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71–182 PDF 2012

S. HRG. 112–311

NATIVE WOMEN: PROTECTING, SHIELDING, AND

SAFEGUARDING OUR SISTERS, MOTHERS, AND

DAUGHTERS

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JULY 14, 2011

Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii, Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

LORETTA A. TUELL, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

DAVID A. MULLON JR., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on July 14, 2011 ............................................................................... 1

Statement of Senator Akaka ................................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Barrasso ............................................................................... 2

Statement of Senator Franken ............................................................................... 4

Statement of Senator Murkowski ........................................................................... 4

Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 3

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 3

WITNESSES

Deer, Sarah, Amnesty International, Assistant Professor, William Mitchell 

School of Law ........................................................................................................ 68

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 70

O’Leary, Carmen, Director, Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains .......... 51

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 53

Perrelli, Thomas J., Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice .. 5

Prepared statement with attachments ........................................................... 7

Peercy, Mickey, Executive Director, Health Services of Choctaw Nation of 

Oklahoma .............................................................................................................. 63

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 65

Rodgers, Hon. Donald W., Chief, Catawba Indian Nation ................................... 44

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46

Tibbetts, Sherry Sanchez, Executive Director, American Indian Community 

Housing Organization .......................................................................................... 55

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56

Weahkee, Ph.D., Rose, Director, Division of Behavioral Health, Indian Health 

Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ............................... 29

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 31

APPENDIX

Cherokee Nation, prepared statement ................................................................... 82

Cultee, Hon. Clifford, Chairman, Lummi Indian Nation, prepared statement .. 84

Francis, Hon. Kirk E., Chief, Penobscot Indian Nation, prepared statement .... 115

Ingram, Jolanda E., B.A., J.D., Executive Director, Niwhongwh xw E:na:wh 

Stop the Violence Coalition, Inc., prepared statement ...................................... 115

Koepplinger, Suzanne, Executive Director, Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, prepared statement .................................................................... 122

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Task Force on Violence 

Against Women, prepared statement ................................................................. 98

National Indian Health Board, prepared statement ............................................. 113

Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Daniel K. Akaka to Carmen 

O’Leary .................................................................................................................. 124

Response to written questions submitted by Hon. John Barrasso to Rose 

Weahkee, Ph.D. .................................................................................................... 124

Shelly, Hon. Ben, President, Navajo Nation, prepared statement ...................... 79

Soler, Esta, Founder/President, Futures Without Violence, prepared statement ...................................................................................................................... 119

Walker, Jana L., Senior Attorney, Indian Law Resource Center, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 92

(1)

NATIVE WOMEN: PROTECTING, SHIELDING, 

AND SAFEGUARDING OUR SISTERS,

MOTHERS, AND DAUGHTERS 

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:37 p.m. in room 

628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K. Akaka,

Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA,

U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII 

The CHAIRMAN. I call this hearing of the Committee on Indian 

Affairs to Order. 

Aloha and thank you for being with us today. Today’s hearing is 

entitled Native Women: Protecting, Shielding, and Safeguarding 

Our Sisters, Mothers, and Daughters. 

The Committee will hear about some very difficult topics, issues 

that, unfortunately, affect Native women every day in our Country. 

For Native peoples, women are sacred. They bring life and nurture 

us. They malama, in Hawaiian, they care for our peoples, and we 

must malama them. 

Many Native peoples mark the important stages of a woman’s 

life with ceremonies and community celebration. Yet, many of the 

Native women find themselves in unbearable situations that 

threaten their security, stability, and even their lives. 

Two in five Native women will suffer domestic violence and one 

in three Native women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. 

These statistics, these realities are unacceptable and we must act 

to change this. 

Women are also starting to tell their stories about being victimized by traffickers who prey on them in our urban and reservation 

communities, coercing them into prostitution. We will look at the 

Violence Against Women Act and listen to providers, advocates, 

and tribal leaders to learn what is working and what is not. 

Violence against Native women affects each and every one of us. 

Before we hear from our witnesses today, I would like to play a 

short public service announcement from Minnesota entitled, ‘‘When 

I Grow Up,’’ as an example of why we are here today. 

[Public service announcement video played.] 

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’’While I’m pregnant, I can keep our baby safe by not drinking, 

smoking, or using drugs. But how are we going to keep her safe 

after she’s born? 

When I grow up, I look forward to dancing in pow-wows, going 

to college, and being successful, but I don’t want to be one out of 

three American Indian women to be raped or sexually assaulted in 

her lifetime. 

As relatives and friends of Native women, it is our responsibility 

to stand up and speak out for every woman’s right to be safe in 

her home and the community. 

Sponsored by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition.’’

[End of public service announcement video.] 

The CHAIRMAN. I look forward to hearing from all witnesses as 

to what next steps we can take to better prosecute and punish the 

perpetrators. We will be looking for ways to keep women safe, empower them, and help them heal. 

Vice Chair Barrasso, my good friend from Wyoming, is my partner on this Committee and I am happy that we are able to work 

together on this. Vice Chair Barrasso, would you like to make any 

remarks? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,

U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. I certainly would, Mr. Chairman. Thank you 

very much and thank you for playing that When I Grow Up from 

Minnesota. I think it is very telling and very chilling, and, as a 

physician who has worked taking care of families in Wyoming, I 

know the impact of this sort of violence. So I am so grateful that 

you have brought in these experts today and that this is our topic. 

