By Marian Phillips
Marian is a first year student in the Women’s History Graduate Program.

I find it appropriate to provide the reader with a warning of the content that follows. The following post contains mentions of rape, violence towards women, self-defense, and the work of women in punk rock in creating organizations that seek to keep women safe from violence.

The night of July 7, 1993, Mia Zapata of the Gits was walking home from the Seattle, Washington bar the Comet Tavern, where she had frequently held performances and lived a short distance from, when she was brutally raped and murdered. Her death largely impacted the growing Riot Grrrl movement and feminist punk culture in Seattle and its surrounding areas. Feeling compelled by the death of Zapata, Valerie Agnew of Seven-Year Bitch, amongst other artists, formed the Home Alive collective. The organization is dedicated to keeping women safe by providing affordable workshops on self-defense, anger management, and weaponry training. Punk feminist icons Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) wrote “Go Home” as their own response, and similarly to Agnew, used their platform to advocate women to take the necessary actions for their protection against threats of violence.

Women of punk demanded that their worth as humans and as women should be recognized, working tirelessly to ensure that they would not lose someone else to the violence women potentially faced, and continue to face on a day-to-day basis. The considerable effort put forth by Agnew in assisting in the formation of the Home Alive collective in 1993 reflects the necessity to encourage the creation of safe spaces for women, and to destigmatize fighting back against an assailant. They formed the collective in the hopes of not only providing supportive and crucial self-defense training to their community, but also to women with lower incomes, and those that were homeless. In 2018, the collective continues to provide the resources previously mentioned for everyone and anyone that needs them. Their website features visual aids that show women the ways that they can defend themselves against a variety of violent acts such as racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and gender-based violence. With the assistance of mainstream punk women icons such as Hanna and Jett, Home Alive grew exponentially and opened up a larger conversation socially and culturally on the lack of protection women have against harm that continues to this day.

The music video Jett and Hanna created for their song “Go Home” is a call to arms for women who do not feel safe. A punk rock anthem for self-defense, the video features Jett defending herself against a potential assailant. As the protagonist grows increasingly aware that the man on the public transportation system has the intent to harm her, she fights back as he attempts to assault her; the video ends as the woman walks home, safe from harm. The video expresses to the viewer that any woman can be a victim of these heinous crimes, and addresses the importance of knowing how to defend oneself in order to get home safely.

These are only a few of the ways that women in the punk rock industry have worked towards creating a safer environment for themselves, their fans, and women as a whole. As I reflect on my time spent amongst people of the same mentality in the music scene, I noticed that their tireless work oftentimes is overlooked. By recognizing the efforts that women continue to put forth in bettering the spaces they navigate for themselves and their community, it leads to larger conversations on violence that women face, and the work that they must do, and that they have to do to keep themselves and other women safe.

This post is dedicated to Mia Zapata, as well as the countless individuals who have lost their lives to violence and the survivors of violence. Please find below a short list of numbers that may assist you or someone you know, as well as the link for the Home Alive Collective’s website.

The Rape Crisis Hotline: 210-349-7273

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673

U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 

The Home Alive Collective Website: https://www.teachhomealive.org/

Written by Marian Phillips
Marian is a first year student in the Women’s History Graduate Program.

When one has the opportunity to receive an education on Native American women in the history of the United States, the names Sacagawea and Pocahontas are commonly the names heard more often than others. These two women are inherently important, as they play large roles in American history. Pocahontas saved the lives of captive Native Americans during the settling of Jamestown, Virginia, and without Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark would not have had the ability to successfully explore the Louisiana Territory. Common white-centric histories on these women center around their explorations at the hands of colonizers, and these heroines of history undoubtably deserve a more expansive and appropriate representation of their strength and larger contributions.

