Indian Law Resource Center - Ending Violence Against Native Womenhttps://indianlaw.org/issue/ending-violence-against-native-women
In the United States, violence against indigenous women has reached unprecedented levels on tribal lands and in Alaska Native villages. More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, and more than 1 in 2 have experienced sexual violence. Alaska Native women 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. On some reservations, indigenous women are murdered at more than ten times the national average.Statistics define the scale of the problem, but do nothing to convey the experience of the epidemic. They tell part of the story, but fail to account for the devastating impacts this violence has on the survivors, Indian families, Native communities, and Indian nations themselves. Native children exposed to violence suffer rates of PTSD three times higher than the rest of the general population. Nevertheless, the statistics make absolutely clear that violence against Native women is a crisis that cannot wait to be addressed.The Center’s Safe Women, Strong Nations project partners with Native women’s organizations and Indian and Alaska Native nations to end violence against Native women and girls. Our project raises awareness to gain strong federal action to end violence against Native women; provides legal advice to national Native women’s organizations and Indian nations on ways to restore tribal criminal authority and to preserve tribal civil authority; and helps Indian nations increase their capacity to prevent violence and punish offenders on their lands. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND DENIAL OF EQUALITY UNDER THE LAWIt is outrageous that the vast majority of these women never see their abusers or rapists brought to justice. An unworkable, race-based criminal jurisdictional scheme created by the United States has limited the ability of Indian nations to protect Native women from violence and to provide them with meaningful remedies. For more than 35 years, United States law has stripped Indian nations of all criminal authority over non-Indians. As a result, until recent changes in the law, Indian nations were unable to prosecute non-Indians, who reportedly commit the vast majority (96%) of sexual violence against Native women. The Census Bureau reports that non-Indians now comprise 76% of the population on tribal lands and 68% of the population in Alaska Native villages. Many Native women have married non-Indians. However, it is unacceptable that a non-Indian who chooses to marry a Native woman, live on her reservation, and commit acts of domestic violence against her, cannot be criminally prosecuted by an Indian nation and more often than not will never be prosecuted by any government.Federal and state officials having authority to protect Native women and girls are failing to do so at alarming rates. By their own account, between 2005 and 2009, U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute 67% of the Indian country matters referred to them involving sexual abuse and related matters. Even grimmer, due to the lack of law enforcement, many of these crimes in Native communities are not even investigated.United States law creates a discriminatory system for administering justice in Native communities−−a system that allows criminals to act with impunity in Indian country, threatens the lives and violates the human rights of Native women and girls daily, and perpetuates an escalating cycle of violence in Native communities. Women who are subjected to violence should not be treated differently and discriminated against just because they are Native and were assaulted on an Indian reservation or in an Alaska Native village!VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTSAll this highlights the United States’ failure not only under its own law, including the trust responsibility to Indian nations, but also its obligations under international human rights law such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Perhaps the most basic human right recognized under international law is the right to be free of violence. Through international advocacy, the Center and its partners not only educate, but also add world pressure on the United States regarding its obligations to end the epidemic of violence against Native women. Toward that end, the Center and its partners have raised awareness about violence against Native women in the United States within the United Nations through its Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2007), Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism (2008), Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (2011), Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2012), and repeatedly through the Human Rights Council and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Center and its partners also have brought regional international attention to violence against Native women within the Organization of American States (OAS). In 2008, on behalf of numerous nonprofit organizations and tribal governments, the Center and Sacred Circle National Resource Center to End Violence Against Native Women submitted an amicus brief in support of Jessica Gonzales Lenahan, who filed the first human rights case involving domestic violence in any international body against the United States. The case, which involved the deliberate failure of local police to enforce a domestic violence protection order, did not arise in Indian country. However, it has major implications for Native women who rarely see their abusers brought to justice. In 2011, the Center and its partners, the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Native Women and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, participated in the first ever thematic hearing on violence against Native women in the United States before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Commission has since expressed concern about violence against indigenous women in the United States, noting that such situations tend to be accompanied by impunity and urging the United States to address this violence through laws, policies, and programs. In 2018, the Center, the Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, and the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center participated in a second thematic hearing on violence against Native women in the United States. The hearing paid particular attention to the urgent situation of Alaska Native women, who are vastly over-represented in the domestic violence population and terribly underserved by state law enforcement, and also to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. REFORMING FEDERAL LAW TO RESTORE SAFETY TO NATIVE WOMENThe Center collaborates with Native women’s organizations and Indian nations to change and improve United States law that unjustly restricts Indian nations from adequately investigating, prosecuting, and punishing these crimes against all perpetrators. The Center supports efforts to strengthen Indian nations in restoring safety to Native women. Our project recognizes that protection of Native women must involve strengthening the ability of Indian nations to effectively police their lands and prosecute and punish criminal offenders.A center