Lakota black belt to teach self-defense

Lakota Black Belt Is Crowd Sourcing to Fund Arming Sisters, a Self-Defense Initiative Across Turtle IslandYoung Lakota woman Patricia (Patti) Stein is a self-described “veterinary nurse, artist, taekwondo junkie, nomad” and strong advocate for her people.

Two years ago, she decided to move to Egypt, where she began working with Tahrir Bodyguard, a civilian group that organized to keep protesters in Tahrir Square safer from sexual harassment, assault, rape and political attacks.

Through her experiences with Tahrir Bodyguard, Stein, who holds a black belt in Hapkido, realized she had the training and ability to help her sisters on Turtle Island by similarly teaching them potentially life-saving self-defense skills. “Here in the U.S. and Canada, Native females are targeted with sexual violence at a far greater percentage than the rest of the population,” Stein said in a video about the mission of her nonprofit Arming Sisters. “One in three Native American women will be raped in her lifetime,” she stressed.

Arming Sisters is Stein’s crowd-funded initiative that intends to empower Native women to fight back against sexual predators and abuse. Stein’s goal is to visit the 10 most populated reservations in the U.S. and 10 indigenous territories in Canada between July 1 and September 15. “Every stop in our travels will consist of a six hour compact women's self defense course given twice at each location,” Stein explains on the IndieGoGo campaign to raise funding for transportation, accommodations and operational costs. “Awareness, mentality, and sharing stories of strength will cover the first two hours, followed by four hours of application. Every woman will be able to walk away knowing ten simple moves that could save her life.”Comment:  For more on violence against women, see A Red Girl's Reasoning and VAWA Passes Over Conservative Objections.

Below:  "Patricia Stein, a Lakota woman raised in 'small town North Dakota' who now lives in Egypt, has taught self-defense courses along the U.S. East Coast and in Cairo. She is campaigning for funds to return to the U.S. to visit 20 reservations and Native communities in 2.5 months to equip more Native women with the sklils to protect themselves from sexual and physical assaults."