Indianz.Com > News > Indian Country continues push to strengthen Violence Against Women Act
Indian Country continues push to strengthen Violence Against Women Act
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Indianz.Com
Indian Country is making another push to restore tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit violence in their communities, only this time with a more supportive president in the White House.
Tribes and their advocates have been trying to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act in order to hold all offenders — regardless of race — responsible for a wider range of crimes. But the prior Republican administration famously refused to support the effort despite facing pressure to do so.
The landscape has changed dramatically with Democratic President Joe Biden in office. Just last month, he signed an executive order to address high rates of violence in Indian Country, promising to help get VAWA across the finish line so tribes can arrest, prosecute and punish people who engage in crimes like sexual assault, human trafficking and child abuse.
“I’m directing federal officials to work with tribal nations on a strategy to improve public safety and advance justice,” Biden said during the White House Tribal Nations Summit on November 15. “This builds on the work we did together in reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, when we granted authority to try to exercise jurisdiction over non-Indian offenders who commit violence on tribal lands.”
“We’re going to reauthorize that again,” Biden asserted of VAWA. “We’re going to expand the jurisdiction to include other offenses like sex trafficking, sexual assault, and child abuse.”
Historically, support for VAWA has been bipartisan. But during the Donald Trump era, Republicans in large droves abandoned their support for reauthorization, objecting to the pro-tribal provisions and other provisions they say are outside of the scope of the original law. The doubts persist even though Trump is out of office. When H.R.1620 passed the House on March 17, only 29 Republicans voted for it. Just two Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill. The roll call of YEAs included three of the four tribal citizens who serve in the chamber: Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation; Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation; and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. On the other hand, Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-New Mexico), a newcomer to Congress who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, joined almost all of her fellow Republicans in voting against the pro-tribal version of VAWA. The vote on the bill was 244 to 172.🚨 ACTION ALERT🚨Native women can’t wait! More than 4 in 5 Native women exp. violence in their lifetime, often @ the hands of non-Indian perpetrators. Urge your Senator to pass a #VAWA bill to restore Tribal jurisdiction over non-Indian perps. Take action: https://t.co/PAsfp3Y23Q pic.twitter.com/LupM2Y0GlL
— National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (@niwrc) December 3, 2021
PANEL 1
Ms. Allison Randall – Testimony [PDF]
Principal Deputy Director, Office on Violence Against Women
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC Mr. Wizipan Little Elk – Testimony [PDF]
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, DC The Honorable J. Michael Chavarria – Testimony [PDF]
Governor, Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico The Honorable Fawn Sharp – Testimony [PDF]
President, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
Washington, DC The Honorable Stacie Fourstar – Testimony [PDF]
Chief Judge, Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes
Poplar, Montana Ms. Elizabeth A. Reese – Testimony [PDF]
Professor, Stanford Law School
Stanford, California Ms. Michelle Demmert – Testimony [PDF]
Director, Law & Policy Center
Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center
Fairbanks, Alaska
Ms. Allison Randall – Testimony [PDF]
Principal Deputy Director, Office on Violence Against Women
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC Mr. Wizipan Little Elk – Testimony [PDF]
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, DC The Honorable J. Michael Chavarria – Testimony [PDF]
Governor, Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico The Honorable Fawn Sharp – Testimony [PDF]
President, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
Washington, DC The Honorable Stacie Fourstar – Testimony [PDF]
Chief Judge, Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes
Poplar, Montana Ms. Elizabeth A. Reese – Testimony [PDF]
Professor, Stanford Law School
Stanford, California Ms. Michelle Demmert – Testimony [PDF]
Director, Law & Policy Center
Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center
Fairbanks, Alaska
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice
Oversight Hearing “Restoring Justice: Addressing Violence in Native Communities through VAWA Title IX Special Jurisdiction” (December 8, 2021)
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Cronkite News: Gathering addresses ‘epidemic’ among Native people
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
Cronkite News: Long COVID cases remain high in Arizona
Native America Calling: Eyes in the sky for development, public safety, and recreation
Native America Calling: Three new films offer diverse views of Native life
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation works toward cure for arthritis
Native America Calling: Protecting young people from the down sides of social media
Cronkite News: Fake ‘shaman’ among candidates failing to make Congressional ballot
Native America Calling: New Native voices in poetry
Cronkite News: Tribes air concerns about border at hearing in nation’s capital
Native America Calling: Indiginerds descend on Oklahoma City
More Headlines
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
Cronkite News: Long COVID cases remain high in Arizona
Native America Calling: Eyes in the sky for development, public safety, and recreation
Native America Calling: Three new films offer diverse views of Native life
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation works toward cure for arthritis
Native America Calling: Protecting young people from the down sides of social media
Cronkite News: Fake ‘shaman’ among candidates failing to make Congressional ballot
Native America Calling: New Native voices in poetry
Cronkite News: Tribes air concerns about border at hearing in nation’s capital
Native America Calling: Indiginerds descend on Oklahoma City
More Headlines