piece of our work with partner organizations has concerned the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which expired in 2011. The Indian Law Resource Center, the National Congress for American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Women, Clan Star, Inc., and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center have been working both domestically and internationally to restore safety to native women and to protect their most basic human right, the right to be free of violence. We supported efforts to add provisions to VAWA that would restore tribal criminal authority to address violence against Native women by non-Natives in Indian country. In 2012, the Senate passed such a bill by a strong bipartisan vote, however, the House stripped out protections for the most vulnerable, including Native women. Then, time simply ran out for the 112th Congress, leaving the lives of Native women threatened daily and tribes as the only governments in the United States without authority to protect women from domestic and sexual violence in their communities.The 113th Congress acted quickly, passing a bipartisan VAWA with tribal provisions intact. On March 7, 2013, President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) into law, an historic step forward that reflects not only the United States’ commitment to protect Native women from domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protective orders, but also its restoration and reaffirmation of inherent tribal sovereignty to protect their citizens from violence. Tribal participation in the new jurisdictional provisions is voluntary. VAWA expired in 2018 and is pending reauthorization in the 116th Congress.TRAINING NATIVE COMMUNITIESRestoring tribal criminal authority will only end violence against Native women if Indian nations have the institutional capacity and readiness to exercise such jurisdiction. Many Indian nations are developing the infrastructure for tribal justice systems to provide safety to Native women and girls within their territories, including tribal police departments, codes, and courts. Many have domestic violence codes; training for tribal law enforcement, tribal courts, prosecutors, and probation officers; and various programs for domestic violence offenders.The Safe Women, Strong Nations project contributes to these efforts by providing Indian nations and Native women’s organizations with assistance to build the capacity of Indian nations to investigate, prosecute, and punish those who commit violence against Native women and restore safety to Native women. This includes assisting Native women’s organizations and Indian nations in better understanding criminal jurisdiction in Indian country and implementing provisions in the Tribal Law and Order Act and VAWA 2013. The Center also assists and prepares Native women’s organizations and Indian nations in using international advocacy to end violence against Native women.FOR MORE INFORMATIONFor further information, visit our Safe Women, Strong Nations project at https://indianlaw.org/safewomen.enProtection against violence is a fundamental human righthttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/protection-against-violence-fundamental-human-right
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<p><em><span style="font-size:10px;"><cite>Jessica Lenahan tells her story of domestic violence and how the Castle Rock Police Department in Colorado failed to protect her.</cite></span></em></p><p>In 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a landmark decision in <em>Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) v. U.S.</em>, finding the United States violated its obligations under international human rights law to use diligence and reasonable measures to protect a woman and her children from violence. The case arose from the repeated failure of the Castle Rock Police Department to enforce Ms. Lenahan’s restraining order, resulting in the tragic death of her three children. Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court had dismissed her case against the police department holding that individuals have no constitutional rights to enforce protection orders.</p><p>Though the case neither occurred in Indian country or an Alaska Native village nor involved a tribal protection order, it challenged a U.S. Supreme Court decision and law enforcement practices with major implications for Indian and Alaska Native women. Tribal protection orders often are the primary recourse Native women have against domestic violence perpetrators. These protection orders are only good to the extent they are enforced. Because of these special implications, in 2008, the Indian Law Resource Center, Sacred Circle National Resource Center to End Violence Against Native women, and nineteen other entities filed an amicus brief to inform the Inter-American Commission about the epidemic of violence against Native women in the United States and the devastating effect of the<em> Lenahan</em> decision on Native women.<br /><br />The failure of state law enforcement officials to recognize and enforce tribal protection orders continues to leave Native women and their children extremely vulnerable to violence. Just recently, in July 2014, it was necessary for then Associate Attorney General Tony West to inform the Alaska Attorney General that the State of Alaska is legally obligated under federal law to honor tribal court protection orders <em>regardless </em>of whether those orders have been filed or registered in a state court. </p><p>On October 27, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a thematic hearing to follow up on its recommendations related to the <em>Lenahan</em> case. Among other things, these included opening an investigation into the deaths of Ms. Lenahan’s three daughters; providing Ms. Lenahan with reparations for the violations of her human rights; and commencing an investigation into the pattern and practice of inappropriate law enforcement responses to domestic violence victims; and adopting or reforming laws to protect women from domestic violence. Both the Commission and Ms. Lenahan noted the lack of progress by the U.S. in implementing the recommendations. Ms. Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the causes and consequences, urged the United States to address both the legislative and structural causes that lead to violence against women. Commissioner Tracy Robinson, also the Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, reported that the Commission has a strong interest in the extent that international human rights standards are being integrated into new policies concerning violence against women.</p><p>Help make the first case brought by a domestic violence survivor – Jessica Lenahan – against the U.S. in an international forum count. Please watch and share Jessica’s advocacy video. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvPtMCrl4J4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvPtMCrl4J4</a></p><p>Domestic Violence Awareness Month is ending, but violence against women, especially American Indian and Alaska Native women, is not. </p><p>Learn more about violence against Native women at <a href="http://www.indianlaw.org">www.indianlaw.org</a> and check out “The Inter-American Human Rights System ─ Combating Violence Against Native Women in the United States,” our resource guide on advocacy efforts for indigenous women’s organizations seeking to bring human rights claims to the international arena.</p> Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:17:54 +0000ginny1065 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/protection-against-violence-fundamental-human-right#commentsSheila Harjohttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/sheila-harjo
