Four tee shirts moved back and forth in the gentle breeze. Their messages of hurt and anguish were printed on their surfaces with ink, which seeped deeply into the fabric.
But there were other words as well – words of hope and healing, of sacrifice and renewal, were also exhibited, overcoming the words of so much pain.  The gentle breeze carried those words into the wind, taking them to the air above, to be taken away and dispersed to beyond.
Those shirts were on display at the “Take Back the Night” event on Thursday, April 21, at the Lunda Park Shelter, provided by the girls from Bolton Refuge sexual assault group. They represented their thoughts and feelings about their ordeal directly afterward and how they felt about the ordeal moving forward.
It was an event to raise awareness and demand the right to move freely about their homes and the communities without the fear of sexual violence.
The Ho-Chunk Nation Domestic Abuse Division, in collaboration with the Bolton Refuge and the Jackson County Outreach program, coordinated the event.
The event began with an opening drum and prayer, with a meal that followed. Several members of the groups spoke about their role in the prevention and healing of domestic abuse, along with a reading of statistics of sexual abuse by Domestic Abuse Survivor Advocate Rebecca Triggs of Ho-Chunk Nation Social Services.
Members of a biker group, “Bikers Against Child Abuse,” attended, with a member of the group speaking before the audience and explaining their role in preventing childhood sexual abuse and raising money for the cause.
Officers of law enforcement also spoke about their roles, including Black River Falls Police Chief Scot Eisenhauer.
A walk was planned from the shelter to the Jackson County Courthouse, but inclement weather prevented the walk.
 “The whole reason in planning our event ‘Taking Back the Community’ is to get awareness out to the community about Sexual Assault and how common it is,” said Ariana Youngthunder, Domestic Abuse Division Coordinator with Ho-Chunk Nation Social Services. “Also to let people know about our Division, Domestic Abuse - that we are here to help whether it be domestic abuse or sexual assault situations. We appreciate all those in support of us and our Division’s purpose.”
“We decided to do the ‘Take Back the Night’ event for several reasons,” said Ho-Chunk Nation Social Services Domestic Abuse Division Director Samantha North. “Obviously, the main reason was to get the maximum exposure – so people can see us taking action and standing up and speaking out.
“But also, ‘Take Back the Night’ events have been going on for decades,” North said. “They started out on college campuses where the stranger rapes were happening at night and the events were for survivors to speak out and it was mostly women. But as times change, so does the movement to end sexual assault. We’ve realized that it happens to people of all ages, all sexes, it happens by strangers and acquaintances and close family members and it happens in other places than college campuses, obviously, and during the day.”
Throughout the years there’s been a change of what they’re raising awareness for and what they’re realizing and learning along the way is that it affects everyone, whether it’s daytime or nighttime, she said.
“In today’s day and age, I thought it would be a good idea to bring back the ‘Take Back the Night’ event for the whole entire community and raise awareness that way,” North said. “Hopefully, and even though it doesn’t just happen at night and it’s not just strangers. Hopefully we did send the message that sexual assault is preventable, it is not to be tolerated, and we need to talk about it to start the effort to eliminate it.”  
“The reason for great events, as “Take Back the Night”, are to bring people together and show our community how these issues play such a large role in all our lives,” Triggs said.
“It is important for all of us to come together and show our support for one another and address these issues as a whole. The more awareness we bring to our communities the bigger impact we can make in people’s lives and to show our support to the victims,” Triggs said. We need to show victims that they are not alone and we are here to help them. We are so thankful for all the support that everyone has shown our Division and we have such high hopes for the future.”