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Author Bio

Peggy L. Bird is of the Sun Clan from Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico. She is mom, grandmother, an advocate/attorney/consultant/human rights activist and works to enhance the sovereignty of indigenous women by ending violence against Native women, both nationally and internationally. Peggy is a co-founder of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, Inc., the Native Women’s Advocacy Center, Inc., and the Indigenous Women’s Human Rights Collective, Inc. She is a board member of Tewa Women United, Inc., the Chamiza Foundation, and a co-founding member of the NCAI Violence Against Native Women Task Force. She received the National Crime Victims Service Award granted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Sunshine Peace Award granted by the Sunshine Lady Foundation and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She has been a member of the State Bar of New Mexico since October 1990. She received her Doctorate of Philosophy on May 7, 2018 from Arizona State University. sunplbird@aol.com

Abstract

What happens when Indigenous nations do not have written policy to ensure the well-being of their people, and more specifically, policy that ensures the safety of the most vulnerable, including women in the community? What are some considerations for establishment of such policy by Indigenous nations? Speaking from the standpoint of a Pueblo Indian woman from New Mexico, I explore considerations for policy development that draws from Indigenous and Pueblo core values that addresses the safety of Indigenous women affiliated with Indigenous nations and living on Indigenous lands. In this community-based commentary, I speak from my experiences as an advocate for Indigenous women’s rights worldwide, from my epistemological roots as a Kewa woman, and as an attorney-scholar-researcher.

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