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<h2><span style="color:#2f4f4f;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Despite the abuse that almost took her life, Harjo now declares, “I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor. I am the First Lady of The Seminole Nation. I’m a councilwoman. I now have the opportunity to share my story and let people know it can happen to anybody. It’s not drunks. It’s not the poor people. It’s not the uneducated. It’s anybody.”</span></span></em></strong></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Harjo is on a mission to protect abused women and their children and to change a culture that has ignored, even accepted, abuse. What she once hid from her closest friends and family members she now shares openly with the hope of helping others.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">She was a divorcee and mother of two when she married a man she had known since she was 12 years old, someone she considered “always sweet, fun loving, smiling” and someone “everybody loved.” Together they had one child.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Less than three months </span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">after they were married, her husband slapped her. “It hurt so bad,” she recalls. “It was one of those white burning fire things. My face was just burning.” In disbelief, she walked from the room. “Looking back now, I know that was my very first mistake, just letting it go, not saying anything to him. It was like it never happened. We just ignored it.”</span></p><p><a href="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/ILRC_13_Harjo_V2.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/ILRC_13_Harjo_V2_0.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 3px 15px; height: 330px; width: 220px;" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">But it wasn’t long until she was assaulted again, and again. “Each time he got mad, each time he abused me, it got a little bit worse.” Yet Harjo says she continued to live in denial, refusing to see herself as an abused wife. “I always gave him an excuse.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">After one vicious beating, she was taken to Carl Albert Indian Hospital in Ada, Oklahoma. “They asked me what happened. I lied. I told them I had a dirt bike wreck. I did not want to believe that he had done this to me.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Before leaving the hospital, Harjo finally acknowledged the truth: “I realized that battered woman that you see on TV is me. That is me. I am a battered woman.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Eventually she took out a restraining order and filed for divorce, actions that prompted her former husband to take his own life.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Harjo credits her friends and family with helping her not blame herself for his suicide. “I know it wasn’t me…that’s something we all have to reach at some point it time. It’s not you. No matter what you do you’re not going change them. They have to change themselves…. I reached that point.”</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Harjo also found support, strength, and hope at her Hitchitee Church, a place filled with joyful memories for her. “I grew up here. I could come here and feel secure. I could feel safe. This is home . . . this is just a building, but to me it’s sacred ground because so much has gone on here in my life.”</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Harjo has been a driving force in helping her tribe establish a domestic violence program and a shelter for abused women and their children. In six years, the shelter has grown from one-and-a-half staff members to 14. The program, beginning with children, seeks to stop the cycle of abuse.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Teaching a small child who hits another child that everything can be made right by saying “I’m sorry” is unacceptable, she says. Her own abuser did that. “No,” she exclaims, “telling me you’re sorry is not all right. Don’t hit.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;">Harjo tells women not to blame themselves for their abuse. “Anything you do does not give him the right to beat you, to hurt you, to abuse you. . . . Help yourself. Help your children. Get out of the situation at the first sign. Don’t be silent. Tell somebody. Leave. Stand up for yourself. That first slap can lead to so much more. Just stop it there.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p> </p><hr /><p><strong><span style="color:#006400;">SHEILA HARJO</span></strong> is a survivor and out-spoken public advocate for victims of domestic abuse. As First Lady of The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Councilwoman, she has helped her tribe establish a shelter for abused women and their children and develop a program to break the cycle of abuse she says is all too common among Native families.</p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong>DOWNLOADS</strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" height="430" width="451"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 150px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong>Video</strong><br /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sc/4gk2hloh8qxs5vm/wSNgKTGjNb ">Download the MP4 file</a><br /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 150px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong><a href="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/Sheila%20Harjo.pdf">Story &amp; Bio</a></strong><br /><span style="font-size:10px;">(2 pgs; 252 KB)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/Sheila%20Harjo.pdf"><img alt="" src="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/SH_text.jpg" height="102" width="72" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 150px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong><a href="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/ILRC_13_Harjo_V2_0.jpg">Poster</a></strong><br /><span style="font-size:10px;">(14.4" x 21.6"; 563 KB)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: top;"><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/ILRC_13_Harjo_V2.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/ILRC_13_Harjo_V2_0.jpg" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; width: 70px; height: 106px;" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 150px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong><a href="http://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/Sheila Facebook banner.jpg">Facebook banner</a></strong><br /><span style="font-size:10px;">(851 x 358 pixels; 140 KB)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="/sites/default/files/images/Sheila Facebook banner.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Sheila Facebook banner.jpg" style="width: 165px; height: 69px;" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> Tue, 15 Oct 2013 18:51:14 +0000lisa1001 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/sheila-harjo#commentsPresident Obama signs VAWA Reauthorization into Lawhttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/president-obama-signs-vawa-reauthorization-law
