Good morning, and thank you Katie Sullivan for that kind
introduction. We are so fortunate to
have Katie at DOJ; she is a talented and tenacious public servant who is making
a real difference in the lives of women across the nation. She is supported by an incredible team at the
Office on Violence Against Women, and we are thankful for their service, as
well. Thanks to Ron Parsons, our U.S.
Attorney here in South Dakota, for his leadership and for the warm welcome he
and his office provided yesterday. The
District of South Dakota is proud of and grateful for its relationship with
tribal governments and their joint efforts to keep their communities safe. And,
looking beyond DOJ, the fight to stop violence against women is supported by
two critical federal partners who are in attendance today: the Department of
Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior. We appreciate their work and their presence
here.
We are honored and grateful to be here with you for this
government-to-government consultation.
Please allow me to extend warm greetings to the many leaders of tribal
nations, public safety officials, victim advocates, and all of those in
attendance who share a dedication to stopping violence against women in our
communities. We know that many of you
traveled great distances, and cleared very busy schedules, to be here
today. The Department of Justice
appreciates your commitment to addressing violence against women in your tribal
nations.
Thank you to Vice-President Black and the Great Plains
Tribal Chairman’s Association for hosting our 13th Annual
Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation.
Thank you to Ms. Roxanne Sazue for providing the blessing
over our proceedings; to Mr. Randy Bernard for leading the posting of our
colors; to Mr. Allen Hare and “Rising Hail” for the honoring of song and drum;
and to Ms. Carmen O’Leary and the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains
for conducting the beautiful and touching Shawl Ceremony.
***
We gather together for this consultation to address a
terrible crisis. Domestic violence and sexual assault are crimes that affect
every community, but, tragically, Native women face higher rates of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and domestic violence homicide than almost any other
group. A 2016 National Institute for
Justice study concluded that more than half of all Native women have
experienced sexual violence and physical violence by an intimate partner. All too often, these instances of violence
are part of an escalating cycle, culminating in alarming homicide rates for
Native women.
Many in attendance today are wearing red to commemorate,
honor, and raise awareness about missing and murdered Native women. Their voices have been silenced, but their
memory should serve as a call to action. These women deserve to be honored and
remembered, but they also deserve more: they deserve action.
The Department of Justice is resolute in its commitment to
helping ameliorate this crisis. We do so
in two principal ways. First, our
prosecutors are working every day to bring domestic violence offenders to
justice. Second, through our grant
programs, we are helping victims with a full range of services and support. Let me say a little more about both efforts.
Prosecution
Effective, widespread, and timely prosecutions are critical
to stopping domestic violence. Early
intervention that interrupts or deters a pattern of escalating violence is the
key to avoiding future, and sometimes deadly, violence. We know from prior consultations that tribal
leaders are focused on the need for robust prosecutions. The Department of Justice has heard your
concerns, and Attorney General Sessions and many others at the Department have
made it a priority to reduce violent crime and to address challenging
public-safety issues such as the trafficking of Native American girls. Moreover, the Department has prosecuted an
increasing number of habitual offenders in Indian country under a federal
statute enacted in 2005, which focuses on domestic assaults by offenders with
at least two prior convictions for any domestic assault in a federal, state, or
tribal court.
One of the primary challenges in this area is ensuring that
we have enough prosecutors to hold perpetrators accountable. To that end, the Department’s Office on
Violence Against Women is funding Tribal Special United States Attorneys (known
as Tribal SAUSAs). These prosecutors are
able to bring cases in both tribal and federal courts, and their addition to
our law enforcement community is meant to help ensure that cases do not fall
through the cracks. Every single woman
who has been a victim of domestic or sexual violence deserves to have her
assailant brought to justice.
In OVW’s pilot project, Tribal SAUSAs reported a wide range
of successes, including: prosecution of cases that otherwise would not have
been brought; increased trust and better relationships among tribal law
enforcement, victim services, victims, and the participating United States
Attorney’s Office; and greater accountability for
violence-against-women-related crimes in Indian country. Tribal SAUSAs have also been able to serve as
advocates for their tribe’s perspectives and needs, which helps the tribe have
more input into successful prosecutions.
One example of the pilot project’s success occurred in the
District of New Mexico, where the Tribal SAUSA brought federal charges against
an assailant who had two prior tribal convictions for domestic violence. The defendant was sentenced to forty months
in federal prison under the aforementioned federal statute specifically
addressing habitual domestic violence offenders in Indian country.
Building on successes like these is critical to our efforts
to stop domestic violence against Native women, and that’s why I am so pleased to
announce that OVW is re-launching the Tribal SAUSA Project with improvements
based on feedback from Tribes and U.S. Attorneys. OVW plans to use a fellowship model to help
attract qualified attorneys who will make a three-year commitment to prosecute
crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in
both tribal and federal courts. Sex
trafficking cases that involve one of these four crimes also may be prosecuted
by the Tribal SAUSA under the grant.
