Awareness Magazine:

Native America women were removed from their land many years ago and denied many rights of a woman. Their sexuality was ignored and their right to be properly informed and receive good honest help concerning their health, family and female issues did not exist. I am stating this mildly.

The abuses the Native American woman received in the late 19th century were simply forced marches to reservations, but also there was a “Save the Babies” campaign form 1912-1918. This is when federal agents took children from their own homes and labeled many healthy women unfit for scientific motherhood.

Studies reveal that The Indian Health Services actually sterilized 25-50 percent of Native American women between 1970 and 1976. Complaints then lead to the General Accounting Office investigation, documenting violations which included sterilization of minors.

These indigenous women started to come forward and two years before that investigation, in 1974, they protested sterilization practices at federal hospitals on four reservations where uninformed women, including minors, had been deceived into consenting to the surgery! Also, there are reports of inappropriate contraceptive care with federal personnel encouraging tubal litigation (to be sterilized) before turning 30, and not telling them the effects would be permanent.

The good news of all this is the outcome of a book just for the indigenous woman or female: “Indigenous Women’s Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle.” This book is written and edited by indigenous women and also encourages its readers to get active and involved in their own health care. This incredible book is like the all too familiar book, “Our Bodies Ourselves” from back in the USA in 1969.

The indigenous woman have benefited from the information in this book for just under 5 year and after so many years of inhumane treatment this information has helped countless women get to know their own bodies, options and choices they can make. They are now more informed about the subject of their body; they can now walk into an office informed, not take abuse and know when to walk out.

This book has many chapters of interest and information to help them in a variety of ways which are very important and yet up to this time no one has cared to share this with them. It covers herbs and healing wisdom and the controversial subject of smoking and the fact that 40% of Native Americans and Alaskan natives smoke, stating tobacco was originally intended for religious purposes as well as medicinal. The daily use and recreational use was never intended and the effects on their health as a result of this change are evidently non optimum.

You and I know that some of this may be common sense as we have family, friends, classes on Health Education, book, magazines and gyms everywhere sharing advice to improve and correct our lives. These women have not had this available to them and do not have people close to them to help educate them or help them learn a better way to live or improve their lives. With some caring indigenous women, a heck of a lot of research and writing, many indigenous women are becoming stronger, healthier and able to go through their life with their head high and understand their own physiology.

Thank you, Tina Turbin