Violence against Indigenous people is built into the very foundation of this country. To this day, Indigenous women experience some of the highest rates of sexual assault. While there is no single factor that is responsible, we can look at history and acknowledge the impact violent, colonial forces has had on Indigenous communities that have spent centuries surviving an oppressive dominant culture. Language portraying native communities as “savages”, in addition to the sexualized and mascot portrayal of Indigenous bodies, created the stereotypes still used today as a reason to dismiss the sexual assault claims of Indigenous people. For Indigenous survivors, denim isn’t always denim; it can be the culture clash between native communities and the society built on their exploitation.
For more information about Indigenous survivors, check out this resource: https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2012-03/Publications_NSVRC_Booklets_Sexual-Assault-in-Indian-Country_Confronting-Sexual-Violence.pdf