Gathering on sex abuse against children unleashes personal memories

ALEX DeMARBAN

January 17, 2008 at 8:41AM AKST

The state's first conference on Alaska Native child sexual abuse was organized in part to get people talking about the problem.

It worked.

The unprecedented and emotional two-day conference in Anchorage last week, attended by about 300 people, saw more than one person recall the time they were raped.

The public revelations triggered flashbacks in some participants who took refuge in a psychologist-manned "safe room" outside the main conference hall to decompress, said Mona Evan with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute in Alaska, which organized the conference at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel.

"It was used in the first hour," Evan said.

Sexual abuse of Alaska Native children is a continuing crisis for several reasons, including not enough resources and the shame that keeps many victims quiet, said Diane Payne, director of the institute's Alaska office, a national organization that strives to improve life for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

A lack of confidence in the state's justice system is another factor. Many believe their abusers will never be prosecuted, so they don't report attacks, Payne said.

"We knew we needed a dialogue, not just for Native people but for the people they rely on," she said. "We hope it will empower Native people to support and advocate for children using the system in a way they haven't felt strong enough and knowledgeable enough to do."

Speakers included police, tribal judges, children advocates and others who described the depth of the problem and shared ideas such as how to intervene and how to support children.

A cornerstone of the conference – the first statewide gathering of its kind – was a 40-minute video called Pathway to Hope, she said. It featured dozens of Alaska Natives discussing the problem, including elders who encouraged others to break longstanding taboos and talk about it, Payne said.

Mary Ahkivgak, a tribal court judge who appears in the video, said the two days inspired her to return home to Barrow to make a difference.

"It challenges us to go strong in sexual abuse," said Ahkivgak, 75.

Ahkivgak wishes she had discussed it with her daughter who was 8 or 9 years old when she was raped. For many years, Ahkivgak didn't know it happened, she told the audience.

"I was ignorant about it," she said. "She opened up to me after her first marriage had broken. It was devastating to me as a mother."

"If something is happening (with your children) bring it out. Don't keep anything bad in here," she said, patting her chest.

Alex DeMarban can be reached at (907) 348-2444 or (800) 770-9830, ext. 444.