MT Reps. Push To Protect Indigenous Women

The House of Representatives, in a vote of 263-158, passed an extension of the Violence Against Women Act on April 4, providing protections for survivors of domestic violence. Provisions in the Act center around the crisis surrounding missing and murdered indigenous women.

One provision, drafted by Senator Jon Tester, Studying the Missing and Murdered Indian Crisis Act, directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full review of how federal agencies respond to reports of missing and murdered Native Americans. Based on findings, solutions would then be recommended.

“Indigenous women are more likely to experience violence in their lifetimes. This bill builds on the progress of the Violence Against Women Act by expanding protections for Native women and giving Tribes more resources to combat the MMIW crisis, and I’m urging Leader McConnell to bring it up for a vote in the Senate so we can put it on the President’s desk as soon as possible,” stated Tester in a release.

Senator Daines tells the Courier he supports the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and is working with the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan reauthorization that can pass the Senate, House and then be signed by the President.

Another provision in the Violence Against Women Act includes extending tribal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and assault against a Native person by non-Natives. It would also require the Attorney General to work with Tribes to create a standardized reporting protocol for responding to cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and improves Tribal access to federal crime information databases.

The Violence Against Women Act will now head to the Senate for voting and if passed would be placed on President Trump’s desk for signing to become a law.

In addition to the provisions in the Violence Against Women Act, Montana legislators are introducing and drafting more Acts in order to face the crisis head-on. Tester, along with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have also introduced bipartisan legislation to help Tribes, law enforcement and the federal government collaborate to combat the MMIW crisis. The Not Invisible Act, introduced on April 3, would create an advisory committee on violent crimes against Native people composed of multiple federal agencies, Tribal leaders, survivors, support service providers, and state, local and tribal law enforcement organizations.

Senator Daines and Senator Tester have also reintroduced Savanna’s Act in order to improve information sharing between tribal and federal law enforcement agencies and increase data collection on missing persons in Indian Country. “The murder rate of native women are 10 times the national average,” Daines stated during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., on April 10. During the hearing, he also discussed how the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis needs immediate attention and lawmakers need to raise awareness and bring justice to these cases.