Irene Bedard, the latest in an never ending progression of indigenous women to be abused- a potential saving grace for her is that she has a degree of name recognition as an actress that countless other do not.
When a court system such as the one in Ohio is able force the return of an abused woman it speaks volumes, and should be an eye opener that illustrates the hypocrisy of treaty language such as sovereign and government to government.
It is reminiscent of former national policies dealing with runaway slaves who were viewed not as people, but property.
We’ve all heard of instances where individuals committed actual crimes and their nation would not surrender them, or even the spectacle of self promoting AIMsters fleeing to California to hang around the fort groveling at the governors feet for sanctuary-and yet this woman, this victim, is treated as a criminal-a runaway slave.
This should serve as a wakeup call to the non indigenous as to just how prevalent this issue of the sexual and physical abuse of native women is. Now they have another recognizable face to put to it.
There are a lot of good men among the nations, unfortunately there a good number who are not-this shouldn’t be a surprise to any as it seems to be cross cultural, but people need to understand we do not walk on water, we are not spiritually enlightened beings sent to “teach the sacred ways” via dvds, internet videos, and sundances open to the public.
Allow us to breathe-remove this burden of new age and unreasonable expectations, understand that we need to heal ourselves before you ask us to heal others-allow us the room to find ourselves again and promote our own well being.
We exist for the most part as governmental non entities, a problem to be shunted aside, hidden from view, and too often living and dying in squalor and poverty. And just as perverse and crushing we exist as the new age flavor of the month.
We are men and women, human beings, and we have our share of problems-our traditions
have broken down, our languages are being lost, we are disconnecting from the land and the balanced way in which we have lived.
We are men and women, human beings, who have suffered greatly and continue to, enough so we have no need to inflict it upon ourselves.
Much of this is due to the reservation system, but within that context there is ample blame for ourselves-and until that is addressed the “teachings”, videos, and the for sale ceremonies should be seen as evidence of these problems, a denial, avoidance behavior, if we cannot honor them among ourselves.
It is one thing to be a victim-it is another to embrace it. It is one thing to speak of being warriors and another to abuse women or tolerate it. It is one thing to speak of pride and another to engage in alcohol and substance abuse. It is one thing to speak of spirits, the land, and tradition, and another to live in direct contradiction to them.
It is as if the long history of death and abuse hasn’t been enough, now we visit it upon ourselves-it is as though it wasn’t enough that our women were beaten and raped at the hands of others, now we visit it upon ourselves-so much so our women are at the top statistically.
Stay strong Irene Bedard, and know that among the nations and those counted as warriors there are still men among that number.
Rezinate's Blog 
Rezi, There seems to be no simple answer or solution, to address the Genocide our family members were subjected to, and the pain and anger that has been passed on throughout the generations. Have boarding schools, and conditions on the rez due to Government policies played a part? Absolutely. But we can’t continue to use that as an excuse to abuse our own. Until we heal ourselves, individually, we will continue to transfer our anger onto our own people; our wives, mothers, fathers, elders, and children. We are not perfect, we all have our human flaws, but abuse of our own people is the greatest abomination.
Anakis:
Some of the things addressed in the blog probably anger a few people, but if
that anger translates to recognition and addressing the issues rather than
denying or avoiding them it will be a good thing.
” but abuse of our own people is the greatest abomination.”- this is it in a
nutshell, and the perpetuation of every wrong committed against us.
How does one reconcile talk of traditions, inherent strength, and of being
warriors on the one hand and on the other seek to exonerate such abominations
with talk of being victims?
Is that meant to imply that we are little more than marionettes whose strings
are pulled to make us act in a way contrary to the things we say? I completely
reject that, and yet remain mindful of the realities.
If realities circumvent personal behavioral choices then we may as well just
lay down and forget about it-and that I think is what is happening to no small
degree-too much acceptance, too much laying down, too much posing.
Posing, which I think is a learned behavior from internet liberators whose
bread and butter it is.
Let a one of them devote a tenth of the time to the issues of rape and abuse
that they do to promoting themselves and I’ll say they have done a good thing-
until such a time to hell with everyone of them.
I am stunned by the number of chiefs, medicine men, and leaders we have
now-in all our combined history we have never had so many. Who among them
speaks to these issues-which take the nations to task over them?
Do the pitiful few who may receive the same air time, the same number of
“fans” on FB- are they listened to as avidly as the wannabes? Wannabes who
amount to little more than minstrels singing a familiar tune and collecting the
coins tossed to them.
You’re absolutely correct in that there are no easy solutions-but they begin
with rejecting the bs and taking personal and communal responsibility.
Life isn’t about commuting from one photo op to another, or grinding out
videos one after another-if there’s time for that then there’s time to get out
of the ivory tower into the community and do something whether there is
a film crew on hand or not.
That’s what native pride is about-the rest of it is read from a script.
Here is huge article enlightening this story and giving some more details…
http://www.womanist-musings.com/2010/12/irene-bedard-open-secret-of-domestic.html
Irene moved to Alaska in an attempt to flee a horrific domestic violence situation. For 17 years, she suffered abuse, both sexually and physically, at the hands of the one person she should have been able to trust implicitly, her husband.
