Native American Women: Voices Across Generations

“We get a lot of strength from many principles including reciprocity (you are me and I am you) and that gives us strength as women and this connection with life and the web we have among each other.” — Aura Lolita Chávez

Human vulnerability is the connective thread that binds all the issues we focus on. 3 Generations has been documenting stories of injustices to Native American communities and culture for over a decade. This year we will continue to focus on the disproportionate amount of violence Indigenous women and girls face, in hopes to bring light to how the intersection of atrocities against women and Native communities are particularly egregious. We amplify the voices of Native people in order to bring attention to the vulnerabilities of native peoples, yet to center moments of courage, perseverance and inspiration. 

Since our focus on Native American justice began in 2010, new generations have begun. With each generation, there is always opportunity for growth, learning, and healing from the traumas passed down.  The current problems facing the Native American people may be the result of “a legacy of chronic trauma and unresolved grief across generations” enacted on them by the European dominant culture, studies show. The primary feature of historical trauma is that the trauma is transferred to subsequent generations through biological, psychological, environmental, and social means, resulting in a cross-generational cycle of trauma. 

3 Generations is excited to partner with new generations of Native American and Indigenous women and girls to amplify their stories: both traumatic and positive and hopeful. Today's youth are fiercely carrying the torch in order to build new pathways for today and generations to come. We will continue to interweave notes from the past into the present and future.

For more information about atrocities against Indigenous women and all causes we support, please visit our website and connect with us on social media.

This month, 3 Generations Executive Director Jane Wells and film director Simon Brook will travel to North Dakota to commence filming for the upcoming feature film, ‘The Dakota Project’.

The MHA Nation (comprised of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes) is situated in the middle of the Bakken Formation, the largest shale oil field in North America. Within the 1 million acre reservation there are 21 fracking rigs, 1400 active oil wells and 1992 potentially exploitable wells. The landscape is littered with oil wells, fracking towers and toxic waste dumps and the entire MHA will inevitably suffer the environmental impact of this oil exploitation. On top of this, the sudden economic influx has brought with it a myriad of social problems including violent crime, drugs and prostitution.

Native American women are feeling the negative effects particularly keenly. The influx of thousands of male workers to the area has led to unprecedented incidents of sexual assault and cases of sex trafficking.

‘The Dakota Project’ will shed light on both the environmental and social degradation caused by the oil industry. Raising awareness is the first step in social change and the film will provide a platform for those who are attempting to make positive steps amid the chaos.

Without your continued support we would be unable to shed light on the ways the fracking boom is affecting this marginalized community. This spring, help us share the voices of those demanding change.