Sunrise Yoga On The Lawn brings awareness to Academy

The P.O.W.E.R. Club, run by AHN students, is hosting an event known as the Sunrise  Yoga On The Lawn. With the money that is raised, all proceeds will go to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Foundation. The tickets for the yoga event will be available to all high school students for $5 each.

Tickets will be sold in the 2nd floor commons, and on Friday, November 4, Monday, November 7, and Tuesday, November 8. Flyers have been posted around the school with information about the event.

Ms. Filocco (AHN Social Studies professor) explained the importance of attending the event, saying, ” This will be our 2nd year hosting this fundraiser, and it supports the Missing and Indigenous Women Organization. It’s a Native American celebration, and it is a nice way for students to relax in nature. All students are allowed to wear orange for free in solidarity with indigenous communities.”

The event is a reminder of the terror and violence indigenous women and girls face. More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska women have experienced violence, and more than 1 in 2 have experienced sexual violence. Alaska Native women still continue to suffer the highest rate of forcible sexual assault and have reported rates of domestic violence up to 10 times higher than in the rest of the United States. Though available data is limited, the number of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and the lack of a diligent and adequate federal response is extremely alarming to indigenous women, tribal governments, and communities. Many indigenous women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average.

This could directly lined up with the 1978 Supreme Court decision on, what is known as “Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe.” The Court stated how tribes would have limited authority to detain and prosecute non-Native Americans for having committed a violent act towards a Native person. The decisions to continue with the case would be left to the federal prosecutors to decide. With this, more than half of the cases are declined by federal attorney. This will only allow for an escalation in these violent crimes in occurring, with more of the indigenous women and girls having to face a society that glances over their safety and needs.

On a more positive note, the Center’s Safe Women, Strong Nations project responded to the increasing violence towards indigenous women and girls by partnering with Native women’s organizations and Indian and Alaska Native nations. The project helps raise awareness to gain strong federal action that will allow for this violence to end. It also provides legal advice for many other Native women organizations in trying to restore tribal criminal authority and so as to preserve tribal civil authority.

Jayda Pinder (’23) also helped explain further how the event will take place, saying, “So the yoga on the lawn event hosted by P.O.W.E.R is an event before school on the front lawn of Bayshore, and it’s at time for students to just come relax and decompress from all the stresses and worries of school for about an hour and just truly find peace. Students should buy tickets because all proceeds will be going to the Missing and Murdered indigenous women organization, whose focus is to bring awareness and support the families of those who have been affected.”

From this data, the conclusion comes to the fact that violence towards these women occurs frequently. With the Sunrise Yoga On The Lawn, the event shows the underlying situation much of the female population for these Indigenous tribes must endure through and how society can still help be a part of the change.