Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is an issue that has been around for a very long time and needs to be put in the spotlight. When doing this study, we can keep in mind these different fracture types and how they may show up on an individual who was in an IPV situation. Also, since almost all of the samples presented in this study fall under the manner of death, “homicides,” and more specifically, under the category “beaten by an assailant,” we can treat these cases as such, in regards to being possible IPV situations. However, I have to mention that seeing these common fracture types does not always mean that they were in an IPV situation, but it can certainly give us a broader search when trying to solve some of these cases in real life.
The main point of this study is to figure out: What is IPV, and how is it identified on the skeleton? Which trauma markers can we group to correlate the individual to an IPV situation? I expect to find that facial fractures, specifically those of the maxilla and zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC), will highly correlate with IPV situations. My reason for expecting that the ZMC fracture will be the most common is because of the expected place that a person might punch another to the cheek, and with enough force, could fracture the zygomatic or the whole complex. In this study, I would also like to display how the frequencies of these IPV skeletal trauma markers differ in Native American populations instead of other ethnicities/ancestral backgrounds and other demographic categories. I expect to see that more Native American women in the age range of 20-30 years old will have a higher frequency of these IPV skeletal trauma markers than males and those of European descent.
Doing studies that focus on Native American/Indigenous Communities may assist in many other aspects of research. By doing studies like this and trying to fill in those gaps of information where Native Americans are poorly represented, we can bring more attention to these issues and hopefully support more studies involving Natives since they seem to be a significant portion of our population. Also, by seeing where these trauma markers most commonly show up, we could put them into our forensic analysis protocols to possibly rule out whether there was an IPV situation taking place. Especially with the issues revolving around violence against Indigenous women today. I perform this study with a goal to attempt to justify some of these common fracture locations and what to look for so that we could potentially do a similar analysis on the women that we do find that have been missing or murdered and attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice. Finding these trauma patterns could help future possible IPV individuals admitted to the hospital with trauma. Therefore, we could potentially be helping not only the deceased, but also the living.
Mentor Name
Randall Skelton
Personal Statement
The “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Men” epidemic is getting more crucial by the minute. In June of 2017, one of my former classmates and relatives went missing from the Blackfeet Reservation, where I grew up. After my relatives’ disappearance going into my Junior year of undergrad, I have never felt so determined to find ways to help her family and any other family that has lost a loved one. I think by choosing a career in a forensics field, I could use my knowledge and expertise to help my reservation and any other surrounding reservations, for that matter. Being trained to recognize a burial site and analyze skeletal remains will be an excellent skill for future employment. I would give those families peace of mind and closure when they most need it by completing these tasks. Where I come from, there are not a lot of Native American people that choose to pursue a degree beyond a Bachelor’s or even an Associate’s. Everyone says they want to help their community but do not do the necessary work. People choose to settle for the higher-paying jobs offered to them, even if it is not what they genuinely want to do or are not exceptionally qualified for it, which eventually leads to corruption. I chose to leave the reservation and get my education in a field I felt would be most beneficial, with a low-paying job and debt struggles, instead of staying on the reservation and settling. I know that I will not find the opportunities to excel on the reservation, career-wise, at this time. By continuing my work in the graduate program, I know that I am making the correct decision to someday bring back my expertise to the reservation. Since I have been in the Forensic Anthropology graduate program, I have had the opportunity to assist in real forensic cases. For my final defense project, I have decided to do my thesis on “Identifying Skeletal Trauma Markers Associated With Intimate Partner Violence.” This project may lead to broader academic impacts, where I strive to collect more Native American and minority samples. Also, for the Health and Justice Systems, a person may take away the results from this study to see these common skeletal fracture markers and identify possible intimate partner violence situations to appropriately help an individual that comes into the ER showing these trauma markers. At this time, I am finishing up my last semester in the Master’s program, and I have applied to the Ph.D. program for next fall. My plan for both of these graduate programs is to find a way to apply my research results to make it valuable to assist MMIWM cases back on the reservations where they need it most. The value of my work should show why I deserve the “Best of GradCon" award because I do not just do this research to fulfill my degree requirements, but because it is what I am most passionate about. My work here at UM is very valuable to me, as it is my way of helping my community and my family back home. The hand that I can lend to those grieving families is far more fulfilling than any graduate degree.
HaleyO.GradConVideo
“Identifying Skeletal Trauma Markers Associated With Intimate Partner Violence”
UC North Ballroom
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is an issue that has been around for a very long time and needs to be put in the spotlight. When doing this study, we can keep in mind these different fracture types and how they may show up on an individual who was in an IPV situation. Also, since almost all of the samples presented in this study fall under the manner of death, “homicides,” and more specifically, under the category “beaten by an assailant,” we can treat these cases as such, in regards to being possible IPV situations. However, I have to mention that seeing these common fracture types does not always mean that they were in an IPV situation, but it can certainly give us a broader search when trying to solve some of these cases in real life.
The main point of this study is to figure out: What is IPV, and how is it identified on the skeleton? Which trauma markers can we group to correlate the individual to an IPV situation? I expect to find that facial fractures, specifically those of the maxilla and zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC), will highly correlate with IPV situations. My reason for expecting that the ZMC fracture will be the most common is because of the expected place that a person might punch another to the cheek, and with enough force, could fracture the zygomatic or the whole complex. In this study, I would also like to display how the frequencies of these IPV skeletal trauma markers differ in Native American populations instead of other ethnicities/ancestral backgrounds and other demographic categories. I expect to see that more Native American women in the age range of 20-30 years old will have a higher frequency of these IPV skeletal trauma markers than males and those of European descent.
Doing studies that focus on Native American/Indigenous Communities may assist in many other aspects of research. By doing studies like this and trying to fill in those gaps of information where Native Americans are poorly represented, we can bring more attention to these issues and hopefully support more studies involving Natives since they seem to be a significant portion of our population. Also, by seeing where these trauma markers most commonly show up, we could put them into our forensic analysis protocols to possibly rule out whether there was an IPV situation taking place. Especially with the issues revolving around violence against Indigenous women today. I perform this study with a goal to attempt to justify some of these common fracture locations and what to look for so that we could potentially do a similar analysis on the women that we do find that have been missing or murdered and attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice. Finding these trauma patterns could help future possible IPV individuals admitted to the hospital with trauma. Therefore, we could potentially be helping not only the deceased, but also the living.