There is one woman who is a delegate on the Navajo Nation’s Council. And, last month, she said at a council meeting that she has been sexually harassed as an elected official.



Now, Amber Kanazbah Crotty is calling for change. She told The Associated Press tolerance of sexist comments at the tribe’s highest level is a symptom of the larger culture on the Navajo Nation.



Women in Indian Country experience violence – including sexual violence – at alarming rates.



The federal Department of Justice reports women in Indian Country are the victims of sexual assault, rape and violence at a rate that’s more than twice that of other women in the U.S.



In June of this year, the National Institute of Justice found 56 percent of Native women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime; 55 percent have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner.



Christine Thompson, a women’s services counselor with Native Health, a healthcare provider for urban American Indians, said about 80 percent of the clients she works with have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence; about half of them, before the age of 12.



“I see the aftermath, the onslaught of Native women that are coming, and men, that are coming from the reservation,” she said. “They come in with issues related to depression, anxiety, PTSD. They’re dealing with shame, denial, guilt.”



Thompson, a member of the Navajo Nation, said she doesn’t know all that contributes to this kind of violence, but she said it is a learned behavior, and a cycle that’s tough to break.



“It starts with the youth level,” she said. “But, if you don’t fix the adults that are around there that are perpetrating, and help them learn that this is not the natural, traditional way of life of our nation, we’re going to have a sick cycle that’s going to continue.”



Most tribes also haven’t yet adopted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on their lands. It would allow them hold non-Natives accountable for some crimes against women, if they meet certain statutory requirements.



According to Deleana OtherBull, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, five tribes participated in a pilot program to implement the tribal provisions of VAWA. Now, there are 9 tribes currently implementing the act.



New funding from the Department of Justice to assist with implementation of the special jurisdictions recently became available, OtherBull said, and there are more tribes applying for approval to implement VAWA.



Thompson said there is also an aspect of historical trauma for Native people.

“Learning a way of life that never was natural to us,” she said. “I don’t want to use that as a crutch so we can keep on abusing, but I want to say that there’s a link.”



She said she always works to get to the root of the problem with her clients, and then gets them into programming to assist with unhealthy coping mechanisms, like alcohol and drug abuse.

But, she knows it’s an epidemic that will be difficult to overcome.



“We have very sick nations right now,” she said, “It’s a sad situation.”