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<p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">Native women's advocates in the United States are praising lawmakers for passage of an inclusive, bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that will afford protection to all women and victims of violence. The bipartisan bill, S. 47, passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, and now by the House, 286 to 138, includes critical provisions to restore and strengthen tribal authority to protect Native women from violence in Indian country. The hard-fought passage comes over 500 days after VAWA expired and the legislation stalled during the 112<sup>th</sup> Session of Congress.</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;"><img alt="" class="floatright" src="/sites/default/files/images/standardlogos/mooreedited.jpg" style="float: right; width: 275px; height: 199px;" title="Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) speaks in support of S. 47." />“This bill is a major stride forward in fixing longstanding jurisdictional gaps in United States law that threaten the safety and lives of Native women, violate their human rights daily, and allow perpetrators of crimes on tribal lands to evade prosecution,” said Jana Walker, Senior Attorney and Director of the Indian Law Resource Center’s Safe Women, Strong Nations project. “We hope that today’s vote will help end the epidemic levels of violence against Native women in Indian country and lead to justice for all victims, including Native women who are among the most vulnerable in this country.”</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">Once signed into law, the bill will restore concurrent criminal jurisdiction to tribal governments over non-Indians having ties to the tribe and who commit domestic violence and dating violence against Native women in Indian country or violate protection orders. Non-Indian offenders commit the vast majority of violent crimes against Native women. “In many cases, these non-Indian perpetrators make a deliberate choice to live on our reservations, whether in connection with marriage to a tribal member or to avoid accountability for violent crimes committed against Native women,” said Terri Henry, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Councilwoman-Paint Town Community and Co-Chair of the National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Native Women. Current United States law creates a criminal jurisdiction gap for tribal governments over non-Indians, and the federal and state officials with authority to prosecute these crimes are failing to do so at alarmingly high rates. “This bill will strengthen the ability of tribal governments to protect Native women locally from domestic and dating violence,” Henry added.</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">The long overdue reauthorization of VAWA comes at a critical time. “One in three Native women will be raped in her lifetime, and six in ten will be physically assaulted," said Lucy Simpson, Executive Director of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. Simpson added that, “even worse, on some reservations, the murder rate for Native women is ten times the national average.”</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">“Native women have endured violence since colonization, and their blood continues to be shed due to the unjust and unacceptable jurisdictional loopholes in United States law,” said Juana Majel, 1<sup>st</sup> Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and Co-Chair of its Task Force on Violence Against Native Women. “We are pleased that Congress has finally stepped up to address the unchecked violence against Native women by freeing the hands of Indian nations – the most appropriate entities – to protect Native women in their own communities from rapists and batters,” she added.</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">The Indian Law Resource Center, the National Congress for American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Women, Clan Star, Inc., and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center have been working diligently both domestically and in the international arena to restore safety to Native women and to protect their most basic human right, the right to be free of violence.</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;">S. 47, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, now heads to President Obama to be signed into law.</p><p style="margin-left:1.0pt;"> </p><hr /><p><strong>Partner Organizations</strong></p><table style="width: 520px;" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="7"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><em><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/standardlogos/Logo_w_Spanish_2.jpg" height="48" width="328" /><br /><br />About the Indian Law Resource Center</em></p><p>Contact: Jana L. Walker<br />email: <a href="mailto:jwalker@indianlaw.org">jwalker@indianlaw.org</a></p><p>The Indian Law Resource Center is a non-proﬁt law and advocacy organization established and directed by American Indians. The Center is based in Helena, Montana and also has an office in Washington, DC. The Center provides legal assistance to Indian and Alaska Native nations who are working to protect their lands, resources, human rights, environment, and cultural heritage. The Center’s principal goal is the preservation and well-being of Indian and other Native nations and tribes, and its Safe Women, Strong Nations project works to end violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.indianlaw.org">www.indianlaw.org</a>.</p></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><img alt="" src="http://www.childrensdefense.org/assets/images/logos/ncai-logo.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 205px;" /></td><td><p><em>About the National Congress of American Indians</em></p><p>Contact: Thom Wallace<br />(202) 466-7767, email: twallace@NCAI.org</p><p>The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. As the collective voice of tribal governments in the United States, NCAI is dedicated to ending the epidemic of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. In 2003, NCAI created the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women to address and coordinate an organized response to national policy issues regarding violence against Indian women. The NCAI Task Force represents a national alliance of Indian nations and tribal organizations dedicated to the mission of enhancing the safety of American Indian and Alaska Native women.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/standardlogos/clanstar.jpg" height="67" width="282" /><br /><br /><em>About Clan Star, Inc.