More Opinions Columnists

• V.B. Price: Preserving our water is greatest challenge the city, state faces
• Jeffry Gardner: End of The Trib is part of the demise of serious journalism
• Katherine Augustine: Time with friends from Japan provides treasured memories

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

At sunrise we face east, breathe on the sacred cornmeal and ask Mother Earth for blessings. We ask her to give us energy for the day, guidance, courage and strength to tolerate the negative sources that we may face.

At sunset we pray again, releasing our faults before retiring for the night. This is the way of our Pueblo Indian women. This was the way of my grandmother and her ancestors. Today, this spiritual journey is still taken by many of our Pueblo women, be it in a village or in an urban setting. It is the sacredness of this belief that has kept many of us going in times of distress.

Last month, I spent three powerful days at the Coalition to Stop Violence on Native Women, sponsored by the Office on Violence Against Women and the New Mexico Legislature. It was held at the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe, owned in partnership with Picuris Pueblo and managed by Santa Fe Hospitality Company. Each suite is decorated in an Indian motif - a fitting atmosphere for this seminar.

Seventy-five Indian women, representing the Navajo, Zuni, Laguna, Isleta and northern Pueblo tribes, came together to learn from each other about domestic violence in their communities and what is being done to prevent this atrocity.

Peggy Bird of Santo Domingo Pueblo and a judge at Isleta gave an excellent presentation on the historical perspective of violence against Indian women from pre-1600 to the present, showing us the historical events that interrupted our once-peaceful way of life. The coming of the Spaniards, the Pueblo Revolt, boarding schools, U.S. government policies and wars were some of the events that had a great effect on how the lives of our ancestors were changed and how our present-day living has been influenced.

Domestic violence is physical abuse, sexual assault, verbal abuse, emotional and spiritual abuse, stalking and/or a series of acts by another person who harasses you and makes you fear for your safety. Domestic violence is about power and control. It is unhealthful and a crime. Children witnessing violence experience danger, fear, isolation and hopelessness. No child deserves this kind of home life any more than any adult victim.

Domestic violence prevention programs exist in many of the New Mexico pueblos today, with offices right in the villages or a telephone number to call for immediate help. There are safe-haven houses for victims, with someone on call 24 hours a day to assist victims and their children. The eight northern pueblos have their PeaceKeepers program. Laguna has Family Services. Zuni has a program called New Beginnings.

Elder abuse is also evident in the communities, and these issues are being addressed. The N.M. Geriatric Education Council, with the University of New Mexico Southwest Indian Law Clinic, has worked for a couple of years on a project to provide a model program for intervention in elder abuse cases.

Tribes have their own ways of dealing with these crimes through the tribal courts. Still needed, though, is the full support of male tribal leaders for these programs.

For centuries, American Indian women have been ignored by historians. However, times are changing, with some of our Indian women becoming leaders of their tribes. They have come into the all-male councils and have even been elected governors or lieutenant governors. A great number of our women are lawyers, doctors and engineers - careers once dominated by men.

Impressive work is being done by June Lorenzo, a Laguna Pueblo lawyer from my village of Paguate, with United Nations' International Human Rights, and especially with Rights for the Indigenous Peoples of the World.

The conference came to a dramatic end when a former Miss Navajo gave an account of her past as a victim of domestic violence and on healing with music by recording her singing on CDs.

As Pueblo women, with our matriarchal status, we have the power not only to pass on our clans to the coming generations, but also much of what we have learned in this life.