), lobbyist Ross talked about the how hard it is to get legislators to listen to reason. She
made a remark that I found funny in an ironic way, “It’s very difficult to have an intelligent
discussion during a [bill] hearing.” She explained, ”It’s my opinion that women’s bodies are the most
legislated in this state,” but, interestingly, little of the legislation is for their protection. The
pharmacist/birth control issue “is being turned into a Christian, moral issue and it’s being couched in
those terms.”
Charon Asetoyer said, “Most IHS [Indian Health Service] units follow state laws around birth control.
They need to loosen up the reins on family planning, because I’ve seen young women in our
[NAWHERC] offices who are going to have another baby and don’t know what to do, some are even
suicidal.” Yet another reason, she concluded, abortion must be an available option.
A voice across the table commented that she knew of someone who’d had several abortions and she
was uncomfortable with that. Asetoyer asked her, “But can you respect her right to make that
decision, even if you don’t agree with it?” Discussion continued around the subject, and then Charon’s
voice rose again with finality: “Since contact [with Europeans],” her fist hit her hand and she shook
her head, “we’ve been told what to do. And this is just one position that I will not be moved on!”
I brought up something that was going unmentioned but that I knew was being thought by some of
us in the room: I wondered if the seeming push in the state to force women to have children was
racially motivated, and Asetoyer picked up on that thread.
“They want their white women to have more children and they’ve turned it into a religious mission
from God,” she said, then went as far as to speculate that if the white, right-wing religious forces that
control the state could get away with it, they’d okay birth control and abortion for Native women and
other women of color, while still denying birth control to white women.
This was just the type of frank turn in discussion that might not have taken place if more white
women had been in the room, making us, perhaps, more self-conscious about what was being said.
This form of eugenics (Asetoyer said the word) – the sterilization of women of color and the frowning
upon of them increasing their family size, whilst regulating the bodies and childbearing of white
women - is not just a fantastic or paranoid delusion that many women of color have, it has been fact in
this country. Native women have lived this reality.
When Peggy Flanagan from Native American Leadership took the floor, she spoke to us about
organizing. “Don’t exhaust yourselves, build leadership so people can take over.” She urged, “Don’t
be afraid to share information; don’t keep it to yourself.” She told us to recognize the potential in
others within our community, and to encourage those who have potential and perhaps don’t even
know it.
“Our stories are who we are,” Flanagan said, after sharing a personal story from her childhood
involving domestic violence. When connecting with others or lobbying a legislator, she suggested
talking about how we, or someone we love, is affected by the particular issue. Statistics, alone, won’t
do the job of communicating our concerns.
She asked us to list reasons why people fail to participate in a group that is trying to organize. We
called out things like “Fear”, “Historical Trauma”, and “Commitment”. Flanagan recommended
that if we’re trying to organize a meeting or event then we should make sure basics are covered. Such
as: Will people be fed? Will there be transportation? What exactly will be the agenda? And, to remember
to allow people to share ideas.
During one of the breaks, I tried to meet a few women, and get names and emails. Hear some of their
stories. Network.
I met Heather Olsen (Oglala/Yanktonai) who works as Tribal Liaison for United Sioux Tribes of
South Dakota Development Corporation and as Coordinator for Sioux Nation Film Commission. She
has received praise from the state legislature for her efforts in pointing out the benefits of the state
adopting a cooperative approach with area tribes, in dealings with the television and film industry.
Her newest idea is to get Native youth involved in filmmaking to encourage their creativity, and
because she believes such an artistic pursuit would raise their self-esteem, even paying off in higher
grades in school.
MaryAnn Bear Heels-McCowan talked about hitting a wall with her plans for a Native American Day
at the state capitol. Apparently, there are legislators who do not want The Drum to be a part of a
ceremony inside the capitol building. When I inquired - why not?! - in astonishment, she said
defiantly, “Because the drum is the heartbeat of the People.”
In South Dakota, the disrespect for (and fear of) the First People of the land runs so deep that the
“People’s heartbeat” is not to be heard within the walls of the white man’s capitol of Indian Country.
Bear Heels-McCowan said, sadly but resolutely, that if she was given more grief about the matter she
would go to the press.
Carla Rae Marshall (Lakota Sioux) and I joked about never having any pictures of ourselves because
we are always behind the camera or doing the interview. Marshall is currently freelancing as
Publications/Media Coordinator for the Coalition (Against DVSA). When I lost the roll of film I took,
Carla was kind enough to share her photos with me for my story. She also made sure that I got a
photo of myself.
I spoke for a bit with Faith Spotted Eagle (Ihanktonwan Nakota), who ran a rugged 2006 campaign
for the state House, and she told me about her efforts with the Brave Heart Society. The reformed
Brave Heart Women’s Society mentors young girls on the brink of womanhood, providing a new
tradition of coming-of-age ceremonies, in hopes that family members will again take up the
traditional cultural role of preparing their girls and providing private, traditional ceremonies for
them. With the help of female family members, emphasis is placed on girls learning about healthy
relationships, healthy living, and the “arts and virtues” of traditional womanhood. Thirteen girls
participated in the ‘first’ ceremony on Yankton Sioux Reservation, called Isna Ti Awica Dowanpi, or
"singing for those who live alone". Until the Indian Freedom of Religion Act in 1978, the Isna Ti, one
of the Seven Sacred Rites of the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota people, was unlawful.
