Violence Against Native Women | Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Violence Against Native Women Publications

TLPI is pleased to offer the following publications addressing law and policy issues closely related to violence against Native women. Please visit our Sexual Assault Publications page for related publications. Also, be sure to check out our Tribal Protection Order Resources website for information on protection orders in Indian country.

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization bill (VAWA 2022) as a part of the Omnibus funding bill (H.R. 2471). VAWA 2022 builds on VAWA 2013’s tribal jurisdiction provision (covering domestic violence, dating violence, and protection order violations) by incorporating additional categories of criminal conduct that can be prosecuted by tribes against non-Indians including sexual violence, stalking, sex trafficking, child violence, obstruction of justice, and assaults against tribal justice personnel. VAWA 2022 also creates a pilot program for Indian Tribes in Alaska to exercise Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction within Alaska Native villages; provides formal authorization for the Tribal Access Program (TAP); and reestablishes the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Tribal Prisoner Program first authorized as a pilot in the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act. The tribal provisions of VAWA 2022 are included in Title VIII of Division W of the overall bill. For more information, please check out the Section by Section Summary of VAWA 2022 Tribal Provisions by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Inter-Tribal Working Group Summary of VAWA 2022 Tribal Provisions. This webpage was developed prior to passage of VAWA 2022 and has not yet been updated to reflect the most recent changes. Please be sure to review the amendments to the law before relying on this webpage for guidance. Please note - the enhanced “special tribal criminal jurisdiction” provisions will not take effect until October 01, 2022. The current “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” will apply until then.

Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over Non-Indians:Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2022

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This publication provides general guidance to assist Tribes in making an informed decision concerning the possible exercise of Tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Considerations for exercising criminal jurisdiction over Non-Indians are examined including both the benefits and challenges of exercising criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Information is provided concerning the experiences of the implementing Tribes and the role of the Intertribal Technical-Assistance Working Group (ITWG). Extensive information is provided concerning resources available to Tribes interested in exercising this jurisdiction. This publication is part of a two-part series on enhanced Tribal authority, the other publication will discuss Tribal Law and Order Act enhanced sentencing authority.

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Pocket Guide: Tribal Victim Advocacy in Criminal Cases

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Tribal Legal Code Resource: Victim’s Rights, Condensed Guide for Drafting Tribal Victim’s Rights Codes

Pocket Guide: Tribal Victim Advocacy in Criminal Cases is designed particularly for community-based advocates as a quick reference guide to better assist victims as they navigate the criminal legal process. This Pocket Guide contains things such as a quick review of the general criminal legal process and victim rights with an emphasis on safety planning at every juncture. While this Pocket Guide is designed primarily for community-based advocates, it may be useful for other professionals who work with victims.

The version of the Pocket Guide posted to the web is currently in standard pdf format. The document can be reformatted and printed to be pocket-sized. Here are some suggested printing instructions to print as a tabbed pocket-sized resource. We encourage working with your printer to ensure the resource can be printed to your needed specifications. We also encourage those printing the standard pdf to place in a binder or folder and add tabs for easier navigation.

Tribal Legal Code Resource: Victim’s Rights, Condensed Guide for Drafting Tribal Victim’s Rights Codes is designed to assist tribal governments with the development of victim right’s codes. This resource was written with the belief that tribal governments have the ability to draft victim right’s laws centered on their tribal beliefs that convey compassion for those harmed by crime and the importance of protecting the rights of victims, and to prevent revictimization.

This publication has not yet been updated to reflect the changes VAWA 2022 made to the scope of tribal jurisdiction including recognition of inherent tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who are charged with committing nine “covered crimes” – both the three initial covered crimes in VAWA 2013 (domestic violence, dating violence, and protection order violations) and six additional covered crimes (sexual violence, stalking, sex trafficking, child violence, obstruction of justice, and assaults against tribal justice personnel). For more information concerning VAWA 2022 please visit the VAWA 2022 webpage on the Tribal Court Clearinghouse www.TLPI.org.

Domestic Violence Laws: Guide for Drafting or Revising Victim-Centered Tribal Laws Against Domestic Violence

Tribal Laws: Implementing TLOA Enhanced Sentencing and VAWA Enhanced Jurisdiction

This Guide for Drafting or Revising Tribal Laws Against Domestic Violence includes examples from a variety of tribal codes designed to offer suggestions on how tribal laws can be drafted in a way that provides safety and support for the survivors of domestic violence. (2015)

Tribal Domestic Violence Court-Docket Fact Shee t

Tribal Domestic Violence Court-Docket Fact Sheet is a short fact-sheet that discusses the differences between Tribal Domestic Violence Courts and Tribal Domestic Violence Dockets. (2015)

Responses to the Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence in Indian Country

The Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence in Indian Country looks at the issues specific to Indian country relative to the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment, highlights those practices that seem to be moving toward Native-specific promising practices, and recommends further action be taken in Indian country. (2011)

Sharing Our Stories of Survival: Native Women Surviving Violence

Sharing Our Stories of Survival is a general introduction to the social and legal issues involved in acts of violence against Native women. The stories and case-studies presented here are often painful and raw, and the statistics are overwhelmingly grim; but there is a countervailing theme: Many of the women who appear in these pages are survivors, often strengthened by their travails, and the violence examined here is human violence, meaning it can be changed. This publication also has a companion trainer's manual that can be downloaded for free. (2008)

Emerging Strategies in Tribal-State Collaboration: Barriers and Solutions to Enforcing Tribal Protection Orders Meeting Report

This Implementing TLOA and VAWA resource provides guidance for Native nations interested in implementing enhanced sentencing under the Tribal Law and Order Act and/or the special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction under the 2013 Violence Against Women Act. (Updated 2016)

Tribal Domestic Violence Case Law: Annotations for Selected Tribal Court Cases

Tribal Domestic Violence Case Law was developed to help tribal court officials learn about other Nation nations’ approach to certain legal issues in domestic violence cases. (2011)

Listen to The Grandmothers Incorporating Tradition into Contemporary Responses to Violence Against Native Women

Listen to The Grandmothers Video Guide and Resource features Native elders and provides a historical overview of violence against Native women, traditional responses to such violence and an analysis on incorporating cultural traditions into contemporary responses to violence against Native women. (2008) Click here to access the companion video.

Final Report: Focus Group on Public Law 280 and the Sexual Assault of Native Women

Public Law 280 and the Sexual Assault of Native Women is the final report on a 2007 focus group by the Office on Violence Against Women. The focus group discussed opportunities for tribal-state collaboration on PL 280 jurisdiction issues as they relate to sexual assault in Indian country. (2007)

Tribal Domestic Violence Courts/Dockets:

Guide for Development of a Tribal Victim-Centered Specialized Court or Docket to More Effectively Address Domestic Violence Cases

This Barriers and Solutions to Enforcing Tribal Protection Orders Meeting Report recaps how tribally issued protection orders are a crucial means of providing safety and justice in Indian country, particularly given the extremely high rates of violence against Native women. However, for protection orders to be an effective means of providing safety, cross-jurisdictional enforcement is necessary, which can be a challenge. On December 6, 2017, the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, in collaboration with BJA, hosted a day-long meeting to explore the barriers and highlight promising strategies around the enforcement of tribal protection orders. This report details those discussions and summarizes the successful efforts. (2019)

Tribal Domestic Violence Courts and Tribal Domestic Violence Dockets - Guide for Development of a Tribal Victim-Centered Specialized Court or Docket to More Effectively Address Domestic Violence Cases. Tribal Domestic Violence Courts are specialized courts comprised of judges, court staff and a multi-disciplinary core case team highly trained in the power and control dynamics of domestic violence and focused on victim safety and batterer accountability. Domestic Violence Dockets are specialized docket days with judges and court personnel trained in dynamics of domestic violence and enhanced security measures. This unique resource was drafted to guide Native nations through a series of exercises resulting in a tribal domestic violence court or docket specifically designed by the tribe to address the domestic violence issues in a particular tribal community. (2019)

Drafting an Enforceable Tribal Protection Order Against a Member-Indian Defendant
Information Guide and Checklist

Drafting an Enforceable Tribal Protection Order Involving

a Non-member

Information Guide and Checklist

This Information Guide and Checklist suggests topics for advocates to discuss with victims in preparing to file a tribal protection order. This resource is particularly focused on drafting a tribal protection order in cases involving Tribal members. The checklist is not jurisdiction specific, so advocates should consult local rules, statutes and procedures in applicable jurisdictions and consult with legal counsel. The information provided is not legal advice. (2019)

non-members. The checklist is not jurisdiction specific, so advocates should consult local rules, statutes and procedures in applicable jurisdictions and consult with legal counsel. The information provided is not legal advice. (2019)

Co-Authored Publications:

Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction:
Pilot Project Report

The Reauthorization of Violence Against Women in 2013 created the Pilot Project, which comprised of five tribes the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tulalip Tribes of Washington, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck, and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation in North Dakota. These tribes exercised the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction, which restored their partial power to criminally prosecute non-Indians for domestic violence offenses. The Pilot Project Report provides a brief account of the activities during the Pilot Project period from February 2014 – March 2015 and shares recommendations for next steps. (2016)

Special Domestic Violence: Criminal Jurisdiction:
Five-Year Report

This report summarizes the results of the first five years of tribal government-expanded criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians under the tribal provisions of the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA 2013). (2018)

Victim Services: Promising Practices in Indian Country

Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA

Victim Services in Indian Country highlights promising practices for assisting victims of violence and abuse in twelve Indian Country locations throughout the United States. Each description includes the program’s keys to success, relevant demographic data, and a contact for further information. (2004)

The Maze of Injustice is a groundbreaking report from Amnesty International that focuses on sexual violence against AI/AN women. Sexual violence is committed against AI/AN women at alarming rates and is compounded by federal erosion of tribal authority. This report covers international human rights law, issues of jurisdiction, policing, forensic exams, barriers to prosecution and support services. TLPI assisted with the development of this report. (2007)

Amnesty International has since released updated reports including the One Year Update to Maze of Injustice in Spring 2008. In May of 2022, Amnesty International released The Never-ending maze: Continued failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA. Since Amnesty International first reported on this issue in 2007, rates of violence against Indigenous women have not significantly changed, and the U.S. government continues to fail to adequately prevent and respond to such violence.