The years of abuse left not only her body, but also her spirit and mind, battered. The abuse had been so pervasive, her health began to decline, rapidly. Her doctor began tests to detect cancer, unaware of the abuse. As heinous as the physical and mental tolls were, they were not the only price she had to pay.
And this is something to answer- big one…
by Deborah P.
I want to know why a man can speak out about time with his children, and children cannot speak out about needing time with their mother.
I want to know why men have absolute rights to make demands on a woman and child he has not cared for, and a woman has to fight for the child she has borne and raised…
I WANT TO KNOW WHY A MOTHER AND A CHILD HAS NO RIGHTS TO BE TOGETHER, AND ANY MAN WHO CLAIMS TO BE A “FATHER” CAN SAY WHATEVER HE WANTS WITHOUT PROVIDING ANY PROOF, and he can TAKE A CHILD, OR CHILDREN, AWAY FROM THEIR MOTHER, I WANT TO KNOW, THE MOTHERS WANT TO KNOW, AND THE CHILDREN WANT TO KNOW – who do we ask, because we’re not allowed to speak in court without legal representation, and most of us can’t afford lawyers because we’ve been busy buying formula and diapers and toys and other necessities for OUR CHILDREN! I want to know, mommies want to know, and babies want to know WHY ARE YOU TAKING OUR CHILDREN AND GIVING THEM TO OUR ABUSERS?
WHY?
(of course that question applies to abusers not all men:D)
stonefeather: I’ve never understood the abuse thing and I suppose there
are a variety of “psychological” profiles-seems to me if a man wants to
engage in punching someone he should do so with another man where
it could at least be competitive.
We see the label coward applied a lot and there must be something to that,
but I’ve known of men who would hit another man just as readily as they
would a woman-my father was one of those.
He loved to fight, and was indiscriminate in selecting his opponents-man,
woman, or child, it made no difference. Ultimately it was about dominating
and speaks to the heavily flawed individual he was. Add alcohol to the mix
and he was not only volatile, but dangerous.
He was a great one in the aftermath for transferring blame to the object of
his anger-they made him do it, They deliberately provoked him-difficult concept
for a child to grasp, and one as a child I bought into until about the age of six or
seven when I began attempting to take him on, didn’t work out well but fortunately
by the time I was twelve or so he moved on.
To champion one woman is not to ignore others-there isn’t or shouldn’t be a competition in doing so, or be dismissed as being just one woman, for they are all part of a common fabric.
Individual threads that share the same joys and tribulations- for too many the frequency of joy has been diminished and overshadowed by misery, for too many the color they contribute to the fabric is that of blood-the blood of abuse in the many forms it takes.
This is a world that is overwhelmed by numbers and statistics, numbers and statistics that blunt the senses and hinder emotions, they are too commonplace.
But it is this very commonality, the incessant daily flogging of numbers and statistics that should galvanize not only the nations but all people everywhere to say enough.
As men we are better able to defend ourselves-but the higher calling is to defend our women, children, and old ones-not to become instruments of their misery, nor to allow another to.
It wasn’t all that long ago the men and women of the nations would stand and fight alongside one another-now it is more the norm to fight with one another with the children caught in the middle.
It wasn’t all that long ago an abusive man was held in low esteem, now he is a warrior who rules his domain. It wasn’t all that long ago if his woman or a family member was raped or abused he WOULD do something about it-now there’s an even chance he will join the perpetrator(s) as an accuser further diminishing the victim.
A great sickness has descended upon the nations, and all the feel good videos and high talk aren’t going to make it right-only we as men can assist in doing this by standing next to our women and fighting a common threat again.
That would take courage and honesty-the courage to face reality and what we have allowed to become the new traditions of abuse, neglect, and assault, and the honesty to admit it.
I would add an additional thought to all this as follows:
It hasn’t escaped my attention, nor hopefully that of others, that
facilitators of declared republics who have in the past imposed
themselves to declare a state of emergency, or others forming
“exploratory committees” with the thought of seeking tribal office,
have neither declared a state of emergency dealing with this issue
of abuse or formed committees to look into it.
This issue of abuse and rape has evolved into a catclysmic event
wreaking havoc as surely as any natural phenomena. If severe weather
qualifies as a state of emergency this does as well.
This is not-repeat, NOT, an issue to be politicized for personal
gain or to enhance ones celebrity, though I’m sure some could turn
it to that.
If any would seek observor status at the UN dealing with indigenous
matters the real service for the “love” of matriarchy and “all women”
would be that of a witness to testify regarding the epidemic nature of
physical and sexual abuse-again though as I previously stated that
would require courage and honesty.
‘To The Indigenous Woman’, a thought-provoking video by the 1491’s
Really worth to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dreamcatcherentertainment/2010/11/25/irene-bedard-her-story
NONE, none of all those “warriors,liberators, leaders” would ever be able to touch hearts like this wonderful, full of Love beautiful Lady with her words: