EPISODE 6
Sarah Deer (Muscogee), a tribal jurist, author, and scholar advocates for victims using indigenous principles as a framework
In this episode . . .
Sarah Deer, a Citizen of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma, has devoted her life to combating violence against Native women. She is not an ordinary lawyer or political activist; her work exemplifies the ideal of a scholar-activist. In this episode, Gabrielle David delves into Deer’s dedication and initiatives to tackle sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women, offering a clear understanding of these issues and a determination to pursue political solutions, all while recognizing that her mission extends beyond herself.
âUsing the word epidemic to talk about violence in Indian Country is to depoliticize rape. It is a fundamental misstatement of the problem. If this book does nothing else, I hope to demonstrate why rape in the lives of Native women is not an epidemic of recent, mysterious origin. Instead, rape is a fundamental result of colonialism, a history of violence reaching back centuries.â
â Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America (2015)
Bio
Sarah Deer is currently a faculty member at the University of Kansas, her alma mater, where she holds a joint position in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as the School of Public Affairs and Administration. Additionally, she serves as the Chief Justice of the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals.
Her 2015 book, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America, represents the culmination of more than 25 years of work with survivors and has earned multiple honors, including the Best First Book award from the Native American Indigenous Studies Association. Trained as a lawyer and active as an advocate, Professor Deerâs research centers on the intersection of federal Indian law and victimsâ rights, framed through indigenous feminist perspectives. She has co-authored four textbooks on tribal law and has been published in numerous law journals, such as the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, and the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.
Professor Deer’s efforts to combat violence against Native women have been recognized with national awards from the American Bar Association and the Department of Justice. She has testified before Congress four times on issues related to violence against Native women and was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to lead a federal advisory committee on sexual violence in Indian country. In 2014, Professor Deer was honored as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, and in 2019, she was inducted into the National Womenâs Hall of Fame.
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Connect with Sarah Deer
- Official Website
- Instagram (@chengtozun)
- YouTube
- âSome of My Social Justice Allies Are Terrifying, and I Value Them for It âSensitiveâ types like me wonât always mesh with more intimidating activists. But we need each other to thriveâ Excerpt from Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways by Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, Christianity Today, August 14, 2023.
