(Helena, Montana) - According to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, the U.S. Congress should make legislation protecting Native women an “immediate priority.” Following a month long tour to hear from indigenous peoples and tribal Nations within the United States, the Special Rapporteur presented his report in September on the situation of indigenous peoples in the United States to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report recommended that the United States immediately address violence against women through legislation. The report pointed to the fact that Native women in the United States are suffering horrendous rates of domestic and sexual violence—violence considered one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the United States. Legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reform advocated by indigenous peoples and proposed by the executive to extend protections for Native women against violence remains stalled in Congress and tribal organizations are calling for this international human rights crisis to be addressed immediately.
The Indian Law Resource Center, the National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Women, Clan Star, Inc., National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and other Native women’s organizations have turned to the international human rights community for help. In response, independent international experts and human rights bodies have repeatedly called on the United States to take action to combat the epidemic levels of violence against Native women right here at home—levels now on a par with and even exceeding estimates of violence against women globally. With VAWA stalled by partisanship and politics and with little time remaining, Congress must act immediately to bring long overdue justice to Native women in the United States.
“One of the most basic human rights recognized under international law is the right to be free of violence. While many in the United States take this right for granted, Native women do not,” said Jana Walker, senior attorney and director of the Indian Law Resource Center’s Safe Women, Strong Nations project.
Indian women are 2 ½ times more likely to be assaulted and more than twice as likely to be stalked than other women in this country. Today, one in three Native women will be raped in her lifetime, and six in ten will be physically assaulted. Even worse, on some reservations, the murder rate for Native women is ten times the national average. Some 88% of these types of crimes are committed by non-Indians over which tribal governments lack any criminal jurisdiction under U.S. law and, according to the Census Bureau, 77% of the population residing on Indian lands and reservations is non-Indian.
“This leaves Indian nations, which have sovereignty over their territories and people, as the only governments in America without jurisdiction and the local control needed to combat such violence in their communities,” added Terri Henry, Co-Chair, National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Women, Councilwoman, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Board member for the Indian Law Resource Center. While federal authorities have exclusive jurisdiction over most of these crimes, U.S. attorneys, often located hundreds of miles from a reservation, are declining to prosecute 67% of sexual abuse matters referred to them from Indian country.
Criminals act with impunity in Indian country and Alaska Native villages, threaten the lives of Native women daily, and perpetuate an escalating cycle of violence in Native communities. “Young women on the reservation live their lives in anticipation of being raped,” said Juana Majel Dixon, 1st Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women. “They talk about ‘how will I survive my rape’ as opposed to not even thinking about it. We shouldn’t have to live our lives that way. Congress can act now and NCAI is calling on members of the House and Senate to not let this crisis continue for one more day.”
Experts within both the United Nations and the Organization of American States have examined violence against Native women in the United States and issued recommendations, yet the United States has done nothing. UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, concluded in her report to the UN General Assembly in New York in 2011 that the United States “consider restoring . . . tribal authority to enforce tribal law over all perpetrators, both Native and non-Native, who commit acts of sexual and domestic violence within their jurisdiction.” In October 2011, after a thematic hearing, Violence Against Native Women in the United States, the OAS’ Inter-American Human Rights Commission expressed strong concern about violence against women in Honduras, Nicaragua, Columbia, and indigenous women in the United States, urging these countries to address such violence through laws, policies, and programs in collaboration with the women affected.
The United States’ position to get tough on violence against women globally and international human rights law calls out for Congress to remove the legal barriers in United States law that discriminate against Native women. “Native women should not be protected less just because they are Indian and are assaulted on an American Indian reservation or in an Alaska Native village,” said Walker. “The epidemic of violence against Native women is a human rights crisis that Indian country has long been aware of and now the world is taking notice and supporting justice for Native women in the United States,” added Henry.
Congress should too.
Immediate action is needed to pass a better VAWA that protects Native women and all women in the United States from violence. Help us get the attention of lawmakers who must act now. Visit www.indianlaw.org to sign our petition for a stronger VAWA.
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About the Indian Law Resource Center
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. We provide legal assistance without charge to Indian and Alaska Native nations who are working to protect their lands, resources, human rights, environment and cultural heritage. Our principal goal is the preservation and well-being of Indian and other Native nations and tribes. For more information, please visit us online at www.indianlaw.org.
About the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
Contact: Katy Tyndell, Attorney
(202) 466-7767, email: Katy_Tyndell@ncai.org
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.
About Clan Star, Inc.
Contact: Terri Henry
(828) 497-5507
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. For more information, visit www.clanstar.org.
