Fronteras: Hopi Tribe shining a spotlight on domestic violence

The Hopi Nation in Northern Arizona is in the middle of what advocates call a domestic violence epidemic. But after years of secrecy, victims are starting to come forward.

One domestic violence survivor, a mother whose name can’t be used to protect her safety, suffered for years before she reported her husband to local authorities. He slapped her once before they were married. Then he started calling her names. And as his drinking got worse, so did his outbursts.

“While I was pregnant, he poked me real hard in my stomach. I had given, I guess, myself to him. So it took me a while to stop,” the woman said. She finally reported him to police after he threw a DVD player at her. She hid and made sure her kids were safe. They waited half an hour before reservation police arrived. “By then he had already kind of calmed down,” she said.

Her experience is typical of a domestic violence case on the reservation. It can take tribal police up to an hour to respond to a call because they’re low on staff and homes are far apart. Even when they arrive, there’s no shelter to take victims to on the tribe’s land. The closest one is an hour an a half away, and it’s usually full.