Violence against Indigenous women and communities in North America is an ongoing crisis with a deeply rooted historical context in settler colonialism. Native women, children, and people continue to be targeted for violence at alarming rates. What realizations can Native literature offer in educating and bringing awareness to these human rights issues? Native artists and writers are using storytelling and literature to center the voices of Native women and communities impacted by violence. Indigenous women’s literature plays a pivotal part in a larger conversation on erasure and our fight to be seen. Native readers are now identifying with the main characters in books like Firekeeper’s Daughter, Murder on the Red River, and Shutter.

We invite you to a discussion with Native authors who write Native female heroines and illustrate Native realities. These authors will discuss how colonial violence in Indian Country impacts their fictional prose and storytelling.