Shocking stories of violence against Indigenous women are a crisis we can stop

Unmasking the Tragic Epidemic of Violence Against Indigenous Women

The community mourns and holds vigils for the deceased, but the police often struggle to solve the problem. As high-ranking senators in states with large Indigenous communities (Nevada and Alaska), we frequently hear these heart-wrenching stories. We are determined to do all we can to put an end to violence against Native American women and Alaskan Indigenous women.

Consider Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, 22, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, who was murdered in 2017 while eight months pregnant. Her body was later found floating in a nearby lake, while her healthy baby was discovered alive in a neighbor's house.

In 1993, 20-year-old Sophie Serge from Pitcas Point, Alaska, flew to Fairbanks for a dental appointment and never returned. Unfortunately, she was sexually assaulted, murdered, and left in a bathtub on campus. Her murder remains unsolved, despite a suspect recently being arrested.

Thousands of families in Reno, Nevada, to Nome, Alaska, have felt the impact of this violence. A 2012 Justice Department report states that in some reservations, indigenous women are ten times more likely to be murdered than the national average. However, no one knows exactly how many indigenous women and girls go missing every year, with missing data being a significant part of the problem.

These stories are not being adequately reported. While stories like LaFontaine-Greywind's and Sage's make headlines, the crisis goes largely unnoticed without solid statistics.

There are also legal hurdles, including the complicated jurisdiction over tribal lands, which further muddies the waters and allows some investigators to shirk difficult cases.

These complex tribal, state, territorial, and federal jurisdictional issues need to be addressed. Additionally, the long-term abuse and discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples play a role in this crisis. Decades of underinvestment in Indigenous communities result in fewer resources for crime prevention and investigation. Indigenous communities can only prosecute crimes committed by non-Indigenous individuals under specific circumstances, even though non-Indigenous individuals are statistically more likely to commit violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Photos of missing Indigenous women.

These factors make it difficult to prevent and respond to violence against Native American women and Alaskan Indigenous women. But it should not deter us from trying. According to a 2016 Justice Department report, 84% of Native American women and 81% of Native American men have experienced some level of violence in their lives, and one out of every three Native American women has experienced sexual violence at some point. This is unacceptably alarming.

We have worked hard to change this. Last year, we worked together bipartisanly to pass the Non-Stealth Act and the Savannah Act, named after Savannah LaFontaine-Greywind. These bills, backed by both parties, ensure that the federal government takes a strong stance in addressing the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked Indigenous women and children. We collaborate closely in this legislative process, recognizing that the protection of women and children should be non-partisan.

As of now, the government has no long-term strategy to address this persistent plague. Federal agencies must work more closely together and with tribes to bring perpetrators to justice and prevent violence against Indigenous people from the outset.

These new measures mandate stricter data collection and establish clear guidelines for implementing measures to combat these crimes. Crucially, they also establish a committee comprised of tribal leaders, survivors, service providers, federal agencies, and law enforcement to provide recommendations to tackle the issue. We are committed to this requirement as we know that tribal leaders in Nevada, Alaska, and across the country are best positioned to ensure that our government is taking the right actions in our communities.

The good news is that these crucial measures have already been implemented. Last month, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the creation of a specialized unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to investigate this decades-long crisis, with the Department of the Interior and the Justice Department taking the lead. This move builds upon the work of the previous administration, which established the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Unit within the department's missing persons office, thanks to a special grant we provided.

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But let's be clear: there's still much to be done. The implementation of the Non-Stealth Act and the Savannah Act requires everyone's cooperation. This must truly be a bipartisan effort. We need the committee to respect the perspectives and voices of the tribes and survivors. We must quickly collect data to better help survivors in the future.

We must work with local and tribal law enforcement partners to prevent further women and girls from going missing, while helping to find those we've tragically lost.

We are both committed to ensuring that these laws are enacted to protect Indigenous women and girls. We are beginning a long-overdue transformation in our response to violence against Native American women and Alaskan Indigenous women. We must demonstrate through our actions that we value the lives, well-being, and central role of women and girls in Indigenous communities. Let's get to work.

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In our efforts to stop violence against Indigenous women, it is crucial to strengthen legislation and policies that foster the prevention and investigation of such crimes in Indigenous communities. Enhancing investigations and prosecutions of violence against Indigenous women and girls is essential to allow them a voice and the ability to assert their rights to protection. Supporting and advocating for Indigenous women and girls who have been victims of violence, even after the crimes have been committed, is essential to help them heal and live in a safe environment.

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Enrichment Data:

To strengthen legislation and policy in preventing and investigating violence against Indigenous women in the United States and Alaska, several strategies can be implemented:

1. Amend the 1872 Mining Law:
2. Protect Indigenous Rights: Amend the 1872 Mining Law to protect Indigenous peoples’ rights and comply with US treaty and customary law obligations. This includes mandating federal agencies to adequately protect Indigenous peoples’ human rights, including their right to free, prior, and informed consent[4].
3. Enhance Tribal-State-Federal Coordination:
4. Interagency Agreements: Establish interagency agreements between tribal governments, native-led organizations, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure effective collaboration in addressing missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) cases[2][3].
5. Data Collection and Analysis:
6. Develop and Maintain Data: Collaborate with partners to develop and maintain data on MMIP cases to identify patterns and inform targeted health interventions and violence prevention programs. This includes tracking and reporting data on MMIP and human trafficking cases[2][3][5].
7. Community Education and Engagement:
8. Implement Community Education Programs: Collaborate with representatives of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon, community-based organizations, and urban-based American Indian and Alaska Native populations to implement community education programs and support youth engagement initiatives. This helps reduce vulnerabilities that disproportionately impact Indigenous people[2][3].
9. Strengthen Law Enforcement Partnerships:
10. Enhance Training and Liaisons: Improve training for law enforcement and establish tribal liaisons to ensure that Indigenous communities are taken seriously and that investigations are thorough. For example, Oregon’s HB 3198 aims to strengthen partnerships between law enforcement and tribal communities[2][3].
11. Legislative Recognition of Indigenous Rights:
12. Pass Legislation Recognizing Rights: Pass legislation recognizing Indigenous peoples’ traditional and ancestral land rights, cultural and religious rights, and the right to free, prior, and informed consent. This should ensure access to effective remedies for violations and encode the rights in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples[4].
13. Independent Monitoring Commission:
14. Establish an Independent Commission: Establish an independent Indigenous-led commission to monitor and evaluate government performance related to Indigenous peoples’ international human rights. This commission should consider remedies, including restitution in land, for Indigenous communities who were forcibly displaced from their land[4].
15. Health and Social Services Integration:
16. Integrate Health and Social Services: Utilize existing health authority models to provide victim services, outreach, education, and prevention services related to MMIP. This integrated approach can help address the complex issues surrounding violence against Indigenous women, including mental health and addiction[2][3].
17. Awareness and Prevention Initiatives:
18. Raise Awareness: Designate awareness months like May as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month to raise awareness about the alarming number of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit individuals, and people who have experienced violence and trauma. This includes promoting culturally grounded, Indigenous-led systems of support, such as the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN)[5].

By implementing these strategies, legislation and policy can be strengthened to effectively prevent and investigate violence against Indigenous women in the United States and Alaska.