With a mid-term election filled with firsts for Native American women in politics, I find it appropriate to revisit historical firsts for Native American women that are missing from history textbooks. The purpose of this piece draws influence from the American public-school system’s provision of a narrow historical framework on Native American women, often times erasing important figures. Furthermore, I insist the necessity in including Sharice Davids, the first openly gay Native American woman elected to Kansas’s third congressional district, and Deb Halaand, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, into future revisions of these histories.

Biawacheeitchish (Woman Chief in English) was born in the early 1800s to the Gros Ventres people and passed away in 1858. Taking on traditionally masculine roles, she assumed leadership positions and became renowned in her marksmanship, horse riding, and warrior status. She led wars, and quickly became recognized as one of the three highest ranked members of 160 lodges. Despite the history of Biawacheeitchish remaining somewhat of a mystery, her contributions and status mark her as an important figure of Native American women’s history.

Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915) was the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Noticing the mistreatment of Native American communities by medical doctors, her pursuits were fueled by the necessity to provide her community with healthcare opportunities. Picotte traveled reservation to reservation treating people for various illnesses and spreading knowledge on hygiene and overall health. Quickly becoming a pillar in her community, she participated in political action towards the bettering of healthcare, and chaired the state health Committee in Nebraska.

Mary Golda Ross (1908-2008) was the first Native American woman that held the title of engineer. Commonly remembered for her contributions to aerospace design, she contributed largely to the ability for conceptualizing unmanned and manned space exploration. She worked on countless secretive projects such as the Skunk Works project; Ross was one of the forty engineers that had founded this specific project as well.

These are only a few of the countless Native American women that hold titles of being “the first” and have largely contributed to the bettering of their communities, as well as society as a whole (such as Ross, who without, space exploration may have taken a longer route to achieve). When I first discovered these women, I was shocked that I hadn’t heard of them sooner. One would assume that Biawacheeitisch would find a home in conversations with chiefs such as Geronimo or Tecumseh, or that a mention of Ross would appear in histories of space exploration, yet they do not. As these Native American women are absent from the common history of the United States, I contend that we must seek to revise it and give these women the credit they deserve and that their achievements warrant. 

Written by Marian Phillips
Marian is a first year student in the Women’s History Graduate Program.

When someone says the word “punk” in reference to the musical genre one may immediately think of the popular people that shaped its introduction to mainstream knowledge such as Sid Vicious (Simon John Ritchie) of The Sex Pistols, or Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill. Punk music is notably fueled by a feeling of discontent towards social, political, and cultural norms, structures, or institutions that marginalize individuals that deviate from them. Known for its anarchic style, artists that have participated in creating works in the genre express disdain towards an unjust system and use their platform to make statements against injustices. An overtly apparent goal of punk rock is to provide community to others that feel marginalized and form a collective movement to incite larger social change. This is not without flaw, as most faces that dominate the culture of punk are primarily white, and/or men. As the end of another thanksgiving holiday closes, I would like to direct the reader to a few of the many Indigenous people of punk and their efforts in the genre that we should be thankful for year-round.  

The Miracle Dolls, consisting of twin sisters Dani and Dezy Doll from Southern California and members of the Hidatsa tribe, started the Native American Youth Music Program (NAYMP) to create larger change in their community. These sisters are no strangers to public forms of activism, as their song “Sweet Grass” was written in support of the Water is Life Movement and the preservation of the Earth. The sisters utilize their musical platform as a form of activism against injustices towards Indigenous people while promoting the health of their community through instructing music lessons through the NAYMP. Taking note of the hardships the youth in their community experience, the two center the classes as more than instructive, they are therapeutic through the capability of providing a freeform of expression and an outlet. Dani and Dezy Doll believe that music is the greatest outlet for their community and have set a long-standing goal to provide musical instruments to every reservation to further heal the historical trauma that Indigenous people face.

