Charon Asetoyer facts for kids

Charon Virginia Asetoyer (born March 24, 1951) is a Comanche activist who works to improve health care for women. An activist is someone who works hard to bring about political or social change. Asetoyer is a founder of the Native American Community Board (NACB) and the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC).

Because of her important work, U.S. President Bill Clinton chose her to be on a national health council. She has also won awards for her leadership, including the Woman of Vision award from the Ms. Foundation and an award from the United Nations.

Early Life and Education

Charon Asetoyer was born on March 24, 1951, in San Jose, California. Her mother was Comanche, and her father was of European descent. Even in high school, she showed a talent for leadership. She organized a sit-in protest in her school cafeteria to demand better food and a hot-lunch program. Her protest was successful, and the school improved its lunch service.

Asetoyer was also interested in fashion. As a teenager, she started her own business making and selling dresses from her home. She left high school to focus on her growing business. She later said she learned more from real-world experiences than she would have in school. She moved to San Francisco and ran her own dress shop until 1971. That year, she closed her shop to attend San Francisco City College.

In San Francisco, she became more involved in activism. She also got a job as a counselor for the WIC program, which helps women and children get healthy food. This was her first job that combined her interests in activism and women's health. After an unhappy marriage, she decided to move from California in 1977.

Asetoyer moved to South Dakota and enrolled at the University of South Dakota. She graduated in 1981 with a degree in criminal justice. In the same year, she married Clarence Rockboy, a member of the Yankton Sioux tribe. They moved to Vermont, where Asetoyer earned a master's degree in Management and Intercultural Administration in 1983.

In 1983, following Yankton Sioux tradition, the family returned to South Dakota after the death of Clarence's father. This move marked the beginning of Asetoyer's major career as an activist.

A Career in Activism

Fighting for Native Women's Rights

Asetoyer was inspired by the American Indian Movement (AIM), a group that protested for the rights of Native Americans. In the 1970s, she learned about a serious problem. The U.S. government's Indian Health Service was performing medical procedures on Native American women that prevented them from having children. This was often done without the women's permission or full understanding. It was estimated that about 25% of Native women between 15 and 44 years old were affected.

In 1978, Asetoyer joined with over 300 other women to form a new group called Women of All Red Nations (WARN). They wanted to give Native women more independence and control over their own health care. Asetoyer led a part of WARN that focused on women's health issues on the reservation.

Creating the Native American Community Board

Asetoyer had strong ideas about how to help her community. In 1985, she left WARN to start her own organization. With her husband and a few others, she founded the Native American Community Board (NACB). They started the group in the basement of their home in Lake Andes, South Dakota.

The NACB's mission was to help Native people on the reservation with any problems they faced. Their first project focused on educating young mothers about how to have healthy babies. As they worked, they discovered many other issues in the community that needed attention.

Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center

Asetoyer dreamed of a special place where Native American women could get information and help with their health. In 1988, she made that dream come true by creating the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC). She became its executive director.

NAWHERC focused on many important issues, including family safety and women's health. By the end of its first year, the center had already started a support program for women in unsafe home situations. It also provided information on health topics like AIDS, becoming the first organization in South Dakota to do so.

Today, NAWHERC is the main center for the NACB's work. It offers many services, including health screenings for diseases like breast cancer, nutrition programs, and child care. The center continues to focus on helping women leave unsafe family situations. It provides safe shelters and support groups where women can share their stories and get help.

NAWHERC's work has led to important changes in government policy. These changes have improved how doctors get permission for medical procedures and ensure patients are told about their test results.

Later Work and Achievements

Asetoyer continues to be a powerful voice for women's rights. She travels the world to speak at conferences, including meetings at the United Nations. She has also advised U.S. presidents. President Clinton appointed her to a national health council, and she has served on a committee for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In the 2000s, she ran for mayor of Lake Andes and for the state senate, but was not elected. She also fought against unfair voting practices. In 2004, she challenged a polling place that was wrongly telling Native Americans they needed a photo ID to vote. Many Natives on the Yankton Sioux reservation did not have photo IDs. Thanks to her efforts, the state's Secretary of State, Chris Nelson, agreed that the rule was wrong and worked to educate poll workers.

Asetoyer also works to protect a woman's right to make her own decisions about her health and family planning. In 2003, she published a book titled Indigenous Women's Health Book within the Sacred Circle. The book was the first of its kind to focus on the health of Native women.

Charon Asetoyer has received many awards for her work. She has spent more than forty years fighting for the rights and health of Native American women. She believes there is still much more work to be done.

Writings

NAWHERC

• Indigenous Women's Health Book within the Sacred Circle: Reproductive Rights, Environmental Health, Traditional Herbs and Remedies (2003)

Journal articles and book chapters

• "Domestic Violence in an International Context" (2000)
• "The Indigenous Women's Network: Our Future, Our Responsibility" (1994)
• "Reproductive Rights: A Critical Issue for Native American Women" (1993)
• "AIDS: A Special Report" (1988)