Tribal Women

April 28, 2007

"Maze of Injustice – The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA"

Native American and Alaska Native women in the United States suffer disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual violence, yet the federal government has created substantial barriers to accessing justice, according to Amnesty International's 2007 Report. Maze of Injustice

This report is based on research carried out during 2005 and 2006 in consultation with Native American and Alaska Native organizations and individuals. The research is drawn from interviews with survivors of sexual violence and their families, activists, support workers, service providers and health workers. A number of women spoke on condition that their anonymity was guaranteed. Some have asked that certain details not be made public. In order to respect their wishes, details of names and locations on file with Amnesty International have been withheld. Amnesty International also interviewed officials across the USA, including tribal, state and federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors, as well as tribal judges.

Carol Pollack has been a researcher at Amnesty International since 2005, where she carries out original research on human rights violations in the United States. She is a co -author of Amnesty International’s report, Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA and, in conducting research for this report, undertook research missions to Alaska, Oklahoma and the Standing Rock Reservation. Prior to joining Amnesty International, Ms. Pollack was an Associate in the human rights division of the Ford Foundation, where she monitored and shaped international grant portfolios for international justice; economic, social and cultural rights; and human rights in the United States. She also served as a law clerk at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, based in San Jose, Costa Rica. Ms. Pollack received her Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law in 2001 and is a member of the New York State Bar.

Cindy Pennington is from the Sugpiaq Nation of Kodiak Island, Alaska and has worked for over twenty years in both profit and non-profit Alaska Native organizations which promote opportunities for Alaska Native people as well as cultural preservation programs and projects. In 1996, Ms. Pennington was the first Alaska Native woman accepted into the Anchorage Police Department Academy and was instrumental in the formation and coordination of the Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee to address violence against Alaska Native women in the Anchorage area.

Juskwa Burnett is 1st Nations Canadian Cree. Currently a counselor for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in Oklahoma, she specializes in domestic violence, family violence and children who witness abuse. She was also program manager for victim services with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

U.S. Authorities Fail to Protect Native American and Alaska Native Women From Shocking Rates of Rape, Reports Amnesty International Federal Government's Jurisdictional Maze and Chronic Under-Funding of Law Enforcement and Indian Health Services Mean Justice Denied for Native Women

(Washington, D.C.) -- Native American and Alaska Native women in the United States suffer disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual violence, yet the federal government has created substantial barriers to accessing justice, Amnesty International (AI) asserted in a 113-page report released today. Justice Department figures indicate that American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the United States in general; more than one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes. The United States government has created a complex maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions that often allows perpetrators to rape with impunity -- and in some cases effectively creates jurisdictional vacuums that encourage assaults. It is necessary to establish the location of the crime and the identity of the perpetrator to determine which authorities have jurisdiction, during which critical time is lost. This leads to inadequate investigations or a failure to respond. Further complications are the lack of trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities to provide forensic exams, and the potential for law enforcement to mishandle evidence when rape kits are used.The result is that Native women often:

• Do not get timely - or any - response from police.
• May not get forensic medical examinations.
• May never see their cases prosecuted.

"Native women are brutalized at an alarming rate, and the United States government, a purported champion of women's rights, is unfortunately contributing to the problem," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "It is disgraceful that such abuse even exists today. Without immediate action, an already abysmal and outrageous situation for women could spiral even further out of control. It is time to halt these human rights abuses that have raged unfettered since this country was founded."

The AI report, Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA, warned that government figures, as disturbing as they are, grossly underestimate the problem because many women are too fearful of inaction to report their cases. According to one Oklahoma support worker, of 77 active sexual assault/domestic violence cases involving Native American women, only three victims reported their cases to the police. The U.S. Government has undermined the authority of tribal justice systems to respond to crimes of sexual violence by consistent under-funding. Federal law limits the criminal sentences that tribal courts can impose for any one offense to one year and prohibits tribal courts from trying non-Indian suspects -- even though data collected by the Department of Justice shows that up to 86 percent of perpetrators are non-Indian.

In addition, AI's research suggests that there is a failure at the state and federal level to pursue cases of sexual violence against Native women involving non-Indian perpetrators. One former federal prosecutor told AI, "It is hard to prosecute cases where there is a Native American victim and a non-Native American perpetrator." Once a case is denied at the state or federal level, there is no further recourse for survivors of rape under criminal law. "When elders say, 'too many of our women and children have been raped,' we know that we must come together to overcome the darkness and end the silence. What we don't acknowledge, we carry with us," said Denise Morris, executive director and CEO of the Alaska Native Justice Center and a speaker at the report launch.