</em><br />Contact: Terri Henry<br />(828) 497-5507</p><p>Clan Star, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization incorporated under the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in 2001, devoted to improving justice to strengthen the sovereignty of Indigenous women through legal, legislative, and policy initiatives, and, education and awareness. Clan Star provides technical assistance, training, and consultation throughout the United States to Indian tribes and tribal organizations in the development of public policy strategies addressing violence against women.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><img alt="" src="http://www.niwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/NIWRC-Website-Logo-300x112.png" height="86" width="231" /><br /><p><br /><em>About the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center</em></p><p>Contact: Lucy Simpson, Executive Director<br />Email: <a href="mailto:lsimpson@niwrc.org">lsimpson@niwrc.org</a></p><p>The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance, policy development, training, materials, and resource information for Indian and Alaska Native women, Native Hawaiians, and Native non-profit organizations addressing safety for Native women. The NIWRC’s primary mission is to restore safety for Native women. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.niwrc.org">www.niwrc.org</a>.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:02:49 +0000lisa951 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/president-obama-signs-vawa-reauthorization-law#commentsTo the Indigenous Woman...https://indianlaw.org/safewomen/indigenous-woman-video
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<p><span style="font-size: 12px;">Native women are murdered at 10 times the national rate; 1 out 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime, and 3 out of 5 physically assaulted. Even worse, 88% of the perpetrators are non-Indian and cannot be prosecuted by tribal governments. Stand and take action now to restore safety and justice for Native women. <b><i><span style="font-family: &quot;Brush Script MT&quot;;"> </span></i></b><a href="http://www.indianlaw.org/safewomen/take_action"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"><b>Do Something</b><b>!</b><b> </b></span></a></span></p> Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:36:34 +0000lisa920 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/indigenous-woman-video#comments VAWA's Tribal Provisions Better Protect Native Women Locallyhttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/vawas-tribal-provisions-better-protect-native-women-locally
<p>May 14, 2012</p><p>Helena, Mont. -- Dianne Millich, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, already knows better than anyone about the importance of the tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, S. 1925, which was passed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support. She is a survivor of violent domestic abuse that has gone unprosecuted for two reasons: she lives on tribal land and her attacker was a non-Indian. On May 8th, the House Judiciary Committee marked up and passed H.R. 4970, a stripped-down VAWA that excludes a number of key provisions found in the Senate bill, including those bearing on the safety of Native women and communities. During markup, the Committee refused to allow debate or even to consider a substitute amendment offered by Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) similar to S. 1925. </p><p>At the core of the debate is whether the VAWA reauthorization will include tribal provisions to address jurisdictional gaps in federal law--gaps that fail to protect Native women from domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protection orders by non-Indians. </p><p>“All of these types of crimes, some 88% of which are committed by non-Indians, are prevalent on Indian reservations and threaten the lives of Native women daily,” said Jana Walker, senior attorney and director of the Indian Law Resource Center's Safe Women, Strong Nations project. According to the Census Bureau, 77% of the population living on reservations and other Indian lands are now non-Indians. Over 50% of Native women are married to non-Indians. To Millich, legislation, such as S. 1925, would not only protect her, but also thousands like her. Right now, she says the legal system has already shown that violence against her, an American Indian woman, has no legal consequences. </p><p>“I left and returned to my husband more than 20 times.” said Millich. “After a year of abuse and more than 100 incidents of being slapped, kicked, punched, and living in horrific terror I left for good. But the violence didn't stop.”</p><p>Throughout her ordeal, Millich lived with her non-Indian husband on the reservation of her tribe. She called the Southern Ute Tribal Police repeatedly, but, under existing law, the Tribal Police lacked jurisdiction to arrest and prosecute her husband because he was white. She also called the La Plata County deputy sheriff, but they lacked jurisdiction to help because she was Indian and lived on tribal land. </p><p><img alt="" class="floatleft" src="/sites/default/files/images/IMG_2602_0.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 159px; float: left; margin: 10px;" title="Terri Henry, Center board member and Co-chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women, Diane Millich, Executive Director of Our Sister's Keeper, and Cherrah Ridge, Councilwoman for the Muscogee Nation participated in panel discussions on why the Tribal Provisions should be included in the VAWA legislation." />Such crimes typically fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction. This means that Native women and Native nations must rely on federal officials to prosecute these crimes. Accordingly, to the government’s own records, U.S. attorneys decline about 67% of all sexual abuse matters referred to them from Indian country. As a result, non-Indians committing such crimes may act without fear of punishment, allowing a cycle of escalating violence in Native communities. All this explains the epidemic levels of violence on tribal lands: 34% of Native women will be raped, and 39% will suffer domestic or intimate partner violence. Native women are 2½ times more likely than other women in this country to be violently assaulted. “Horrifically, on some reservations, the murder rate for Native women is 10 times the national average. And all this takes place as Native women are denied meaningful access to justice,” said Juana Majel Dixon, 1<sup>st</sup> Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women.</p><p>After filing for divorce, Millich’s husband vandalized her home and then showed up at her on-reservation office with a 9mm hand gun. She survived only because a co-worker pushed her out of the line of fire. That co-worker was shot in the process. Her husband fled and was captured two weeks later in New Mexico on drug and weapons charges. </p><p>“The tribal provisions in S. 1925 would offer badly needed improvements for protecting Native women, including offering Native nations jurisdiction to deal with certain misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence by non-Indians against Native women. Presently, tribal governments are the only governments in America that lack authority to protect their citizens from such crimes. This would increase the ability of tribal governments to exercise some local control aimed at keeping Native women and our communities safe,” added Terri Henry, Co-Chair, NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women, and Councilwoman, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.</p><p>To this day, Millich’s husband has not faced charges of domestic violence. She was left to rebuild her life with no victim compensation. </p><p>“I am a Native woman and my family has lived on our reservation for more than seven generations. The legal system failed me,” said Millich. </p><p>On May 10th, the Congressional Native American Caucus sponsored a bipartisan briefing, "The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and Safety for Indian Women," to highlight the importance of the tribal provisions. (See agenda and testimony below.) The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on its VAWA reauthorization bill soon -- as early as mid week. </p>
