Gender, Race, Sovereignty, and Self-Defense: The Yvonne Wanrow Case and its Legacy
Department: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Date and Time: May 3, 2018 | 5:00 PM-6:30 PMEvent Location: UCI School of Law, Room EDU 1111
Event Details
Date: May 3, 2018
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: UCI School of Law, Room EDU 1111
Please join us for a conversation with Yvonne Swan (formerly Wanrow). Swan (Sinixt Arrow Lakes/Colville) was charged with murder by the State of Washington in 1972 for shooting a white man who broke into her friend’s home. The man had previously attacked her son and sexually assaulted her friend’s seven-year-old daughter. Her case became a rallying point for indigenous and feminist activists in the 1970s to highlight intersections of colonialism and gender violence as well as racism and sexism in the U.S. criminal justice system. Although Swan’s assailant was not an intimate partner, her case resulted in a landmark decision related to arguments of self-defense for survivors of domestic violence. For more than four decades, Swan has continuously worked for the self-determination of indigenous peoples. She is currently Vice President of the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee board.
This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP: tinyurl.com/yvonnewanrow
Supported by: the Initiative to End Family Violence; Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies; Illuminations: the Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative; Center in Law, Society, & Culture; Native American Studies program; and the Department of Criminology, Law & Society.
For more information, or to request reasonable accommodations for a disability, please contact ethuma@uci.edu.