"The United States government has a legal and moral responsibility to provide resources to Native organizations so they can begin to develop solutions and promote healing and wellness at the community level." The report focuses primarily on three regions that pose distinct jurisdictional challenges: Oklahoma, Alaska and Standing Rock Sioux Reservation (North/South Dakota). The report finds that regardless of the location or legal framework, the outcome is the same: many Native women who have experienced sexual violence are denied justice.

Oklahoma - As tribal lands in Oklahoma are non-contiguous and intersected by state land, it can take weeks and even months to establish whether tribal, state and/or federal authorities have jurisdiction over a particular crime.

• AI learned of two Native American women who reportedly were gang-raped by three non-Native men in Oklahoma; however, because the women were forced to wear blindfolds, support workers were concerned that the women would be unable to say whether the rapes took place on federal, state or tribal land and that, because of jurisdictional complexities in Oklahoma, the women may never see justice served.
• According to one service provider: "When an emergency call comes in, [the] sheriff will say, 'but this is Indian land.' Tribal police will show up and say the reverse. Then they just bicker and don't do the job . . . which means no rape kit, etc."

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation - The Reservation covers 2.3 million acres in North and South Dakota and is patrolled by Standing Rock Police Department (SRPD). As of February 2006, the under-resourced department consisted of six or seven patrol officers and two investigators.

• There have been times when only one officer was on duty for the entire Reservation. Women often have to wait hours or even days before receiving a response from SRPD, if they receive one at all. Many survivors reported that they had experienced sexual violence several times in their lives at the hands of different perpetrators.
• Some survivors have to travel more than an hour to get to the IHS hospital in Fort Yates, where they may discover that no one on staff can conduct a sexual assault forensic exam. Staff may send women to a medical facility in Bismarck, 80 miles away -- those that make this journey may then face lengthy delays and leave without an exam. If a woman has to go to a non-IHS facility, she may initially be charged for the service. These factors can be a serious barrier to reporting the crime and undergoing a forensic examination.

Alaska - Due to a complex set of laws, state, rather than federal, agencies provide law enforcement. The state has sought to restrict tribes from exercising criminal jurisdiction while at the same time failing to provide adequate law enforcement.

• Alaska ranks number one for rapes in the United States, according to FBI statistics. Alaska Native women also experience high levels of sexual violence in both rural and urban areas. According to one study, between 2000 and 2003, Alaska Native people in Anchorage were 9.7 times more likely to experience sexual assault than others living in the city. Meanwhile, at least one-third of Alaska Native villages that are not accessible by road have no law enforcement presence at all. Alaska Native women may have to pay for an expensive trip to reach a hospital or clinic for a sexual assault forensic examination.
• In one case, an Alaska Native man became violent, beating his wife with a shotgun and barricading himself in a house with four children. As the village had no law enforcement, residents called the State Troopers, located 150 miles away, to report the violence. Troopers had to charter a plane to get to the village; in the four-plus hours it took them to reach the village, the man had raped a 13-year-old Alaska Native girl on a bed with an infant crying beside her and her five-year-old brother and seven-year-old cousin watching. In many cases, response to Alaska village crimes can take days. In addition to increasing levels of training, AI urged federal, state and local authorities to take other concrete steps to decrease sexual violence and increase services for Indigenous women who are raped:
• The U.S. Congress should fully fund and implement the Violence Against Women Act -- and in particular Tribal Title (Title IX), the first-ever effort within VAWA to fight violence against Native American and Alaska Native women. This includes a national baseline study on sexual violence against Native women, a study on the incidence of injury from sexual violence against Native women and a Tribal Registry to track sex offenders and orders of protection.
• The U.S. Congress should increase funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS) and IHS contract facilities. Such monies should be used to increase the number of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners so that survivors may receive timely forensic medical examinations, at no charge, following sexual assault. Furthermore, the IHS should ensure that appropriate protocols are in place for the treatment of survivors of sexual violence.
• The federal government must provide the necessary funding for police forces in Indian Country and Alaska Native villages, with particular attention paid to improving coverage in rural areas and the funding and resources to enable tribal authorities to develop and maintain tribal courts.
• Federal and state governments should consult and cooperate with tribal nations, and Native women in particular, to institute effective plans of action to stop sexual violence against Native women. AI will continue to campaign in partnership with Native American and Alaska Native women in the USA to address the critical human rights abuses documented in this report. This report is part of AI's global Stop Violence Against Women campaign.

For international press inquiries, please contact Josefina Salomon at 011-44-207-413-5562.