Spotted Eagle said that not only have the girls gained in self-esteem and sense of purpose from their
association with the Brave Heart Society, but young male relatives have shown more interest in
having healthier, respectful relationships with young women, too. All of which can only aid in
beginning the healing in so many lives that needs to be done.
Theresa Spry (Oglala Lakota Sioux), a contender in the much-watched state Senate primary of 2006,
told me what it was like to walk into a room and see her activist sisters. Beaming, she said, “I felt like
doing a Snoopy dance!” She squeezed my arm in obvious delight. “We never get together like this,
we just don’t see each other enough...it’s so hard because of schedules, you know.”
After break, we dove into a talk about lobbying, and testifying in front of the legislature. Lonna
Stevens reminded us that often legislators haven’t even read the bill that we want to talk about, it was
probably read by their assistant. Yet, she insisted that, “Your one visit with personal experience is
worth five visits of a lobbyist.” She further encouraged, “If you can’t sway a legislator, then think
about who you can get to talk to him that he will listen to. Remember, too, that you don’t have to
understand the bill, what we need to understand is the gist of it, and what they [bill advocates] are
trying to accomplish.”
In other words, know what the other side’s hoped for result is and how that will affect you and your
loved ones.
Stevens made an interesting point when she noted that sometimes Native people speak out against a
bill that is sponsored by groups “we often work with and are well-meaning,” but because the Native
viewpoint is brought in at the end, it might turn out to be something Native people cannot support.
“The problem is that we weren’t invited to conceive the bill – we weren’t at the first table.”
She also spoke about protecting those who are to give sensitive testimony. “Make sure it is a safe
environment for your witness. Maybe that Congress or Senate shouldn’t hear that victim, but send in
an E.R. tech or an M.D. for that testimony.”
About which, lobbyist Ross noted, “We’ve had a helluva time finding women to testify on rape and
sexual assault in this state,” referring specifically to achieving testimony that persuades the legislature
to include the rape/incest clause in their multiple abortion ban bills. “Women were shut down after
legislators listened to women [supplied by ban fans] testify that they’d kept their babies after rape,
and the men bought it, lapped it up. Rape is nothing, was the message they were only too glad to
take away from that. Women were demoralized to hear that.”
Something Stevens suggested that surprised me was asking pharmaceutical companies to help with
efforts to pass the Birth Control Protection Act. “Can they be our allies? Sure. Do they have money?
Yes! Make it a drug issue. Tell drug companies that if legislation against women’s birth control
passes, they’ll [legislators will] start messing with other drugs and their access.”
She warned against legislators who push constitutional amendments. “Constitutional amendments
trump state laws,” she said, then told us that the gay marriage amendments were a fiasco for
advocates working to end relationship abuse because the laws apply to anyone unmarried, leaving
even more people unprotected from batterers.
In a digression to this discussion, she mentioned meeting a woman in another training session who
told her, “I didn’t know that if you don’t want to have sex with your husband and he does it anyway,
it’s rape.” Proving to me, again, how important these training sessions have been for women.
Peggy Flanagan finished the day with some thoughts on voting in Indian Country. “We haven’t
always had the best relationship with the government, as Indian people,” the understatement made
many of us laugh. “So there are issues of mistrust. Indian Country is often targeted for voter
intimidation.” She left us with another bit of wisdom: “Know your rights at the basic level.”
After completing the training session, we were all given a copy of the beautiful new book, Indigenous
Women’s Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle, produced by NAWHERC, and co-edited by Charon
Asetoyer, M.A., Katharine Cronk, Ph.D., and Samanthi Hewakapuge, M.A. We were also
encouraged to attend the pre-Women for Women Day dinner being held at another hotel. Asetoyer
called to our attention that “there has been some grumbling about us meeting before the event.”
Sadly, there seemed to have been some trepidation about Native women gathering singularly, and
comments were made by some of our white activist counterparts. At a meal table where I sat, a few
Native women half-joked about it “being like the old days – whites afraid of gathering Indians...”
Nevertheless, the group of proud Native women gathered for two meals with their white sisters –
dinner, and then lunch the next day. Before dinner, however, Charon Asetoyer stood in the crowded
dining room to make a statement that summed up the feelings of the Native women contingent,
about how she hoped the Women for Women Day organizers and participants would learn to "make
a place at the table for women of color, and welcome them - or they will make one for themselves."
At the lunch, after an initial round of lobbying, and before congregating in the Senate and House
balconies to witness bill hearings, we were treated to a guest speaker. Sally Roesch Wagner, who is
from South Dakota, and a pioneer feminist scholar (having earned one of the first doctorates in
Women’s Studies in the U. S.), gave an inspiring talk that included insightful quotes from feminists
past. Most memorably, she warned about the coming Presidential election: “Careful of our rush to
the center. You don’t dialogue from the center – that’s where you may end up – you dialogue from
your deepest truth,” she said, spreading her arms wide open.
After her speech, there was a photo op with Ms. Wagner. Slipping through the crowd with other
women from the Native women training session, I saw Wagner light up when she espied Charon
Asetoyer beside her. She drew Asetoyer into an immediate embrace, exclaiming, “Charon!” She then
turned to the crowd, arm across Charon’s shoulder, and said, “This woman’s one of my heroes!”
I witnessed not just a great photo op, but a shared sisterhood and mutual respect between two
women with different histories, as well as a unique opportunity for healing graciously taken.
with Rep. Tom Van Norman (Cheyenne River
Sioux) over bills being heard that affect Native
women and children
Suzanne Sunshower's mixed heritage includes Black/Choctaw/Miami.
