A group of 10 Wabanaki women stand in a circle in the rec room of a tribal health center in Northern Maine, shouting in unison as they forcefully thrust their palms forward, following each move of self-defense facilitator MiMi Tarshus.
"And the same thing again. I said no! One, two, three," Tarshus says.
"I said no!" the group shouts back, striking the air in front of them.
Most of the women at this workshop live on the reservation of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. They are learning how to recognize threats, to de-escalate potentially violent situations and to strike attackers where they are most vulnerable.
"Eyes, nose, throat and groin. We’ve got them all," says Clara Porter, executive director of Prevention, Action, Change, a nonprofit that's facilitating the workshop.
The workshop culminates in practice scenarios of harassment and attacks, including a scene that might play out in a bar or at the grocery store. The women share stories of facing harassment based on their appearance.
"Can I buy you a drink?" Porter asks, pretending to be a harasser.
"I'm not interested," says participant Victoria Frederick, 32, who lives on the reservation.
"Aw come on, it's just a drink," Porter pushes.
"No," Frederick responds forcefully.
"You don't have to be like that," says Porter, starting to grab Frederick.
"I said no!" Frederick shouts, using the strike moves she practiced earlier.
This class is tailored for Indigenous women and two-spirited people, a term used by some tribes to describe those with diverse gender identities.
It's part of a series of workshops organized by Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness. Crisis response manager Lena Newell said they’re designed to provide support for community members in the face of a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
"Out of the United States, we have the lowest population, but we have the highest murder rate, Indigenous women specifically," Newell said.
Indigenous women experience violence at disproportionately high rates. 84 percent of Indigenous women are a victim violence in their lifetime, compared to 71 percent of White women, according to the National Institute of Justice. And the Department of Justice reports that in some tribal communities, Indigenous women are murdered at rates more than 10 times the national average.
"Knowing that just because I look the part, I can be an easy target," Newell said. "We're showing our girls, if you get put in this situation, this is what you do. This is how you can get out of it. Knowledge is powerful."
Every year, thousands of Indigenous women and girls are reported missing in North America, but cases often go unreported or unsolved. The exact number is unknown because federal databases do not contain comprehensive national, state or tribal data. In Maine, there are several decades-long unsolved cases of missing and murdered indigenous women.
Research from the National Institute of Justice finds that the majority of Indigenous women are targeted and harmed by non-Indigenous perpetrators. And more than half experience violence by an intimate partner
"I was in a very abusive relationship with my first husband and I finally got away," said Barbara Haynes, 57. After going through a divorce, she sought counseling for three years. "And they suggested I should go to self-defense classes, so if I ever encountered that again, I wouldn't have to worry about it... or feel safer at least."
Haynes said she hopes to stop a cycle of violence in her family and community, so she brought her 13-year-old granddaughter and her daughter, Vanessa Tomah to the self-defense class.
"I’m very proud of my mother too for stepping in and wanting to do it with her struggles throughout life and being in the native community," Tomah said. "And being a Native American woman is even harder."
In recent years, bipartisan political efforts garnered awareness and resources to address the crisis. But Maliseet Tribal Chief Clarissa Sabattis says that progress could be endangered by the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
"We've had directives in the past six months that say we have to take down anything that talks about two-spirited or LGBTQ or diversity, equity," Sabattis said.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department removed from its website key reports and recommendations to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. The New York Times reported a list of hundreds of words and phrases that government agencies are being told to limit or avoid using altogether. Among those words and phrases are “tribal,” “indigenous community,” and “Native American.”
"Diversity, equity and inclusion very much impacts us so, so when we're not able to talk about those things, because we are a population that has impacts that are not equitable or that are disproportionate, you know, it's hard when you can't use that language," Sabattis said.
Under the White House’s pending budget request, more than $1 billion has been cut from Bureau of Indian Affairs, which tracks data of missing and murdered indigenous people and implements programs to address the crisis.
Newell says the brutal murder of Passamaquoddy citizen Kim Neptune three years ago on the Pleasant Point reservation still affects her community.
"It brings trauma. I mean, it really does," Newell said. "You think about the people that live next door, and then her relatives…everybody's connected. And it just brought a lot of fear and a lot of trauma."
At the end of the self-defense workshop, some women get emotional due to traumatic experiences brought up during the scenario practice.
"I didn’t realize what this would bring up for me… I just didn’t know," said Dolores Crofton-Macdonald, crying.
Crofton-Macdonald leads the group in smudging, a traditional indigenous ceremony of burning sage, and singing the strong woman's song, an ode to indigenous strength and resilience.
Newell says Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness will continue self defense classes on all Wabanaki reservations. And Crisis intervention teams are being provided to support tribal communities when violent or traumatic events occur.