March 9, 2006

Abortion Ban in South Dakota Draws Native Opposition, and Indigenous Peoples' Demands for UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights Continue into 11th Year

Native Women Unite in South Dakota to Fight Abortion Ban

Native American women are organizing at the grass-roots level to protest the bill that was recently signed by Governor Rounds of South Dakota that would ban virtually all abortions in the state. We find out how the abortion ban impacts Native women and communities and hear about efforts to combat it.

Charon Asetoyer, founder and executive director of the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center, a grass-roots women's health institute on the Yankton reservation in South Dakota.

February 2, 2006

Confronting Myths: From the Legend of Pocahontas to the Discourse on Palestine

Louisiana's Coastal Tribes Appeal For Help

In southern Louisiana, leaders of four coastal Native American tribes, the Bayou Lafourche, Grand Caillou/Dulac, Isle de Jean Charles Bands of the Biloxi-Chitimacha and the Pointe au Chien Indian tribes are issuing a call for help again. The tribes were all left reeling in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and still need relief assistance. Randy Verdun, Chief of the Bayou Lafourche Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha tribe said, "It's a call to action, a call that we hope is heard. Help us preserve our distinct cultures and traditions. Without help, they will surely be lost." We speak with: Patty Ferguson, Tribal Attorney for the Pointe au Chien Indian Tribe.
Full Press Release
For more info, to make a donation or provide grant information to the affected tribes contact:

• Patty Ferguson - Tribal Attorney, Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe 480-425-2637 Ferguson@SacksTierney.com
• Marlene Foret - Chairwoman, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha (985) 594-6593 mmforet@mobiletel.com
• Albert Naquin - Chief, Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha (985) 232-1286 whitebuffaloa@netscape.net
• Charles Verdin - Chairman, Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (985) 856-5336 pacit@cowscorner.com
• Randy Verdun – Chief, Bayou Lafourche Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha (225) 485-8765 bccmi@aol.com
• Naomi Archer - Coordinator, Four Directions Relief Project (828) 230.1404 fourdirections@riseup.net
• Or Visit the Four Directions Solidarity Network

Confronting Stereotypes in "The New World", Shattering the Myth of Pocahontas

Nearly two weeks ago, the film "The New World" opened in theaters around the country. The film attempts to retell the mythical story of Pocahontas and John Smith as a passionate love story, with the settlement of the Jamestown colony taking place in the backdrop. Few reviews have criticized the film for perpetuating racist and sexist stereotypes, suggesting these ideas are so enmeshed in American culture that they are overlooked without protest.

Camilla Townsend, Associate Professor of History at Colgate University. She specializes in Native American and Latin American history. She is the author of several books, including "Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma" and "Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico."

Free Speech or Racist Propaganda?: Multi-Faith Coalition Mobilizes to Respond to Anti-Palestinian Ad

In a recent issue of The Nation magazine, a full-page ad by the organization called Facts and Logic About the Middle East, or FLAME, claims to confront myths about Palestine. The ad says the nationhood of Palestine is a myth. The group's ad has outraged many people, including the group WESPAC. We speak with some representatives.

September 1, 2005

Fundraiser: Pro-Choice Movement in Mexico partnering with Zapatistas

September 1st, 2005 at 8pm
Carlito's Cafe 1701 Lexington Avenue, between 106 and 107
El Barrio of East Harlem

"Aborto Sin Pena" ("Abortion Without Shame/Abortion Without Penalty") is almost complete! Fundraiser tonight to complete the project. Clips from the film to be screened, special surprise raffle and DJ Alex Rivera spins. Help support this unprecedented political event! Sliding scale suggested donation, $5 - $10, no one turned away.

August 9, 2005

July 15, 2005 Show

The struggle to end the racist practice of using Indian mascots is looked at with the history of the word "Redskins." What are the origins and how has the word been used?
Beverly Jacobs is the President of the Native Women's Association in Canada, and tells us about the gendered and racialized forms of violence and oppression Native women experience in Canada.

May 5, 2005

Congress: Make the streets safe for Indian women too!

April 28, 2005, Indian Country Today, Suzan Shown Harjo
The streets of Indian country aren't safe for American Indian and Alaska Native women. Nearly 90 percent of the perpetrators of violent crimes against Native women are non-Indians - 60 percent are white men - and Native nations can't touch them.

Congress created this haven for non-Indian criminals on reservations and it's up to Congress to fix it. The 109th Congress has a chance to do that very thing this year, when it considers reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.

VAWA 2005 is being drafted now to address the deplorable situation of women in America, where physical abuse is a feature of one-quarter of all marriages and where one-third of women who are treated in emergency rooms are victims of domestic violence.