As American society and government continues in its attempts to diminish the culture of Indigenous people and their communities, we must continue to recognize the importance and the existence of active participants that aim to nurture growth such as Dani and Dezy Doll. While their music may not be a definitive representation of what one would assume punk should or should not sound like, their challenging of political, social, and cultural injustices Indigenous people face would adhere them to this genre. The two use their music to provide community, raise awareness, and advocate for the importance of a musical outlet. Ultimately, the Miracle Dolls’ efforts through and in their music should not go unnoticed or underrepresented.

In short, Dani and Dezy Doll are importance figures in the genre of punk, as their activism isn’t solely centered around speaking out, but rather, taking action to cause change and actually doing it. As mentioned, punk is statistically centered around white individuals in the mainstream and popular culture, which is an injustice in itself, and erases the efforts of people of color in punk. Rather than think of Sid Vicious or Kathleen Hanna next time you hear the words “punk” or “punk rock,” think of Dani and Dezy Doll, and their continuous activism and strength.

Additional bands fronted by Indigenous individuals:

• A Tribe Called Red
• No More Moments
• Hamac Caziim
• Black Fire
• Samantha Crain
• Digging Roots

Watch a The Miracle Dolls music videos here.

By Hannah McCandless
Hannah is a first year graduate student in the Women’s History Program.

A Thanksgiving Memory

Grandmother worked in the kitchen for hours leading up to the day of the big event. Mom would make food at home and bring it to grandmother’s house. Aunt May would always bring pie and rolls. I was the only girl of the grandkids, so I was always asked to set the table, even though someone always came behind me fixing my mistakes.

“Mary Jane, why don’t you put Hannah in a finishing school? She needs to know how to set the table!” Said Grandmother. A hidden eye roll and playful smile looked my way. Mom wouldn’t send me to a finishing school. She thought that was silly, especially in this day and age.

My brother and cousins played while I waited for instructions. Carry this, clean that, take this drink to that person… I knew it was weird – me being the only grandkid working, my aunts and mother being the only adults working, my grandmother being the only grandparent working. I didn’t understand why. I was just a kid. But I knew it was not fair that my granddaddy, my father, my uncles, my brother, and my male cousins would not help. And then after all of that hard work, my granddaddy was still the one who got to cut up the turkey. I was unsure how to address something I had no words for. How can you say that something is wrong when you don’t know how to name what is wrong i the first place?

Years later, the traditions have changed. But it is mostly because my grandmother can’t keep up with that much food in the way she used to. Now, my aunt takes on those responsibilities. Now, I find myself still helping. My brother helps more, but not for long before he is told, by my aunt, to go sit down and enjoy the company of everyone else.

“Women’s work” is what they call it in feminist writing today. “Women’s work” is the work that people assume women will do, like cooking, cleaning, and child rearing. During holidays and in everyday life, women end up taking on tasks that have been feminized to an extent that in many heterosexual relationships, the work in the home is almost completely on women. It is 2018 and still when I find myself at home, with my parents and other family members, the gender norms and gender rules still exist.

It spills over into the office, and women often end up being the people who organize office parties, put the notes together for  meeting, or decorate around the holidays. It puts differing values on differing types of work. Women teach and become nurses. Men do construction and become firefighters. “Feminine” jobs require a lot of training and furthering education, and yet more “masculine” jobs are paid more and are sometimes viewed better. All jobs are valid and needed, but it is very problematic that some are viewed with the face of a woman and thus less respect.

“Women’s work” is a part of today’s culture, and the culture of our past, that is so much a part of the way we value work and how it is gendered. It starts at a young age, and it seems like it becomes a part of the the social structures and identities of every young woman and man.

This Thanksgiving, consider practicing “stepping up and stepping back.” Consider asking male cousins or siblings to help in the kitchen, ask your father or uncle to cook something for the meal, and take a step back. Take a moment to talk with your mother or grandmother, and ask how your brother can help. Challenge everyone to be a part of whatever traditions you have. It’s a small structural step that can help change a culture so deeply ingrained in many Americans this holiday season.