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Fri, 11 May 2012 15:23:05 +0000ginny897 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/safewomen/vawas-tribal-provisions-better-protect-native-women-locally#commentsPanel Urges UN to Act on Indigenous Women’s Rightshttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/UNPFII_2019
<p>On April 24, 2019, Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, Indian Law Resource Center, National Congress of American Indians, and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center held a panel discussion at the United Nations in New York, Violence against Indigenous women in the United States: How Indigenous nations and women are leading the movement to end the epidemic of violence in Indian country and Alaska Native villages. This was a side event at the annual session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, one of the United Nations’ bodies specifically tasked with examining matters affecting, indigenous peoples around the world including their human rights.</p><p><img alt="" src="https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/images/Story/1399-UNPFII2019%202.jpg" style="margin: 5px; float: right; width: 400px; height: 300px;" />Terri Henry, a member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, opened the panel with a review of the international human rights framework that protects indigenous women’s rights. “When crimes against indigenous women are not being investigated or prosecuted as zealously as crimes against non-indigenous women, then there are racial equity rights that are implicated.” Calling for law reform to better protect indigenous women, Ms. Henry added that “non-discrimination standards are at the center of the human rights system and also the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes the right of indigenous peoples and individuals to be free from any kind of discrimination.” </p><p>Paula Julian, Senior Policy Specialist for National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, spoke about the need to continue grassroots organizing and law reform work to indigenize federal law to reflect the needs and realities of American Indian and Alaska Native women. She drew attention to the legislative and policy victories Native women and nations have won, including the tribal provisions in VAWA 2013 and the 2009 apology by the United States Congress in which Congress acknowledged “years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies” and explicitly apologized for “many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native peoples by citizens of the United States” throughout U.S. history. While emphasizing the importance of these victories, Paula urged the audience to continue pressing the United States for concrete actions. “As citizens of our countries and of the world, we are responsible for holding our governments accountable,” she said. “Apologies and promises are worthless unless we hold our leaders accountable, and provide direction with solutions rooted in Indigenous voices, languages, teachings and laws."</p><p>Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center’s Executive Director Tami Truett Jerue concluded the discussion by noting how United States laws, even laws benefitting tribes in the lower-48, continue to fail to protect Alaska Native women. She called for jurisdictional changes to allow Alaska Native villages to better protect the women and girls in their territories. “Our mothers are our hearts. Our children are our hearts. We must have the right to safety.”</p><p>Besides educating UN staff and indigenous advocates about these issues, the speakers offered two recommendations to the UN. First, they called on the Permanent Forum to propose an international expert group meeting to study and discuss missing and murdered indigenous women as a complex international phenomenon that needs a multi-faceted response from the UN. “We know that this is not a problem unique to the United States and Canada,” said Chris Foley, staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center. “It is a violation of indigenous women’s human rights that is occurring worldwide and it is very often connected with human trafficking, with issues of femicide and legal impunity, and with colonialism and discriminatory criminal justice systems.” Secondly, panelists urged the UN to adopt new rules to improve the ability of indigenous peoples’ representative institutions, including tribal and village governments, to participate in UN meetings on matters affecting them. “Our governments have the expertise, the resources, and the legitimacy to speak about our needs, but the UN needs to create space for our leaders to advocate directly for us and the UN needs to give our governments a status that respects them as rights-holders and global actors,” said Foley.</p> <span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="/file/4691/download?token=abqaKhpB" type="application/pdf; length=1346191">Download PFII Side Event Program (final).pdf</a> <span class="file-size">(1.28 MB)</span></span> <span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="/file/4692/download?token=dETEnYVN" type="application/pdf; length=86556">Download UNPFII 2019 UN Recommendations (Final).pdf</a> <span class="file-size">(84.53 KB)</span></span> Fri, 10 May 2019 17:33:33 +0000lisa1399 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/UNPFII_2019#commentsIndigenous Communities Seek More Support to Keep Women, Children Safehttps://indianlaw.org/link/indigenous-communities-seek-more-support-keep-women-children-safe
<a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/indigenous-communities-seek-more-support-keep-women-children-safe">https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/indigenous-communities-seek-more-support-ke...</a> Pulitzer Center | BY BROOKE STEPHENSON | March 19, 2019:
Brutal crimes in Kake, Alaska, have brought the national problem of the lack of safety for indigenous women close to home for the people of the small Alaska Native village. In Alaska, the problem is compounded by the seclusion of indigenous communities, jurisdictional complications and a lack of state funds, which leave many communities with ineffective or nonexistent law enforcement.