While Native women also sustain injuries in abusive relationships, most of the men who assault Native women are strangers or acquaintances (80 percent) rather than intimate partners or family members (20 percent), according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report, ''American Indians and Crime (1992 - 2002),'' issued in December 2004.

This statistical profile and a raft of other studies, including the 2000 National Violence Against Women Survey, report that:

• American Indian and Alaska Native women are more than twice as likely to be victims of violent crime as other women in America.
• American Indian and Alaska Native women suffer sexual assaults at a rate of more than three times that of women of other races.
• More than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped during her lifetime.
• The rate of violent crime experienced by American Indian women is nearly 50 percent higher than that reported by black males, the second highest gender/race category victimized by violent crime.

Most violent crimes are committed intra-racially, as with white-on-white crime. This is not the pattern in Indian country, where 88 percent of the perpetrators of violent crime against Indians are non-Indians.

Why can't Indian governments punish these violent non-Indians and why should Congress step in? It's a long, complex history, but the short answer is that the federal government made this jurisdictional mess and should take every opportunity to clean it up.

Over a century ago in the name of ''Indian civilization,'' the federal government criminalized tribal traditions and took control of the reservations. When the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over Indian murders of Indians, Congress enacted the Major Crimes Act, authorizing federal jurisdiction over murder and other serious offenses involving Indian people.

Congress expanded federal jurisdiction, effectively restricting tribal authorities, under the Assimilative Crimes Act and myriad gaming, environmental, repatriation, arts and other laws. Tribal jurisdiction and remedies were limited under the federal tribal termination policy. Starting in the 1940s, Congress gave selected states certain criminal and civil authorities over Indian offenses. In the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act, Congress restricted the sentencing authority of tribal courts to a one-year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. The Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that Indian tribes cannot prosecute non-Indians in criminal matters.

That brings us to the present situation, where Native nations cannot punish non-Indians who harm Indian women in Indian territory, or can only give them a slap on the wrist. There are many reasons why the federal and state governments aren't doing a better job at bringing these bad men to justice. Basically, it comes down to geography and connectedness. The federal and state agents don't live where the crimes are being committed and the victims aren't their neighbors.

Only the reinstatement of tribal jurisdiction and remedies has a chance of reversing the epidemic levels of violence against Native women. In VAWA 2005, Congress can address the jurisdictional void that prevents Indian tribes from prosecuting non-Indians perpetrating these crimes. VAWA was signed into law in 1994 and reauthorized in 2000. VAWA 2000 mandates that protection orders from one tribe or state be afforded full faith and credit in outside jurisdictions. It also clarifies that Indian tribes have full civil jurisdiction to enforce protection orders, including authority to enforce any orders through civil contempt proceedings, the exclusion of violators from Indian lands and other ''appropriate mechanisms.''

Some states do not comply with the federal mandate and exhibit hostility toward affording full faith and credit to protection orders issued by tribal courts. Alaska's executive branch has challenged a state judge's decision allowing enforcement of a banishment order issued by the Native village of Perryville. The Minnesota Supreme Court in 2003 rejected a proposed statewide court rule for the consistent enforcement of all tribal court orders.

Advocates are working with legislators and staffers on the reauthorization of VAWA, which is set to expire this September. Advocates in Indian country would do well to work (and work fast) with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the judiciary committees to develop a bill that could stand alone or be folded into VAWA 2005.

A meaningful VAWA provision for Indian country would restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in the area of violent crime against women. Proponents should be prepared for the inevitable discussion about review of tribal court decisions and opt-in/opt-out mechanisms.

At the very least, Congress should provide necessary funding to study full faith and credit implementation problems, in particular with regard to tribal domestic violence protection orders, and should withhold certain federal monies (unrelated to domestic violence prevention and response) from states that refuse to comply with VAWA's full faith and credit mandate.

VAWA's effect in Indian country would be strengthened by provisions ensuring tribal law enforcement officers' access to national databases that track criminal history; a national database of tribal protection orders and tribal adult sex offenders to track serial offenders who travel between different Indian nations; an increase in funding for tribal governments and programs providing infrastructure and services to survivors of rape, stalking and domestic and dating violence; and a tribal division within the Office on Violence Against Women to act as the liaison to tribal governments on issues unique to Indian nations and Indian women.

Congress can continue with the same jurisdictional system that devalues Native women and handicaps Native nations, or it can fill the jurisdictional void with something that might just work. If Congress fails to act, the reservation streets will remain safe for violent non-Indians - and the Indian women and their children and grandchildren will suffer. How is that good for anyone but the bad people?

Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today.