Global Women's Voices: An Online Dialogue

Moderator: Welcome to the Global Women's Voices chat. Please use the form above to submit your questions.

Tracey: Can you describe the main goals of your work or your organization's work? Charon Asteoyer: The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center works to assist indigenous women and their families to advocate better health for women and their communities since women are the head of the household. It is important that we have a better sense of health and the knowledge and skills necessary to advocate for ourselves. We are involved in policy work as well as direct services. We also work to build coalitions with indigenous women. Our programming focuses on health, reproductive health and rights, environmental protection, cultural preservation, sovereignty, treaty rights, and violence against women.

ftr_grrl: What are some of the successes that have resulted from your work? Charon Asteoyer: Some of the successes over the years has been our ability to document and disseminate critical issues facing indigenous women especially around reproductive health and rights and getting that information out to women globally. The coalition-building and the alliance-building that our organization has been able to do with other indigenous women globally as well as feminist women's organizations has impacted policy within our communities and other indigenous communities as well. We've been able to get the government to take a critical look at the way services are provided through the Indian Health Service, and policies changed. We've also brought the awareness of our issues into the feminist arena with respect and dignity.

ashley: What are some of the challenges you have encountered in your work? Charon Asteoyer: Racism is one of the challenges we face, as well as discrimination against women. We are constantly up against the good ole boys and their policies. Let me give you an example: The word "abortion" is not in any indigenous language that I'm aware of. However, indigenous women always had the knowledge to terminate a pregnancy and maintain her health and well-being. It was not up for public debate in the political arena. The decision was totally up to the individual. If a woman did not have the specific knowledge to terminate her pregnancy, she would turn to a woman in her woman's society -- a woman who had the knowledge of what herbs or physical methods to use. A current example is with our primary healthcare provider, the Indian Health Service. Our healthcare is provided by treaty rights, and it is provided by the Indian Health Service which is a division of the US Public Health Service. Therefore, with the passing of the Hyde Amendment, we became restricted from abortion services. Another example is within the feminist women's political arena oftentimes we are excluded because of our rural-ness. We are passed over or excluded from participating in dialogue at the political table. It is important for our sisters and allies, if they are truly dedicated to building political alliances, that they open themselves to interactions with indigenous women. Not only within the confines of United States boundaries, but globally. The continuation of exclusion is racist.

Lana: hat are some of the main challenges facing Native American women? Are there particular concerns Sioux women face that are different than the concerns of women in other Native American communities? Charon Asteoyer: I think there are differences in terms of natural resource protection, economic development, environmental degradation, and language preservation.

feminist_and_proud: What are some of the successes of the women's movement in the Sioux community or in other Native American women's communities? Is the term "women's movement" even applicable in that context? Charon Asteoyer: I think "women's movement" is very applicable because of the colonization process and the impact of Christianity. We are having to struggle to maintain our rightful place within our own societies. For instance, violence against women rarely occurred because it's against our value system. In the rare cases it occurred the perpetrator was dealt with severely. We had no laws like the "rule of thumb" or laws that governed ownership over property, such as the mainstream laws that exist. For instance, women are the head of the household. She owns livestock, all of the possessions within her household and she made the decisions over that. I'm living, working, and raising my family on a Sioux reservation. However, I'm Comanche. I married into the Yankton Sioux tribe. Comanche women traditionally owned livestock and horses. The business of trading or selling was her decision and not that of her male partner. You rarely see that in the mainstream society today. Those kinds of practices are being challenged from within our own communities because of the influence of the dominant society. So as indigenous women, we are not fighting to have new laws and new ways of life. We are fighting to maintain our traditional ways of life, such as the decision-making power over our health, over our households, and over our children. When divorce occurred or separation took place the children stayed with the woman. Now custody issues are being impacted by the mainstream laws.

Denton Fem: How much access do women in Native American communities have to reproductive health care? Charon Asteoyer: Women in rural communities DO have access to reproductive health care, but it is limited. Often times contraceptive choices are made by the Indian Health Service and not by the individual woman. Many indigenous women on reservations will be encouraged by the IHS to use Depo-Provera. Many of the women in our communities have high rates of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, making them poor candidates to use Depo-Provera safely. Sterilization is still an issue we are struggling with and needs to be monitored within our communities. Oftentimes a woman is given misinformation about her health condition and therefore coerced into sterilization. That's how the Indian Health Service gets around the current process for tubal ligation. It's time that a monitoring system is set up for the public guidelines that are now in effect for sterilization procedures.

Una: Do you see any generational differences in Native American women's involvement in feminist causes such as reproductive rights? Charon Asteoyer: That's an interesting question because years ago our women were the keepers and providers of our reproductive health. They delivered our children, educated us about becoming women, and they were our midwives. In the 30s and 40s the government basically informed these women that they had to stop or be prosecuted. The babies had to be delivered in the hospital. That presented problems for many of our women because they live far distances from the hospital. Even today with all the modern technology that exists we have infant mortality rates as high as 21.5, and higher on some reservations. This is higher than most developing nations. So those women were very actively involved in their reproductive health. Now, women are going to the IHS and we're in worse shape now than we were fifty years ago. Many of the women have gone from being actively involved in providing services to actively involved in advocating for reproductive health and rights. Reproductive rights are human rights and should be understood as just that.

geena: I think you bring up a great point about access to abortion with the Hyde Amendment, and a turning away of this community's former views about terminating a pregnancy, as well as about access to feminist networking. Do you feel that it is more important for Native American women to have their own spaces to discuss these issues, or for us as feminists to come together to address the common problems of racism, limitations on health care, violence, abortion access, etc, etc, etc, that many people are facing daily? Charon Asteoyer: It's pertinent that indigenous women have our own space to discuss what level we want to interact with the mainstream feminist movement. It is critical that we DO interact with the mainstream feminist movement once we have made our own decisions on what level of participation we are going to have.

Elizabeth: Do you think it's important to identify yourself as a feminist? Charon Asteoyer: I've always seen feminism as a movement to try to achieve things that women currently do not have. As indigenous women we are trying to maintain what we've always had. And so I feel that there is a definite difference in definition of what a feminist is in terms of mainstream women and indigenous women. We are fighting to maintain our traditions, our culture, and our values. Our traditional laws did not exclude or belittle indigenous women. We always were involved in the decision-making process. That was never an issue. We didn't have to worry about the right to vote. We had that right. Our voices were respected. They were never questioned until the dominant society, through the colonial process, started to impact our society.

Moderator: Thanks to our speaker and everyone who joined us for this chat. Don't forget to visit our Campaign page to take action. After the chat, continue the discussion on the FeministCampus.org Bulletin Boards! Charon Asteoyer: I would like to thank the Feminist Majority Foundation for the opportunity to address the audience and to remember that the table is not respectfully full until indigenous women are seated. Thank you.