Sharing Our Stories of Survival

This book is a must for anyone dealing with issues relating to women, Native Americans, or violence. The ethnographic discussion of violence in Native American cultures as a result of historical influences, including colonization and Christianization, is an important and often-overlooked element in understanding and eliminating violence in these communities. The text offers a unique discussion of violence, advocacy, and legal systems in the context of cultural and historical elements. The personal survival stories offer insights into the violence as well as into existing coping mechanisms in Native communities. The practical information, including how to talk to women involved in violence, tribal legal systems, and issues of custody and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), is invaluable to anyone working in these or related fields. Firmly imbedded in Native traditions of holistic existence, this book offers information that will be transferable to other ethnicities dealing with violence. Valuable for students of all levels, professors, advocates, and practitioners. *Summing Up:* Essential. All levels/libraries. -- . * CHOICE, April 2008 *
This textbook can educate society about violence against Native women. It is unique....I highly recommend this textbook... * Tribal College Journal, 2007 *
The book gives ample statistics on conditions today and confronts both violence by non-Native perpetrators and by Native people in the home.... This collection offers many good tools for teachers and students, making it a strong choice for the classroom. * The Canadian Journal Of Native Studies, 2008 *
Sharing our Stories of Survival is a heartbreaking and compelling presentation of Native women surviving violence. The text is a timely collaborative offering of essays and poetry, given the international attention on human rights and violence plaguing Indigenous women . . . An invaluable resource useful within academe and a must read for everyone new or inexperienced with tribal community issues. Given how few texts truly deal comprehensively with this topic, it should be required reading for students studying Indigenous issues in any college setting. * Great Plains Research, Fall 2009 *
Sharing Our Stories of Survival is a comprehensive and compelling look at the issue of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. Anybody reading this book will have a clear understanding of the complexities facing Native women today, and I commend the editors and contributors for bringing this issue to light. -- Nicole Matthews, Anishinabe, Executive Director, Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition