The Round House by Louise Erdrich succeeds in revealing the layered ways in which Indigenous women and folks navigate the axes of oppression. Particularly after learning about the act of violence against Geraldine and how critical it is to understand the exact point of the location where the attack took place. The location of the attack essentially determines who has jurisdiction over processing the crime, all of which allows different rights and sits within a complicated territorial line of stolen land and nation sovereignty laws. Additionally, the discussion of location and how to proceed is regularly handled by men in power, both Indigenous and white. However, it all revolves and exists within the systems of oppression facing women.
Erdrich confirms how land rights are part of the systemic oppression and state violence suffered by Indigenous women and folks daily. With this knowledge, understanding the complications surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women becomes even more apparent. The story of Geraldine in The Round House helps understand a crucial part of how and why so many cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women go unsolved, along with how many missing and murdered Indigenous women are not afforded justice through the acknowledgment of violence. All of which contributes to the erasure of their identities and stories.
Moreover, there are currently four federal legislation acts to address the state violence that is the crisis and genocide of missing and murdered Indigenous women. In addition to the federal legislation, the following states also have state legislation to address, share data, and declare emergencies: Arizona, California, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington.
Works Cited
Goforth-Ward, Meg. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Legislation.” Urban Indian Health Institute (blog), May 17, 2019. https://www.uihi.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-legislation/.
“MMIW Crisis,” September 13, 2019. https://www.doi.gov/ocl/mmiw-crisis.