Tribal court and law enforcement staff in 2013. Photo from Pascua Yaqui Bar Association
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona has so far prosecuted 19 non-Indians for domestic violence crimes on the reservation. Of the 19 cases, 18 involved children in the home, Attorney General Fred Urbina said. But the tribal jurisdiction provisions of the Violence Against Women Act do not extend to those crimes. "Some of them were assaulted," Urbina told Fronteras. "A lot of times it was the children that were calling to report these domestic violence incidents.” The Yaquis were among the first three tribes to comply with the provisions of S.47, the 2013 law that reauthorized VAWA. The law recognizes the "inherent power" of tribes to arrest, prosecute and punish non-Indians for certain domestic violence offenses. Get the Story:
Native Americans Can Prosecute Non-Natives In Tribal Court (Fronteras 3/16)
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