<a href="https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/kake.jpg"><img src="https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/kake.jpg" width="850" height="510" alt="" /></a> Wed, 20 Mar 2019 16:40:50 +0000lisa1392 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/link/indigenous-communities-seek-more-support-keep-women-children-safe#commentsVAWA Reauthorization Bill With Strengthened Tribal Provisions Advances Out of the Househttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/VAWA_Bill_2019
<p>The Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 2019 (HR 1585) passed the House of Representatives on April 4, 2019 with bipartisan support. The bill now moves for consideration in the U.S. Senate.</p><p>Critically, this new version of the law would not only reaffirm the tribal provisions found in VAWA 2013, but would expand the list of crimes that tribes are able to prosecute to include sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and assault of law enforcement or corrections officers. The draft bill also explicitly recognizes the specific jurisdictional complexities that Alaska Native Villages face due to the fact that the Native land in Alaska is not generally defined as “Indian country” under current federal law, a term used to define the geographic areas where tribes are able to exercise jurisdiction. To begin addressing this issue, the bill would establish a pilot project to allow up to five tribes in Alaska to exercise criminal jurisdiction in the same way that the law allows tribes in the Lower 48. </p><p>For more information about the urgent need for provisions to address the extreme rates of violence against Alaska Native women, please visit the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center at <a href="http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/" target="_blank" title="http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/&#10;Cmd+Click to follow link">http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/</a>.</p><p>The full text of the current bill is available at: <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1585/text">https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1585/text</a>.</p><p> </p> Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:59:03 +0000lisa1391 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/VAWA_Bill_2019#commentsLegislative Update – 116th Congress (2019-2020)https://indianlaw.org/swsn/legislative-update-%E2%80%93-116th-congress-2019-2020
<p>Updated April 8, 2019 | Several bills have been introduced in the Senate thus far this year that could help address the epidemic levels of violence against indigenous women. </p><p>The <strong>Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 2019</strong> (HR 1585) passed the House of Representatives on April 4, 2019 with bipartisan support. The bill now moves for consideration in the U.S. Senate. </p><p>Critically, this new version of the law would not only reaffirm the tribal provisions found in VAWA 2013, but would expand the list of crimes that tribes are able to prosecute to include sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and assault of law enforcement or corrections officers. The draft bill also explicitly recognizes the specific jurisdictional complexities that Alaska Native Villages face due to the fact that the Native land in Alaska is not generally defined as “Indian country” under current federal law, a term used to define the geographic areas where tribes are able to exercise jurisdiction. To begin addressing this issue, the bill would establish a pilot project to allow up to five tribes in Alaska to exercise criminal jurisdiction in the same way that the law allows tribes in the Lower 48. </p><p>For more information about the urgent need for provisions to address the extreme rates of violence against Alaska Native women, please visit the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center at<span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="color:black"> </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/" target="_blank" title="http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/&#10;Cmd+Click to follow link">http://www.aknwrc.org/reauthorization-of-vawa-house-bill-1585-introduced/</a>.</p><p>The full text of the current bill is available at <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1585/text">https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1585/text</a>.</p><p>A bill to reauthorize the <strong>Family Violence Prevention and Services Act</strong>,<strong> </strong>S. 85, was introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on January 10, 2019. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is an important source of funding for tribal domestic violence programs. Funding is used for a broad range of victim support services, including emergency shelter, crisis hotlines, counseling services, victim assistance initiatives. The FVPSA reauthorization process creates important opportunities to improve the federal response to violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. For example, the FVPSA reauthorization could increase dedicated tribal funding in the law and allow tribal coalitions to access funds in the same manner as state coalitions. The reauthorization also could permanently include two important programs--the StrongHearts Native Helpline and the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center—in the continuous funding scheme of FVPSA. The Helpline offers a toll-free telephone helpline to assist Native Americans affected by domestic violence and dating violence, while the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, an Alaska non-profit entity, works to strengthen local, tribal government’s responses through community organizing efforts advocating for the safety of women and children in their communities and homes, especially against domestic and sexual abuse and violence. The bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.</p><p>The <strong>Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment Act </strong>or the <strong>SURVIVE Act</strong>, S. 211, was introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) with ten bipartisan cosponsors on January 24, 2019 and was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. The bill would amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to secure urgent resources vital to Indian victims of crime. The bill would give tribes access to a critical source of funding by make a 5% set aside permanent for tribes from the Crime Victims Fund. On January 29, 2019, the Committee on Indian Affairs ordered the bill to be reported without amendment favorably.