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DECEMBER 5, 2000

On Monday, the Department of Justice awarded 82 tribes and tribal organizations in 23 states a total of $6.35 million in funding in order to combat domestic and sexual violence of American Indian and Alaska Native women.

The grants are part of funding appropriated by the Violence Against Women Act, first passed in 1994. In October, President Bill Clinton signed a reinforced version of the law, which includes an increase in the amount of funding available to tribal governments.

In particular, the grants awarded on Monday will help tribes respond to Native American women who have been victimized. They will also help enforcement and prosecution of domestic violence cases.

"Our program is helping tribal and non-tribal police and prosecutors and victim advocates work together within the tribal system to hold offenders accountable and keep victims safe," said Bonnie Campbell, director of the Violence Against Women Office.

Among American Indian and Alaska Native women, the rates of domestic, or intimate partner, violence are high. According to a survey released in July, about 38 percent of Native American women reported being victimized, the highest of any ethnic group.

In the study, 16 percent of Native women reported they had been raped in their lifetime, while some 30 percent reported they had been the victim of assault. About 10 percent reported being the victim of stalking.

Tribes and organizations like the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council have set up programs to address these concerns. The council's grant of $75,471 will help improve collaboration among social services and the tribal justice system of the eight New Mexico Pueblos it represents.

"This grant should strengthen the ability of tribal courts to deal with violence against Indian women," says Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.Mex). Domenici co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act, which was signed into law as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.

Get a List of Tribal Grantees:
Tribes awarded domestic violence grants (The Medicine Wheel 12/5)

Get the Domestic Violence Study:
Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey (The National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice. July 2000)

Get the Law:
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000. (H.R.3244)

Related Stories:
Violence act signed into law (The medicine Wheel 10/30)
Violence against women act renewed (The Medicine Wheel 10/12)
House renews violence act (The Medicine Wheel 09/27)
Clinton wants violence act renewed (The Medicine Wheel 9/26)
Sexual assault of women targeted (The Medicine Wheel 9/25)

Relevant Links:
Stop Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grants - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/grants/indian/descrip.htm
Violence Against Women Office, Department of Justice - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo