OVW Commemorates Native American Heritage Month

OVW honors the resiliency and leadership of American Indian and Alaskan Native victims and survivors by recognizing the dedication and accomplishments of Tribal leaders, advocates, and survivors to prevent and end gender-based violence in their own communities. We also take the opportunity during Native American Heritage Month  to affirm our ongoing commitment to honor Tribal sovereignty and uphold the federal trust responsibility as we work alongside the 574 unique federally recognized Tribes to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and sex trafficking.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the original enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994. Notably, the Tribal Affairs Division (TAD) of OVW was established after the enactment of Title IX of the 2005 reauthorization of VAWA, also known as the Safety for Indian Women Act. Next year, we will commemorate the 20th anniversary of this landmark legislation, which brought transformative provisions for Tribes under VAWA. These included the consolidation of Tribal grant funding through the Tribal Governments Grant Program, the mandate for the Department of Justice to host an annual Tribal consultation on violence against women, and the establishment of TAD within OVW.

I have had the honor to serve as the Deputy Director of TAD since 2017. I’m pleased to share that  division has more than tripled in size. Currently, our team has 14 staff members – many of whom are American Indian or Alaska Native themselves, reside in Tribal communities, and/or have extensive experience working with Tribes and Native peoples. While Tribes and Tribal organizations are eligible to apply for most OVW grant programs, TAD administers four grant programs – as well as a reimbursement program and a Tribal prosecution initiative -- specifically focused on Tribal governments and Tribal organizations. In FY 2024, OVW awarded $86 million in grants administered through TAD, an increase from just under $64 million in fiscal year 2023 and more than double the amount awarded by OVW in fiscal year 2022. To support the administration of funds, we increased the number of staff in TAD to manage the growing number of programs and initiatives to support Tribes and improve our capacity to listen to and learn from Tribal communities.

In my role at OVW, and as a citizen of the Rosebud Sicangu’ Lakota Nation, it was an honor to lead efforts at the Department of Justice to host the Annual Violence Against Women Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation last week. This year’s Tribal Consultation, which included nearly 500 people who participated in person (as well as others who participated virtually), was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the sacred lands of the Pueblo of Pojoaque. These yearly gatherings are a part of our commitment and responsibility to work with Tribal governments, Tribal advocates, and Tribal organizations. While there, we had in-depth conversations with Tribal leaders, and we heard their recommendations for ending gender-based violence in Tribal communities. In particular, we discussed how to make OVW funding more accessible; the need to expand support for Tribes choosing to exercise special Tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators who commit certain “covered” crimes; the lived realities and challenges of survivors trying to access the criminal justice system and effective law enforcement responses in Tribal communities; the barriers facing many Tribal communities in rural areas; and the impact of historical trauma, among many other issues raised by Tribal leaders. We also heard about the importance of honoring Tribal cultures and traditions as protective factors, the promising use of holistic responses that incorporate both a public health and public safety approach, and the importance of supporting the healing and well-being of survivors, family members, and the community.

I extend my deep gratitude to all the Tribal leaders and Tribal community members who made the journey to join us at this year’s Consultation. We were honored to have the participation of leaders and representatives of 196 Tribes. I am humbled and inspired by the distance traveled by so many to engage in dialogue and to share testimonies and Tribal-led recommendations that reflect a deep and enduring commitment to improving access to justice, safety, and healing for Tribal victims and survivors.

Listening to the recommendations of Tribal leaders, advocates, and survivors – as well as supporting Tribal governments, Tribal organizations, and others to advance efforts to end gender-based violence on Tribal lands – are key parts of respecting Tribal sovereignty and implementing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). OVW has long been deeply committed to upholding Tribal sovereignty. With each reauthorization of VAWA, our capacity to support Tribes and American Indian and Native Alaskan communities have steadily grown, strengthening our ability to meet their unique needs.

