Post updated at 9:39 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11:
An upcoming panel at the Lawrence Public Library will focus on gender-based violence in Indigenous communities, the law, advocacy work to combat violence and opportunities to support that work.
The panel, hosted by the Willow Domestic Violence Center, will feature Rep. Christina Haswood, Sarah Deer and Sierra Two Bulls. D’Arlyn Bell will moderate.
Haswood, Diné, whose district in the Kansas House covers part of Lawrence, “is known for her Native American and Public Health policy expertise. Christina is widely known for her usage of social media in politics and building the bench for young Kansans to be involved in state politics,” the library’s event page summarizes. She currently sits on the House Committees on Federal and State Affairs, Health and Human Services and Taxation, the Joint Committee and State-Tribal Relations and more.
Deer, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, is a distinguished professor at the University of Kansas and Chief Justice for the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals. Her award-winning 2015 book, “The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America,” is the culmination of more than 25 years of working with survivors and criminal justice personnel, according to the event page. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of federal Indian law and victims’ rights, using Indigenous principles as a framework, according to the page.
Two Bulls, an Oglala Lakota originally from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is the Haskell/KU exchange program coordinator at KU and an adjunct social worker at Haskell. She is a board member for the Indigenous Community Center and is also a member of the local MMIWG2ST chapter, which aims to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Trans people. She is also a member of the Willow’s board and Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s Health Equity Advisory Board.
Bell, Cherokee Nation, is a leader of the Indigenous Community Center. She is a doctoral student in KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and an Indigenous Education Cobell Scholar, according to her KU bio. She advocates on MMIWG2ST issues and on Native American empowerment and visibility at KU and in Lawrence as a whole.
“This panel is geared towards individuals with an interest in learning more about violence, specifically gender-based violence, in Native American communities, Indigenous law and solutions to this issue,” according to the library’s event page.
The panel is set for 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 at the Lawrence Public Library auditorium. It will open with a reception starting at 5:30 p.m.
The event is free to attend and open to the public.
Visit this link and click the green bookmark icon to add this event to your Google, Apple, Outlook or other calendar.
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Note: This post and main photo have been updated to reflect a change in panelists.
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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Get help in Lawrence
Domestic violence situations: The Willow Domestic Violence Center
- Reach the Willow for help 24/7 at 785-843-3333.
- Find more resources on the Willow’s website at this link.
- National hotline: Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text “START” to 88788, and/or visit thehotline.org to chat and learn more, 24/7.
File for an order of protection
In Kansas, victim-survivors of stalking and abuse can file for court orders of protection from abuse or stalking online. Visit kspop.org and follow the instructions on the website. The service is available for any county in Kansas. You can also file for a protection order with traditional paper forms; check this link for more information.
Learn the warning signs
Read about warning signs of domestic violence and emotional abuse and learn how you can help at this link.
