But that's not the end of their problems at the hands of the white man. A report released today by Amnesty International (AI) says that 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.
Below is an excerpt from a press release about this new report, along with links to the full press release, the full report, and an action you can take online to address the problem.
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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.
See the full press release.
Read the full report, which includes AI's recommendations to address the problem.
Send an e-mail or a letter to Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, asking him to support full funding of the Violence Against Women Act and in particular the appropriation of $2.5 million for the Tribal Title, which seeks to improve safety and justice for American Indian and Alaska Native women.
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