19 Jul ‘History of Violence’ Against Native People Continues Today
This graphic, which was created with the help of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, contains a word in the nearly extinct Nisenan language. (CA vs. Hate)
By Danielle Parenteau-Decker
Countless Native American lives and cultures were wiped out by European settlers and early Americans, and the effects are still felt today. Native people are still extremely likely to be the victims of violence.
But the state of California is trying to do something about it.
On July 11, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that 18 tribes in the state would receive nearly $20 million, in total, to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis, also known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. And earlier this year, the California Commission on the State of Hate and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians hosted Resilient Roots: California’s Indigenous Communities and the Struggle Against Hate, a community forum. (The recording is on YouTube.)
The Shingle Springs Band is one of 109 federally recognized tribes in California out of 574 in the U.S. (Other tribes may be recognized only by their states or, like the Bay Area’s Ohlone, not at all.) Because of historical forced relocation, the tribes with the largest populations in the state are the Cherokee and Navajo, or Diné in their language, neither of which is native to California.
“Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples is not merely a statistical anomaly but a manifestation of systemic failures and institutionalized racism that have plagued Indigenous communities for centuries,” said Morning Star Gali, executive director of Indigenous Justice, at the May 11 forum. “Historical trauma, social marginalization and economic disparities create a perfect storm of vulnerability for Indigenous women and girls.”
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Assemblymember James Ramos, D-San Bernardino, said the MMIW crisis is one of many ways that the genocide and other atrocities committed against Native peoples in California still have a huge impact today.
The trauma is “still in each and everyone of us,” he said.
Other lasting consequences he named include high suicide rates, mental health problems and murders not being investigated.
Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe, in 2018 became the first Native American elected to the state Legislature.
He also said the destruction of Native cultures continues today and has resulted in a lot of misconceptions, including the ideas that “everyone’s from the same tribes” and they’re all successful because of gaming. In reality, Native tribes have distinct cultures and speak different languages and some struggle with basic infrastructure.
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Ramos also spoke about one of his pieces of legislation, Assembly Bill 2022, which was signed into law by Newsom on Sept. 23, 2022 — Native American Day. It requires geographical features and place names with what speakers called the s-word (think Sq— Valley) to change their names by 2025.
It does not apply to private businesses, and one public commenter said some are already refusing to follow suit, saying, “We can do what we want.”
Ramos said the s-word is a racist and derogatory slur that is used to dehumanize Native women.
And that dehumanization undoubtedly contributes to the high levels of violence against Indigenous women and girls.
“Indigenous women globally face increased rates of violence and harassment,” said Gali, a member of the Pit River tribe. “In the U.S., 85% of Indigenous women are affected by sexual violence.” And non-Native people commit most of those crimes.
Also according to Gali, 4 out of 5 Indigenous women have experienced violence overall, and they have a murder rate 10 times higher than all other ethnicities despite accounting for just 1.1% of the population.
However, she said, there is a “gap in prosecution” of these cases, partly because they’re underreported and also because of complex jurisdiction.
And when Indigenous women go missing, they typically don’t get mainstream attention, so their families use social media to spread the word and share stories of the women and the cases that are still unsolved and have not been properly investigated.
“In Northern California, countless Indigenous families are grappling with the heart-wrenching reality of loved ones who have gone missing or who have been brutally murdered — their voices silenced and their stories,” Gali said.
A lot needs to be done to prevent these acts of violence and to respond to them when they do happen.
That includes “comprehensive measures including improved data collection and reporting mechanisms, culturally competent victim services and enhanced coordination between law enforcement agencies and tribal governance,” Gali said. “Additionally, we must address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, including poverty, housing insecurity and lack of access to healthcare educational opportunities.”
While Indigenous women are disproportionately victimized, she said we should not just see them as victims.
“Indigenous women are not only victims of violence but agents of change and resilience within our communities,” Gali said.
Beyond the violence against women, she said Native communities are also subjected to “economic violence” and “environmental violence” as well as housing discrimination, “cultural ignorance” and other “pervasive injustices.”
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“Despite progress in civil rights … hate crimes against Indigenous people still persist,” Gali said.
To help alleviate these problems, she said, “Education and awareness are crucial in challenging stereotypes and fostering understanding and respect for Indigenous cultures and traditions.”
But state Tribal Affairs Secretary Christina Snider-Ashtari, a member of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, said that having to waste time educating people keeps anything else from getting done.
“We can’t even get anything done because we’re telling everybody all of this stuff. We’re educating constantly, constantly,” she said. “It’s this continued, perpetual violence where Native people are having to educate everybody else on our own painful trauma.”
To lead to healing, non-Native people need to “acknowledge what happened in the past,” Assemblymember Ramos said. And Snider-Ashtari said those in power can’t just apologize, then move on.
“Really, you haven’t gotten to the source of the pain,” she said. To do that, people need to recognize the connection between the history and modern-day issues and take actions “to address this history of violence, dispossession and trauma.”
To that end, in 2019, Newsom created the California Truth & Healing Council, in part, “to more closely explore the historical relationship between the State of California and California Native Americans,” he wrote in Executive Order N-15-19.
The council will release its report “telling the true history of this place” in 2025, according to Deputy Tribal Affairs Secretary Loretta Miranda, who grew up on the Morongo reservation in Southern California. Because not everyone will read the report, she said, the council is also working on a documentary.
Any victim of or witness to a hate incident or crime in California can report it and receive support any time at CAvsHate.org. You can also call 833-8-NO-HATE; (833) 866-4283 Monday – Friday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. If outside of those hours, you can leave a voicemail, or you can call 211 to report hate and seek support. You can currently submit reports online in 15 languages and, when calling the hotline, you can get access to support in over 200 languages. If you want to report a hate crime to law enforcement immediately or you are in present danger, please call 911.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
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