Breaking the Culture of Silence: The Cultural Impact of the
Sexual Colonization of Natives
By: Anna Bula
April 12, 2011
Of all the forms of torture, sexual abuse and violence can be the most psychologically
damaging. There is a culture of victim blaming that exists that implies that any person who
suffers such an attack must have done something to merit or provoke it. Victims of sexually
motivated violence will often be afraid to speak because they feel ashamed of what has
happened. . To add to the terror, the perpetrators will tell their victims that they will kill them, or
someone they love, if they tell anyone about the attack. They also may mention that the victim
will not be believed, or that everyone will accuse them of having loose morals. Silence becomes
a tool of the assaulter.The idea that sexual violence may have been employed as a tool of cultural
and religious oppression by patriarchal European and Christian societies is sickening. In Andrea
Smith’s article, Not An Indian Tradition: The Sexual Colonization of Native People, the author
describes the ways in which the colonists did just that. Although she spends some time
describing the various ways in which Native tribes had sexual violence used against them, she
ignores the specific psychological impacts on the female victims, as well as the serious impact
that such actions have had against male victims and the community as a whole. Her descriptions
of the acts of violence are observed as a counsellor and someone outside the community. In
comparison, the works of Native authors Maria Campbell and Tomson Highway examine the
consequences of sexual assault and abuse from a more personal level, including the cultural
impact on the individual and the community. In Campbell’s Half-Breed, the author writes from
the perspective of a Métis woman, while Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen examines the issue
from the point of view of male victims. Together, the article along with the two novels, paint a
picture regarding the intense role that sexualized violence has played in shaping modern Native
culture, as well as its place in wider society.
Smith’s article examines the issue of sexual violence through a historical examination of
what was done to Native women. She implies that the effect on men was less devastating than
that on women.
Within the context of colonization of Native nations, sexual violence does
not affect Indian men and women in the same way. However, when a
Native woman suffers abuse, this abuse is not just an attack on her identity
as a woman, but on her identity as Native. (Smith, 71)
It is not stated outright, but the clear distinction between genders suggests that the cultural
impact of sexual violence, in terms of racial-self, is solely the province of female victims.
Despite making this distinction, and making reference to the potential effects on Native identity,
the author ignores this aspect of psychology. This one cursory mention is the limit to which this
issue is discussed. Most of the discussion deals with the attitudes created by white men towards
Native women and bodies.
The main argument regarding the sexual colonization of Native women revolves around
the created image of the aboriginal female. In order to demonize tribal society, the patriarchal
Europeans made it seem as though these women were dirty, impure, and lacking any sense of
propriety or morality. They painted the cultures as being cruel, where women were the masters
of cruelty. The point of creating such attitudes was to destroy the reputation of these women. If
such women have no virtue, then any acts of violence against them are justified, and raping them
is not really rape:
Because Indian bodies are "dirty, "they are considered sexually violable and
"rapable." That is, in patriarchal thinking, only a body that is "pure" can be
violated. The rape of bodies that are considered inherently impure or dirty
simply does not count. (Smith, 73)
These parallel the modern opinions that a provocatively dressed woman at a club who mentions a
general interest in sex ‘had it coming’.
Such attitudes have a secondary impact as well. The act of declaring that impure women
cannot be violated also established the idea that they no longer have a right to their own bodily
autonomy. Many women were forcefully sterilized without their consent. After the issue of
informed consent came to light, doctors used other means such as prescribing tested unapproved
contraceptives. It was an act of sexual violence against women, used to prevent them from
giving birth to the next generation of Natives. It was in essence a bloodless genocide, aimed at
removing the ‘Native problem’ from the concerns of white politicians and colonizers. The article
also discusses how this disregard for Native bodies as a whole encourages the white
governments to expose them to dangerous conditions. It mentions that when choosing a site for
waste dumps of toxic or radioactive material, they will often choose reservations. Similarly, they
do not feel the need to secure dangerous mines that are located on Native land.
Despite doing a good job in describing some of the atrocities perpetrated by white society
against Native women, Smith’s article fails to discuss the implications on a deeper level. The
author seems more concerned with the medical consequences, such as miscarriage or
sterilization, rather than the very real emotional, psychological, and cultural effects. Not an
Indian Tradition completely ignores the impact of sexual violence on the society as a whole, and
on the men of the community. She also ignores specific instances of institutionalized sexual
abuse as a tactic of oppression, in particular residential schools and their use of sexual abuse
against children of both genders.
In Half-Breed, Campbell does a better job of addressing the issue of the impact of sexual
violence on both women and the community as a whole. She describes not just the effects of
physical rape but also those of emotional rape. Their culture and identity was gutted over and
over by the white populace, until it seemed that someone who was a ‘half-breed’ could not
belong anywhere but among other half-breeds. The shame became so ingrained in their beings,
that they could no longer react properly when they faced the results of that shaming.
She describes what happened when they would travel to a town populated by Whites. Here
the emotional violation is paired alongside physical acts of assault as well.
as the evening progressed white men would come by. They all danced and sang
together, then all too soon one of the white men would bother the women. Our
men would become angry, but instead of fighting the white men they beat their
wives. […] Meanwhile the white men stood together in a group, laughing and
drinking, sometimes dragging a woman away. (Campbell, 38)
The constant shame that the Métis felt when faced with the damning white culture prevented
them from being able to stand up for themselves or their wives when they were assaulted by the
supposedly superior race. In essence, they felt powerless, capable only of lashing out against the
nearest easy targets: the female victims. Like victims of sexual assault, they feel the need to keep
silent. Eerily like modern rape apologists, they blamed the victims for not avoiding sexual
assault, learning to regard these crimes as a force of nature rather than the actions of men.
One can see the impact here of the attitudes discussed by Smith. The white’s prejudice
against the Natives dehumanizes them. In essence, the ‘half-breeds’ feel half-human. Since this
attitude is shared by the white men and women who live in town, they do not feel the need to
treat them with any modicum of human decency or compassion. The white men, who most likely
spend their lives never dreaming of committing acts of violence against another man’s wife, feel
no remorse in dragging off a defenseless Métis woman. The Métis men in turn know that they
cannot do anything to save their wives. If they react defensively, the police will intervene and
kick them out of town. They will lose their livelihood. Worse still, any act of defiance may even
encourage the white men to actively seek out more women to molest.
Not only have the men absorbed the idea that they are somehow less than white men,
they have also internalized the concept that the victim is to blame for the abuse. In beating their
wives they are punishing both victims of the attack, their wives and themselves. The culture of
silence continues in the men’s inability to discuss the events with their women, and their
helplessness with regards to reporting it to the police.
The constant cycle of abuse and shame eventually drives the whole community to drink.
The drinking in turn leads to more shame. Their inability to speak about what has happened to
them keeps them locked in a continuous succession of despair.
Later on in the narrative Campbell explores other types of sexualized violence. The
narrator marries a white man. He abuses her both physically and emotionally. Later on Maria
becomes a prostitute. She ends up in several sexual relationships with men who mistreat her.
Although it is never explicitly stated that she was ever raped by any of these men, by virtue of
her intimate relationship with them the violence she experiences has a sexual component to it.
During this period of abuse, and immediately after it, she experiences a disconnect from her own
culture. She denies her ancestry and hates those who remind her of it. She feels unable to return
home to her people, cut off from them by virtue of her shame. Her inability to see herself as a
blameless victim paralyses her.
When she finally returns home, she feels unable to share her experiences with her father.
In this way the culture of silence surrounding sexual assault is reinforced. Her silence cuts her
off from her family. Since the work is autobiographical, the reader understands that the act of
writing about her experiences is in fact an act of finally breaking the social taboo of speaking
about one’s abuse. What may not be intrinsically understood is that the abuse she is speaking out
against is more than just the sexual abuse she witnessed and suffered, but also the cultural rape
of her people. The victim shaming experienced by Native cultures, the constant name calling and
implications of inferiority and dirtiness, are similar to those experienced by sufferers of sexual
abuse. Just as it is the victim’s “fault” that she was abused, it is the Native’s “fault” that she is
Native, when in a just world neither would be a crime.
In Kiss of the Fur Queen, the author examines the cultural phenomenon of residential
schools. These schools were designed to forcefully integrate Native children into white society.
The parents had no choice in whether or not to send their children, but were obligated by law.
Already the idea of force is introduced. Once these schools gained access to the children, they
stripped them of their Native languages and names, replacing them with white equivalents, on
pain of corporal punishment. Their identity is violently taken away from them. This act by itself
is a type of violation.
At the residential schools, the children faced literal rape on top of the symbolic. The
priests, who they were taught were the representation of the Holy Father on earth, would often
molest the children. While at school Jeremiah and Gabriel are taught about good and evil. The
representations of angels and demons are already subtly reinforcing the idea that Natives are
somehow inferior. The depictions of hell are full of Native people, while all the angels are white.
After having this idea reinforced in their minds, the boys are then subjected to sexual abuse at
the hands of the most holy of the whites.
The impact of sexual assault on men, especially when experienced in childhood, is
revealed and examined. The reader is able to track the progression of the young men’s lives as
they grow older and try to learn to cope with the emotional fallout. Each brother experiences
some sort of sexual consequence as a result of the abuse. Gabriel fetishizes the symbols of the
Catholic Church and participates in unsafe sex. While some might be tempted to blame his
homosexuality on the abuse, it is a part of who he is. More interesting is the symbolism that
becomes a part of his sexual experience. He will make references to the abuse during his sexual
encounters. Since the abuse took place during his sexually formative years, the related symbols
become intrinsically connected with all aspects of sexuality. When forced to go to church, he
experiences the act on a sexual level.
Despite his highly sexualized view of the Catholic
Church, he retains no respect for the moral authority of the institution.
Jeremiah, on the other hand, is unable to experience sexual desire without anger and
remorse. He avoids instances of sexual contact. Anyone who brings him into contact with his
sexuality is instantly hated. While directing his anger at sex, he retains an awe of the church
itself. He has internalized the concept that the church is good and sexuality is bad, playing into
the residential schools’ goal of ending the propagation of Native culture and Native peoples
themselves.
