By BROOKLYN BROWN
Tsisqwohi (Birdtown)
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The 6th Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Walk is coming up on May 3. May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP). With these important dates for awareness coming up, it is critical that we bring action to our words. Awareness is how we address issues in our community and give a voice to the problem. Awareness is a huge and necessary step, but we need action for prevention.
Some of the biggest problems we should give awareness and action to on the Qualla Boundary, especially as it pertains to MMIP, are domestic violence and sexual assault and human trafficking – particularly child sex trafficking.
In a Cherokee One Feather article from April 2024, FBI, CIPD discuss human trafficking – The Cherokee One Feather, FBI Special Agent Bianca Pearson said trafficking can happen anywhere, but casinos are a hotspot, “You don’t have to be a trained investigator to know that it happens in every casino throughout the country. It is a very popular way to try to locate traffickers and they’re victims.”
Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD) attorney Cody White said in the same article, “Another thing that I have seen numerous times here is either generational trauma associated with sexual abuse or sex trafficking.”
There is a generational issue, a twisted tradition in some families of protecting abusers and reinforcing the cycle of abuse. There are horrifying stories of families trafficking their children for money or drugs.
I am going to Cherokee Tribal Court today to cover a child sex abuse case that is decades long. I covered a child sex abuse case in September of 2024 regarding Bevier Hasbrouck Sleight III, the Santa from Santa’s Land: Santa from Santa’s Land arrested on child sex abuse charges – The Cherokee One Feather. When I became a journalist, I had no idea how often I would be sitting in court listening to horrific stories of child sex abuse.
It is almost guaranteed that every Monday when the One Feather publishes the arrest report, there will be at least one arrest for domestic violence.
Domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, these issues go hand and hand. There is often an overlap within each case, and there is certainly an overlap with our MMIP cases.
Five of the seven MMIW cases I’ve written about have been victims of domestic violence dying at the hands of their abusers, and there are several more domestic violence victims on our Qualla Boundary MMIR list.
Our community activists and human services programs have worked very hard to bring awareness to these issues, and there are initiatives in place, such as battery classes for abusers to reduce recidivism; the officers, investigators and prosecutors at CIPD who see the worst of it every day; the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) nurses at Cherokee Indian Hospital who provide critical care for victims; the various tribal programs who provide shelter and holistic care for victims, but I think there is always more we can do.
White shared that educating children is one of the main preventative measures we must take. Teaching children in their homes and in school the definitions of abuse, safe adults, how to report, and just providing encouragement and love for their development and self-esteem is critical in prevention.
Another preventative action is banishment. The One Feather posed the question last week if members of the EBCI should be banned from the Qualla Boundary, and if so, for what. Several people commented that child predators, habitual abusers, and rapists should be banned. It was traditional for ancient Cherokee society that community members guilty of these sorts of crimes would be killed. I think banishment for enrolled members would be entirely fair.
Preventative action requires awareness. Do not be silent. Do not perpetuate the cycle of abuse. Do not protect abusers with your silence—and I’m not talking to victims. I’m talking to the families, friends, and bystanders who know what is happening and say nothing, or worse, blame the victim. I’m talking to the abusers who hold positions of power within the tribe, and the people who put them there.
And I’m also talking to myself. It is a battle to be a journalist and write what is true. It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to do. As the We Are Resilient podcast tagline says, “Silence is betrayal.” I am thankful for those who speak and want their words to bring action.
Please share in the comments the preventative actions you think we could take to address these critical issues.
Sgi
