Juana Majel-Dixon, the first vice president of National Congress of American Indians, discusses S.47, a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act:
JUANA MAJEL DIXON: Oh, my gosh, being in that room listening to her. I’ve known Diane for a few years now and, hearing her story the first time, knew that we had to make a difference. And the women across this country, as allies, the National Task Force, as—and our tribal women, we knew every breath, every step we made, was to make sure that we could effect change to protect our Native women who chose to be in a relationship with non-Native relative—non-Native spouses and protect them from the violence that we did not know was happening on such a scale until we began to listen and hear. And we realized we had to change the law so that they could be protected with just protection orders and the right for our tribal police to come in and remove them and to alleviate the harm and the pain that was being caused. The impact, you could hear it in the room, but it felt—it was palatable. The heart—the rhythm of the heart was so strong of the women in this nation, that when we breathed out, the lulus that you sound when you’re excited, and you praise creator’s will that this has been done in a good way.Get the Story:
New Violence Against Women Act Includes Historic Protections for Native American and LGBT Survivors (Democracy Now 3/8) Relevant Links:
Video of Signing Ceremony | Transcript of Remarks by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
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