Special training for the Tribal SAUSA’s will be provided through the
National Advocacy Center’s National Indian Country Training Initiative.
In addition to the Tribal SAUSA relaunch, the Department is
also expanding the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information
in fiscal year 2018. TAP provides
federally-recognized tribes access to national crime information databases for
both civil and criminal purposes. By the
end of fiscal year 2018, 47 tribes will be in the program, which also provides
training to support tribal government needs.
The Department is currently soliciting tribes that are interested in
participating in the fiscal year 2019 TAP deployment. Tribes may apply through October 1, 2018, and
will be notified shortly thereafter if they are selected to participate.
Victim Services
As I mentioned, effective law enforcement is one important
tool in addressing violence against Native women. The other tool is victim services. We have heard from you about the dire need
for these services. Providing funding to
address that need is a primary focus of OVW.
For example, OVW’s Tribal Governments Program enhances the
ability of tribes to respond to violent crimes against Indian women, improve
victim safety, and develop education and prevention strategies. By the end of September, OVW will award
approximately $55 million to Tribes and tribal nonprofit organizations to
respond to the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence,
stalking, and sex trafficking in Indian Country. These funds will be awarded by September 30
through Violence Against Women Act programs that are specific to tribes,
including Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence
Criminal Jurisdiction.
At the 2017 consultation and at prior consultations, many
tribal leaders testified about the importance of having funds set aside for
tribes under the Victims of Crime Act.
In March 2018, the President signed the Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act into law.
This act created a 3% tribal set-aside from the $4.4 billion available
through the Crime Victims Fund receipts, and directed the Department to use the
funding from the set aside to make awards to Indian tribes to improve services
for victims of crime. By September 30,
2018, the Department anticipates making up to $110 million in grant awards to
eligible tribes, tribal consortia, and tribal designees under the Tribal
Set-Aside Program to support a wide-range of services for victims of
crime.
President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2019 goes even
further. It proposes a 5% tribal
assistance set-aside in the Crime Victims Fund.
This is just one of many ways that this Administration is addressing the
needs of tribal communities.
These funds are making a difference. For example, in some tribal communities, law
enforcement may be hours or days away.
Reaching the hospital might require using a boat or plane. There may be no safe shelter available, or no
services that respond with cultural sensitivity to Native American
victims. The Suquamish Tribe reported
that OVW funds “have been used to help with transportation barriers, childcare
struggles, basic needs such as food, clothing and toiletries and, more
importantly, hope for over 30 new clients over the past six months.” The tribe has said, “we are incredibly
grateful for the support this funding provides and are excited about what the
future holds for our program.”
Alaska Tribal Needs
In addition to funding prosecution and victim services
across all Tribes, the Department is also focused on responding to
Tribe-specific needs and concerns. Tribal leaders from Alaska made a number of
recommendations at the 2017 consultation designed to address the extraordinary
barriers they face in providing services for victims and adequate law
enforcement responses to domestic and sexual violence. These challenges include
the absence of law enforcement in remote Native villages, the lack of
village-based shelter and advocacy services, and limited or no access to sexual
assault forensic exams.
OVW has taken a number of steps to enhance the capacity of
Alaska tribes to respond to domestic and sexual violence in their
communities. With funding from OVW, the
Southwest Center for Law and Policy opened an office in Anchorage to increase
access to sexual assault medical forensic exams in Alaska Native communities,
as well as to provide them with resources available through the National Indian
Country Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault.
At past tribal consultations, many tribal leaders have
testified that the disappearance and deaths of American Indian and Alaska
Native women are not taken seriously enough, and that increased awareness and a
stronger law enforcement response are critical to saving Native women’s
lives. The Department requested
testimony from tribal leaders on how to evaluate the scope and nature of human
trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives and what kinds of training
and technical assistance are needed to respond effectively.
The Department supports raising awareness of these issues
and addressing the underlying reasons that Native women and children go
missing, including strengthening law enforcement and community-based responses
to domestic violence and sex trafficking.
In particular, OVW funds training and technical assistance on identifying
trafficking cases and ensuring that victims receive needed services. OVW solicited proposals in fiscal year 2018
to provide basic and advanced training for tribal service providers and
justice-system personnel on sex trafficking, including its intersection with
the problem of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and
youth.
The Department’s National Institute of Justice remains
committed to funding research and evaluation in this area and is seeking
perspectives on human trafficking in American Indian and Alaska Native
communities from respondents as part of its National Baseline Study.
***
Our purpose at this consultation is to hear from you, so
with that let me close. On behalf of the
Department of Justice, it is my sincere honor to share with you some of the
recent successes we’ve achieved together, and to request your input on
priorities that should guide our work in the coming year. Let us recommit ourselves to using every available
tool we can to address the devastating rates of violence against women in
Indian country. Thank you for working in
partnership with us as we enhance the safety of American Indian and Alaska
Native women. I look forward to hearing
from you during today’s consultation.
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