General definition:
1. Supremacy of authority or rule.
2. Royal rank, authority or power.
3. Complete independence and self-government.
(American Heritage Dictionary) |
| TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY: |
NATIVE WOMEN'S SOVEREIGNTY: |
All Tribal Nations possess or have a right to:
1) a land-base
2) self-government
3) an economic base and resources
4) a distinct language and historical and cultural identity |
All Native Women possess or have a right to:
1) her own unique path in Life without fear, but with freedom
2) self-governance: to make her own decisions, without others' approval or
agreement. This includes spending money, having/ending relationships
(including sexual), choosing what support she wants, choosing what ways
and when support will be given, and also how she dresses and where she
lives.
3) resources she needs in order to walk her path in the way she wants. This
includes housing, food, clothes, transportation and other necessities,
as well as the right to accurate information and respectful, nonjudgmental
support. It means access to resources that support her chosen life way,
including the practice of her spiritual ways.
4) speak freely for herself in her own way, to define her own reality,
experiences, and self-identity. This includes interpreting womanhood for
herself. |
Colonization and violence against native people means that
power and control over native people's life way and land have been
stolen.
As native people, we have the right and responsibility to advocate for
ourselves and our relatives in supporting our right to power and control
over our tribal life way and land (tribal sovereignty). |
Violence against women and victimization in general means
that power and control over an individual's life and body have been
stolen.
As relatives of women who have been victimized, it is our right and
responsibility to be advocates supporting every woman's right to power and
control over her body and life (her personal sovereignty). |
