Written by: Ellie Dufek
Growing up with
PTSD is a challenge beyond understanding, and unfortunately can have some
damaging effects as one ages with the disorder.
As someone diagnosed with PTSD, I have found that it shows up in almost
every aspect of my life - socially, emotionally, and most detrimental is how it
affects my mental state. PTSD is often
associated with war and intense violence that we think of as distant from the
average citizen, when the truth is just the opposite. It is actually most common in people who have
suffered some form of abuse, prolonged or from a one-time experience. Women are especially susceptible, as they are
often the victims of abuse, specifically sexual abuse. PTSD United is a nonprofit research group
dedicated to discovering more about the disorder in the US, and as of 2018,
they have seen that about 8% of Americans have PTSD (PTSD United).
This is a large number, and
unfortunately a majority of these people are women. However, when discussing this, Native
American women are often left out of the statistics. A large part of this has to do with how
minimal the efforts by the federal government are to protect or find
abused/missing Indigenous women, meaning a lot of the abuse is not accounted
for. There is a blatant denial of
equality when it comes to the law in the US, and there always has been. I can’t comprehend the helplessness this
causes in many Tribal Peoples, and helplessness is not a welcome feeling. Since 1978, the Indian Law Resource Center
has been making strenuous efforts to spread awareness about the different
issues facing Indigenous Peoples today, since most issues are caused by US
citizens and are therefore ignored by or hid from us as well. Indigenous women - specifically on Tribal lands
and in Alaskan villages - are abused, murdered, and go missing at rates that
would break the hearts of many if they knew.
In many cases, these women are abused, often sexually, or murdered at 10
times the national average. This means
when we are disgusted in learning how many women are raped in one year, it’s
nothing compared to the amount of Native American women who are raped, killed,
and are STILL not given any sort of legal help (Ending Violence Against Native
Women).
In the case of murders or missing
women especially, families are given little to no help from the federal
government. This means that the children
witnessing these horrors are not only not given justice, but are left to deal
with their emotions on their own. This
has created high rates of PTSD in Native children, 3 times higher to be
precise. Unfortunately, PTSD has such
intense and harmful effects that without the proper treatment, it can often
lead to suicide. For Native children,
suicide rates are higher than a non-Native American teen, though rates in
depression and suicide are increasing for all young people. Once again, I just can’t comprehend the
helplessness that sits in each of these families and children.
The government and police forces are
supposed to be on the side of the American people, and Indigenous Peoples are
as American as one can get. Yet there
are so many unexplained killings, so many missing Indigenous women that writing
about it like this cannot even begin to create the feeling of despair, fear,
and pain that these actions cause in people.
It makes sense then why so many of these young children suffer from
PTSD, and unfortunately they are not being given the help they need and
deserve. The main thing each American
citizen can do is learn more about Native American rights through resources like
the Indian Law Resource Center, and sign petitions that force the federal
government to act and assist Tribal Peoples.
Sources
“Ending Violence Against Native Women,” Indian Law Resource Center. https://indianlaw.org/issue/Ending-Violence-Against-Native-Women. Accessed 17 April, 2019.
“PTSD Statistics,” PTSD United,
INC. 2013. http://www.ptsdunited.org/ptsd-statistics-2/. Accessed 17 April, 2019.
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