A Safe Haven on the Reservation 

Protecting Women from Intimate Partner Violence 

By Kerrita McClaughlyn


Closing the Gap, Violence Prevention - Who’s Responsible? • January/February 2002


American Indian women are disproportionately affected by 

intimate partner violence (IPV) and one organization is trying to do something about it. American Indian organizations 

and tribal agencies are organizing shelter, legal, and preventive responses. 

“Violence against women is the number one public health problem in Indian country,’’ said Cecilia Firethunder, 

public education specialist for Cangleska, Inc., a 

Native women are stalked, compared to 8 percent of all women in the 

general population,’’ Firethunder said. 

“We’ve made sure that everyone is aware of the law and that 

training throughout the justice system is ongoing. We make sure that 

the entire system is responsive—training cops, courts, prosecutors, 

judges, and other people in the system,’’ she added. 

Cangleska also provides civil legal assistance services to battered women through the Stronghold 

non-profit agency serving the women of the Oglala “Violence against Civil Legal Office, which serves each of the nine 

Sioux Tribe. women is the number districts on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and eduAccording to Firethunder, Cangleska was created to help counteract the effects of violence on one public health cates the community on its available services and 

the rights of battered women. Cangleska conducts 

Native families and society. problem in sensitivity training to increase awareness of the in­

“A society with a tradition of respect for 

women and strong matriarchal lines had disinte- Indian country.’’ terpersonal aspects related to battered women services, and on the intricacies of the tribal court sysgrated into rampant violence against women, wide­ tem. 

spread alcohol abuse and high rates of unemploy- Cecilia Firethunder This program has made Pine Ridge a model 

ment,” she said. These socioeconomic and sociological issues fueled the cycle of violence, so 

Cangleska, Inc. was formed to address these underlying problems. It 

has raised funding to provide counseling services for women and 

men, spent years petitioning the justice system to take the issue seriously, and performed grass roots education and training in the community. 

“IPV is very high in our communities—it’s higher than what 

people want to accept,” said Firethunder. 

American Indian women were victimized by an intimate partner 

at rates higher than others—23 per 1,000 women as opposed to 11 

per 1,000 Black women, 8 per 1,000 White women and 2 per 1,000 

Asian women, according the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ report Violent 

Victimization and Race, 1993-1998. 

“IPV impacts the entire social system—from healthcare and social services to education,” said Firethunder. “We’re here to do what 

we can to stop it.’’ 

America has the impression that IPV only occurs between a man 

and a woman and does not affect society, according to Firethunder. “It 

impacts families of both men and women, as well as all our social 

systems,’’ she said. 

Holding the Community Accountable 

On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Cangleska has 

partnered with the Oglala Police Department, the Oglala Housing 

Department, the Oglala Tribal Court, the Oglala Tribal Prosecutor’s 

Office, and the Judiciary Committee to create a coordinated community response to violent crimes against women. 

“Thirteen years ago we became the first reservation to create 

mandatory arrest laws for violence against women. We’ve 

expanded the laws to include other crimes, including 

stalking, because 17 percent of American Indian/Alaska 

for tribes across the country. In their Sacred Circle 

training center in Rapid City, Cangleska trains tribes 

from across the country who have received grants from the government to conduct violence prevention programs. 

“We’ve trained hundreds of Indian tribes. We train them on how 

to set up shelters and to improve police response and arrests. We also 

improve how prosecutions are conducted and we train tribes to address their own perceptions and responses,” said Firethunder. 

According to Firethunder, the Pine Ridge Reservation has a population of approximately 2800 people, with half of the population 18 

years or younger. 

“We have 1800 men on probation for domestic violence. 

This is not because our men are more violent—it’s because we have 

made sure that the entire system holds men accountable,’’ she said. 

“When a call goes into a 911 operator, we make sure it’s followed 

through until the end. We made sure that the cops knew the law, and 

we trained them to make sure that evidence is gathered, and the 

person responsible is held accountable.’’ 

Programs and Services Offered 

Beyond providing legal services, Cangleska also provides 

shelters, programs for batterers and abused women, and public education programs. 

“We have two shelters on the Reservation and one in the city 

nearby. Here in South Dakota we have a strong network of White and 

Indian women—it’s one of the things we’re so proud of. In the rural 

areas it’s White and Indian women working side by side to protect 

women. We can bring women to a network of shelters across the state 

to get them away from their environments,’’ said Firethunder. 

“Our staff are all trained to be advocates no matter 

what their position. Our courthouse is right next to us so 

continued on page 2>>>> 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
A Safe Haven on the Reservation 

Protecting Women from Intimate Partner Violence 

By Kerrita McClaughlyn


Closing the Gap, Violence Prevention - Who’s Responsible? • January/February 2002


anyone on staff is able to obtain temporary protection and custody 

orders for women and their children as soon as they arrive,’’ Firethunder 

said. 

Cangleska also provides a very comprehensive men’s rehabilitation project called the batterers program. The staff also proactively 

educates youth by going into schools and conducting workshops 

with them, about their perceptions about violence. They hope to 

prevent the cycle of violence before the children become adults. 

A new area on which Cangleska hopes to have an impact is in the 

medical/health aspect of sexual violence. “We’re looking at Indian 

Health Service—looking to influence emergency rooms to respond to 

sexual assault,’’ said Firethunder. 

“Women don’t report rapes because they don’t think anything 

will happen. Fifty percent of women coming into our emergency 

rooms will not allow themselves to be examined for sexual assault and 

have a rape kit test,’’ Firethunder said. “Their perception is that they 

were drunk, so they deserve it and so they won’t report it.’’ 

Cangleska has worked to separate the violence from the alcohol. 

The agency has worked to convince law enforcement that alcohol 

doesn’t cause violence, and has succeeded in encouraging judges to 

send men to violence management classes, along with alcohol abuse 

classes. 

“Indian women are raped at a greater rate than women of all 

other races,’’ Firethunder said. Cangleska has taken a lead in trying to 

address this staggering statistic. Their first issue is the legal system— 

“We try to get numbers on the prosecution of rape cases. We work 

with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI because if a rape crime 

happens on the reservation, the local cops turn it over to the FBI,’’ she 

said. The second issue is that there’s a lack of resources and services like 

rape crisis centers and counseling services and the crime of rape is 

going to require these services. 

“When we work in the schools, we try to teach girls to pull 

together and to protect themselves and if they’ve been raped to heal 

from rape,’’ said Firethunder. 

“For me as an Indian woman, I felt it was important for me to 

help to provide the services our women need to heal from the pain 

they’ve suffered from violence in their lives.” 

For more information on Cangleska, Inc., contact Cecilia Firethunder 

at 605-455-2244.

What is Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)? 

IPV is actual or threatened physical or sexual violence, or psychological/emotional abuse. Some of the 

common terms used to describe intimate partner violence are domestic abuse, spouse abuse, domestic violence, courtship violence, battering, marital rape, and date rape. Intimate partners include current or former 

spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends (including heterosexual or same-sex partners). 

3⁄4 In 1999, there were 671,110 violent acts committed against females by intimate partners, down from 

1.1 million in 1993. 

3⁄4 Between 1993-1998, 75 percent of American Indian women reported their offender to be a nonstranger. 

3⁄4 Approximately 8 in 1,000 women and 1 in 1,000 men age 12 or older experienced a violent victimization perpetrated by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics—Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-1998 and Intimate Partner 

Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-1999. 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center	 2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services