Since its 2013 reauthorization, VAWA has recognized the inherent authority of participating Tribes to exercise criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit certain crimes on Tribal land. Originally limited to domestic violence-related offenses, this recognition of Tribes’ inherent sovereignty was expanded in the 2022 reauthorization of VAWA to include additional crimes, such as sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking, and assault of Tribal justice personnel, and named special Tribal criminal jurisdiction or STCJ. To support Tribes in implementing this jurisdiction, the Department of Justice created the Intertribal Technical Assistance Working Group on STCJ (ITWG), which provides an opportunity for Tribal collaboration on effectively exercising STCJ. The 2022 reauthorization of VAWA also affirmed the inherent authority of Alaska Native Villages and Tribes in Maine to prosecute and convict both Native and non-Natives who commit covered crimes and established a pilot program for interested Alaska Tribes to pursue Attorney General designation to exercise STCJ. In 2023, the Department of Justice launched the Alaska Pilot Program to assist these Tribes in accessing funding, technical assistance, and other resources necessary for building the criminal justice system infrastructure to exercise criminal jurisdiction in their communities. Additionally, the Department established an Alaska-specific Inter-Tribal Working Group (ITWG), marking a significant milestone with its inaugural meeting in May 2024, followed by a subsequent meeting in October.  As a result, the number of Alaska Tribes who are now participating in  Track One of the Pilot Program grew to 17. The next Alaska ITWG is tentatively planned for April 2025 in Fairbanks, Alaska, to align with the Tanana Chiefs Conference Tribal Courts Conference. Both the National and Alaska ITWGs bring Tribes together to work collectively and mentor each other to enhance safety and justice in Tribal communities with a particular emphasis on effectively implementing STCJ.

In October, I had an opportunity to attend the first planning meeting, which was held in Minnesota, for the newly launched Healing and Response Teams Special Initiative to address the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) at the intersection with gender-based violence. OVW created this initiative in response to recommendations made by the Not Invisible Act Commission, a cross-jurisdictional committee composed of Tribal leaders, law enforcement, federal partners, service providers, survivors, and family members of missing or murdered individuals. The crisis of MMIP requires our increased attention and a sustained commitment to prevent and address these issues. The Not Invisible Act Commission’s work and recommendations are groundbreaking. The Healing and Response Teams Special Initiative is the first of its kind for OVW and the first time that OVW is supporting direct services focused on MMIP. The project will be Native-driven and Native-led, incorporate indigenous models of care, and support the innovative work that Tribal communities have already been doing to support MMIP victims, survivors, and their families.

To further assist Tribes, we supported the launch of the National Tribal Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault (NTCSA) at supportingourcircle.org. This comprehensive resource hub aims to increase access to information and support for issues related to sexual assault in Tribal communities, such as culturally appropriate training and technical assistance.

In addition to funding grant programs and national training and technical assistance, we recognize the importance of collaborating with Tribes to advance research that can help inform promising practices and identify gaps and barriers. DOJ recently renewed the charter for the Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women, also known as the Section 904 Task Force. The Section 904 Task Force’s role is to assist with the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) program of research on violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, murder, and sex trafficking, and to propose recommendations to improve federal, state, Tribal, and local responses to these crimes. Through an open nominations process, seven new members were added to the task force and announced during this year’s Tribal Consultation. We look forward to the recommendations from this expanded Task Force.

Finally, OVW recently established the Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women Tribal Leaders Council (OVW TLC). The OVW TLC will provide a forum for discussion between OVW and Tribal government leaders on implementing intergovernmental responsibilities related to federal programs under the Tribal titles of VAWA and its reauthorizations. The OVW TLC consists of 12 Tribally elected or appointed leaders who will share recommendations and concerns from their Tribe and from other Tribes in their region.

As Native American Heritage Month concludes at the end of November, I ask that you remember and honor throughout the year those in our Tribal communities who are missing or murdered as a result of gender-based violence, as well as those who have survived. I encourage you throughout the year to recognize our resilience and celebrate our cultures and traditions by reading a book by and about Native people, attending an event such as a powwow in a Tribal community or urban Indian center, researching the Tribes who lived (or currently live) on the land where you now live, and acknowledging the Tribe(s) who originally inhabited that land. I ask that you encourage the young people in your lives to do the same. Wopila. (Thank you.)