The most obvious effect of the abuse is their inability to speak with their parents and their
separation from their Native heritage. These two things are connected. Their inability to talk to
their parents stems from the shame of what happened to them. Their parents are strongly
religious, especially the mother, and so would be unable to accept this violation of a sacred trust.
The brothers sense this and so keep the situation to themselves. Since they cannot confide in the
people they are meant to trust, they feel separated from that part of themselves. They ultimately
run away and lose touch with their community.
Jeremiah feels so out of touch with his identity as a Cree that he denies that part of
himself. He spends most of his time pretending he is white. When he remembers that he is not,
he feels a rush of shame. This description of the emotional pain suffered by the young men,
contradicts the argument that it is only women who suffer the loss of identity as a result of sexual
assault.
The boys attempt several times to end the cycle of silence, but are always stopped. At the
most crucial moment, when their father is dying, Gabriel attempts to find closure by telling his
father the truth. Just as he is about to say what he came to say, he is interrupted by the priest. The
holy orders must be performed or else this coloured man will burn for all eternity. The holierthan-thou priest undercuts the importance of family and shames the sons once again. Like the
priests who abused them, the Father believes in his absolute moral superiority. This reinforces
the idea that what happened to the victims is somehow their fault. They must have provoked the
priest, or perhaps they are simply not human enough for the rape of their bodies to mean
anything. They are unholy savages who must have tempted the holy men to stray from their
rightful paths.
Their reunion with their heritage is directly connected to their ability to finally speak out.
They create works of performance art dedicated towards telling their stories. Jeremiah is able to
face his inability to protect his brother from the abuse. This breakthrough becomes especially
important in the final scenes of the novel. Gabriel, who is dying, is able to get past the abuse by
admitting to himself that the priests are not in fact morally superior. He cuts of ties to the
Catholic Church in his own life. As his AIDS gets worse and he comes closer to dying, he
highlights this fact by refusing to allow priests anywhere near him before death. With respect for
his mother, he insists that she be allowed to do with him as she pleases after his death. The
presence of the priest, and the forced participation in the sacrament of the last rites, would in
essence be yet another violation of this young man by the Catholic Church. He refuses to allow
himself to once again be victimized in this way. He begs his brother to honour his wishes.
Jeremiah, as a result, faces a test. He must decide whether or not to honour his brother’s
wishes, or give in and submit himself to the will of his mother and the church. This too is a
seeming assault on Jeremiah as he must decide whether to subjugate himself before the priest
and his mother’s wishes, or protect his brother. He must decide whether to give in to this new
abuse. Ultimately he remains courageous and does not allow the priest to subject his brother to
that final act of force.
The silence of the characters of both narratives suggests the silence expressed by victims
of sexual assault. It is the ultimate act of submission to the attacker, this fear of expression
oneself and acknowledging what has happened. This act is the result of shame. From the point of
view of sexual violence, the shame comes from the belief that one has done something wrong,
that in some way this horrendous act was deserved. In Native culture, the silence stems from a
similar source, the shame over what they have become and what they have allowed the colonists
to do to their proud heritage. What was done to the Natives was a type of social rape, which was
reinforced with sexual violence. In the same way that victims of rape cannot begin to heal until
they have faced what has happened to them, the victims of the sexual colonization of Native
culture have only now begun the healing process by finally allowing their voices to be heard.
The fact that this social violation is paired with a physical one means that the need to speak out is
doubly important.
The Native victims of the government-sanctioned assaults are now choosing to speak out
against the atrocities done. The many narratives, including those studied here, are the beginning
of the ending of the culture of silence that has so stigmatized Aboriginal art and literature.
What happened to the Natives of North America was as atrocious an act as any act of
sexual assault. The use of rape and dehumanization against them created a culture of shame and
resulted in a prolonged period of silence. The superior attitudes of the whites and Christians only
serve to further persecute the many sufferers. Native literature in some ways can be read as
Victim Impact Statements; they are a testament to the dangers of the self-righteousness of socalled civilized society. The effects can be felt by more than just the women, but also by the men
and the whole community itself. Ignoring this fact undermines the suffering of Natives. By
insisting that the damage was only done to women, it excuses the behaviours of the colonists
towards the entire culture. These were not just individual acts of rape, but rather a prolonged and
systematic rape of an entire culture. The works of Native authors give insight into the profound
psychological implications of the abuse. It elevates the atrocities from something academic to
something that was done to people. It is the first step in reclaiming their humanity from those
who stole it from them and proclaiming to the entire world that they, too, are people.
Works Cited
Campbell, Maria. Halfbreed. Halifax, N.S.: Goodread Biographies, 1983. Print.
Highway, Tomson. Kiss of the Fur Queen. Toronto: Anchor, 2005. Print.
Smith, Andrea. "Not an Indian Tradition: The Sexual Colonization of Native Peoples." Hypatia
Indigenous Women in the Americas 18.2 (2003): 70-85. JSTOR. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/3811012>.