Sheena Gilbert, citizen of Stockbridge Munsee, Graduate Assistant at the University of Nebraska Omaha
Native Americans have a history of violence and victimization and it’s important to understand the historical context of this violence and victimization and how historical context is still relevant today. Additionally, we need to be more open about having discussions about domestic violence, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, dating violence, and trafficking. When we share our stories with one another and pass them down between generations, we may build a stronger community and gain a better understanding of how to protect ourselves. It is important to continue to build a bridge between researchers, law enforcement, victim services, and other criminal justice agencies by explaining that our stories are our data, and that these (qualitative) data are just as valuable as numerical statistics.