</p><p>Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced the Tribal Law and Order Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2019 on January 24, 2019. Section 2 of the bill would include findings that according to the Department of Justice in 2014, 34% of the total Indian country criminal matters submitted for prosecution were declined and that this percentage has not significantly decreased since enactment of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. Additionally, the bill would note that only about 43% of the total need for law enforcement officers working on public safety in Indian country is being met. On January 29, 2019, the Committee on Indian Affairs ordered the bill to be reported without amendment favorably.</p><p>S. 227, <strong>Savanna’s Act</strong>, was introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on January 25, 2019, with 13 bipartisan cosponsors. The bill that would improve information sharing among federal and tribal law enforcement and improve data collection on the missing in Indian country. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.</p><p>The <strong>Native Youth and Tribal Officer and Protection Act</strong>, S. 290, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) on January 31, 2019, would effectively expand the tribal jurisdiction provisions of VAWA 2013 to allow tribes to exercise criminal jurisdiction over an additional set of crimes—acts of violence against children and tribal law enforcement officers. Tribes who have implemented the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction under VAWA 2013 have recognized that the lack of jurisdiction over the crimes that often co-occur with acts of domestic violence has resulted in unnecessary complications. While implementing tribes may be able to prosecute an offender for domestic violence, they are unable to bring charges against the same person for crimes committed against children as part of the same domestic violence incident or for assaults on law enforcement responding to domestic violence calls. </p><p>On January 31, 2019, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the <strong>Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Assault Act</strong>, S. 288. Like the Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act, the Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Assault Act would also expand tribal jurisdiction, although this bill addresses crimes of sexual violence, sex trafficking and stalking.</p><p>The <strong>Studying the Missing and Murdered Indian Crisis Act</strong>, S. 339, was introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) on February 5, 2019, to direct the Comptroller General to submit a report on law enforcement agencies’ response to reports of missing or murdered Indians. The bill was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. According to a press release from Senator Tester’s office, the bill would commission a federal study on the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a full review of how federal agencies respond to reports of missing and murdered Native Americans and recommend solutions based on their findings. Besides improving law enforcement cooperation and information sharing, the bill also would direct the GAO to make recommendations on how best to address social, economic, and other underlying factors fueling this crisis. (<a href="https://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&amp;id=6611">https://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&amp;id=6611</a>). The bill was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.</p><p>The House and Senate approved H.J. Res. 31, the <strong>Consolidated Appropriations Act</strong> on February 14, 2019, which was signed into law by the President on February 15, 2019. The omnibus appropriations bill will fund the federal government though September 30, 2019 and end the longest government shutdown in history. The Act provides funding for seven appropriations bills. Congress rejected funding cuts to Indian Affairs sought by the Administration. The final bill exceeds the FY 2018 enacted levels by $266.4 million for the Indian Health Service and $17.4 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Administration is expected to release a proposed FY 2020 budget the week of March 11. Significantly, the bill does not include any extensions to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Democrats apparently successfully lobbied to keep a clean extension of VAWA out of the appropriations legislation in order to create leverage for negotiating a broader VAWA reauthorization in the coming months. Although VAWA lapsed on February 15, 2019, the tribal provisions in the law, including Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction, remain in effect. We expect a VAWA Reauthorization bill to be introduced early this year.</p> Tue, 26 Feb 2019 16:36:47 +0000lisa1382 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/legislative-update-%E2%80%93-116th-congress-2019-2020#commentsHarassment pervades the Bureau of Indian Affairshttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/harassment-pervades-bureau-indian-affairs
<a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.6/tribal-affairs-harassment-pervades-interiors-bureau-of-indian-affairs">https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.6/tribal-affairs-harassment-pervades-interiors-bur...</a> High Country News | Anna V. Smith | March 13, 2018
One of the oldest agencies in the Department of Interior appears to have some of its worst harassment problems. Photo: Office of Public Affairs - Indian Affairs. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke participate in a discussion with tribal leaders at Department of the Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. <a href="https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/tarasweeneyryanzinke.jpg"><img src="https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/tarasweeneyryanzinke.jpg" width="1280" height="960" alt="" /></a> Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:34:22 +0000lisa1376 at https://indianlaw.orghttps://indianlaw.org/swsn/harassment-pervades-bureau-indian-affairs#comments