By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Lisa Dugan lives in Tsisgwohi (Birdtown) with her dog, Violet, where she is in a new stage of healing from her experiences in sex trafficking and domestic violence. Dugan was taken at the age of 18 and forced into sex trafficking for six years. Following her escape from trafficking, she experienced revictimization through domestic violence relationships. Dugan was able to break free and find purpose in victim advocacy. She now hopes to share her story to shine a light for other victims.
“At the time, nobody really even knew what trafficking was. It was just called prostitution. One of the ways that the trafficker got me when I was 18 working at NAPA Auto Parts was because my parents were on vacation. They came back and I was just gone,” Dugan said.
Lisa Dugan and her dog, Violet. (BROOKLYN BROWN/One Feather photo)
Dugan shared a harrowing moment when her trafficker broke her spirit, “There was a time when he just dragged me across the concrete by my hair. People stood around. The biggest question I had the whole time this was happening, and I don’t mean to make anybody feel bad about this, but the whole time I was like, ‘Why isn’t anybody helping me? Why are people staring?’” she said. “People need to be a little more open about being nosy and in people’s business because it could be saving a life, but back then nobody was saying or doing anything, so that’s kind of how I got broken.”
Dugan worked with a victim advocacy center to help other sex trafficking victims escape and begin to heal. “I filled out a form to be an intern for girls 12 to 17 who were trafficked. I just kind of told my story and they were like, ‘Oh my God, we need you. We need you on our staff. We’ll pay you.’ It was a dream job.” Dugan left the center when institutional changes started being made that she didn’t align with.
Dugan was engrossed in a domestic violence relationship before finding her way to the mountains. “He beat me really, really, bad. I found this puppy at the time named Ollie. When he started mistreating the dog, something clicked in me. He could beat me all day long, but he couldn’t hit that puppy. I grabbed the dog, no leash, no shoes, and we just ran.”
“I said look little doggie, you lead me somewhere and I’ll give you the best life.” Dugan and Ollie ended up settled in Cherokee with the help of community member Barry Craig. “Barry’s wonderful. He saved my life,” she said.
Ollie lived a happy life in Cherokee. He is buried on the mountain. Dugan now has another dog, Violet, who serves as her protector. “She does carry that component of safety. I thought, man, that’s what I’ll do one day. There are women who need a shelter that welcomes their dogs or their cats, I can make that place. That’s my heart, and I don’t know how I’ll ever accomplish that, but it’ll happen somehow.”
Dugan works at Ric’s Smoke Shop, and she also sews dog bandanas. She even sold a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) themed dog bandana to a Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD) officer.
She also credits her coworkers at Ric’s with providing support as she settled into life in the mountains. “I love my job and my coworkers. When I first started there, the women were immediately kind and offered support and friendship. They are instrumental in my current healing,” she said.
“Sewing is very healing as well. My mom is a master quilter. She’s won quilt shows. One of the quilts she made from Depression Era fabric, and she made a replica of a Depression Era quilt, and she titled the quilt, ‘Depression.’ It was during the time I was missing, and she won second place in a national quilt show. She’s 89 years old and still holding onto it.”
Dugan wants to write a book about her experiences. “I have been working on this healing journey for a long time, but I want to write a book. I’ve written some small parts already. I want to call it, ‘Unleashed Souls: How a Girl and her Dog Found Healing on Cherokee Land.’”
Dugan says the western North Carolina mountains are special. “Just the nature of the sound of the water, all the healing properties. You have the answers to heal your community right here.”