Many times over the years this Committee has heard of the serious problems of public safety and violence against Native women 

and children. Congress passed the Tribal Law and Order Act a 

year ago. Next week will be one year. The Act was intended to address many of these very issues and to also increase accountability 

of Federal prosecutors and to improve training and coordination between law enforcement agencies, judiciary, and service providers. 

We know that the Tribal Law and Order Act will not solve all 

of the problems, including these problems, of violence against Native women, so I see it as a meaningful step, one meaningful step 

in the direction of reducing the danger of domestic violence. But we 

know that violence against Native women affects much more than 

just the well being of that woman, and I think that very telling 

tape that we played, When I Grow Up, talks about that, about safety and lack of safety. So it profoundly affects children and too often 

children witness acts of violence against their mothers, against 

their sisters, against their brothers, and sometimes, very unfortunately, they are themselves the victims of violence and abuse. 

The Congressional Research Service has noted several studies 

which found that the exposure to violence alone has harmful affects 

on our children. So exposure to violence impacts a child’s emotional 

and behavioral development, it impacts their cognitive functioning, 

their initiative, their personality style, their self-esteem and their 

3

self-control, and these problems, in turn, can increase the potential 

for future acts of risky behavior, of violence or substance abuse. 

So I look forward to hearing from the witnesses, from the experts 

about what is being done and what can be done in our Indian communities, so thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you for your statement, Vice Chair 

Barrasso. 

Would any of the other members like to make comments? Senator Udall. 

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Chairman Akaka. 

I think both you and Vice Chairman Barrasso have covered the 

field here very well in terms of what we are facing. The one thing 

I would add, as a State attorney general, I used to deal with this 

issue and I had a statewide task force to deal with violence against 

women, and the thing that we learned was that it is a cycle within 

families, and it goes from one generation to the next generation. 

And the key is breaking the cycle, and the way to do that involves a number of approaches, but one of the most effective is letting people know that you are going to have law enforcement on 

the beat. And the disturbing thing about this GAO report and what 

we are going to hear in this Committee is 50 percent of the cases 

that are presented to United States attorneys are not prosecuted. 

So if you don’t have the law enforcement person and the prosecutor on the beat, then you don’t have that enforcement element. 

So we need to find a way where the prosecution moves forward in 

a very aggressive way on these kinds of cases so that the perpetrators know that if they do something they are going to be prosecuted. 

So with that I want to thank you again, both of you, for calling 

this hearing, and appreciate it very much and yield back, and ask 

my full statement be put in the record. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Udall follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

Thank you, Chairman Akaka, for holding this very important hearing. The rate 

of violence against women in Indian Country is abhorrent. This very vulnerable population struggles to survive domestic violence, sexual abuse and assault, and other 

violent crimes in areas too rural for a quick response and full of jurisdictional holes. 

The impact that domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sexual assault have on individuals and communities is severe. Survivors face years of healing overcoming psychological and physical suffering, and communities cannot be whole when many individuals are struggling to cope with trauma from violence. 

Addressing violence against women and children should be a priority for tribes, 

federal agencies and congress. Together we must identify steps to ensure that every 

native woman and child can live to her full potential free from fear of violence. 

I was appalled by the findings of a recent GAO Report that US Attorney Offices 

have a declination rate of about 50 percent for crimes related to Native Americans, 

and that most of these crimes are domestic violence and sexual abuse. We must find 

a way to equip IHS Hospitals, Tribal Law Enforcement, and Federal Law Enforcement with the tools necessary to collect evidence and convict violent offenders. 

As congress begins to contemplate reauthorization of the Violence Against Women 

Act, I hope that we, as a committee, can work with the Judiciary Committee to 

make sure that provisions specific to the needs of native women are included in the 

final reauthorization. I look forward to hearing from the panels and am anxious to 

4

hear their input on improving VAWA and federal and tribal judicial responses to 

violence against native women.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Udall. 

Senator Franken. 

STATEMENT OF HON. AL FRANKEN,

U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to 

the Vice Chairman for his words, and to Senator Udall, both of 

which I would like very much to associate myself with. Thank you 

both for organizing this important hearing on how better to prevent 

abuse against Native women. I am very pleased that we will hear 

from two witnesses from Minnesota, Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts and 

Sarah Deer, who are both leaders in the ongoing work to end and 

prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. I look forward to 

hearing from you both. 

As the Chairman noted, as we heard in that chilling ad, the startling fact is that one in three Indian women will be raped in their 

lifetime, nearly 40 percent of Indian women experience domestic violence, and about 17 percent are stalked each year. These statistics, along with anecdotal evidence, make it clear that we must 

break the cycle, as the Senator from New Mexico talked about, the 

cycle of violence, and better protect Native women. 

When the VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, was most recently reauthorized in 2005, several critical provisions were added 

to help meet the needs of tribal women, and this was a great start 

in addressing the unique needs of Native victims of violence. Yesterday the Judiciary Committee held a hearing to highlight the 

successful efforts of VAWA and we heard from advocates who testified on the many components of VAWA that have helped women 

in all our communities be safer. 

But the hearing also made me more aware that this law must 

be updated to the current needs of women. It can better protect 

stalking victims and better help State and local organizations increase capacities for emergency and transitional housing, and I 

can’t tell you how important that is. And VAWA can also better 

serve Indian women like making sure that no survivor ever has to 

pay a single dime for a rape kit. 

I look forward to hearing from you all on how we can continue 

successful programs and also improve VAWA to help keep Native 

women safer. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. 

Senator Murkowski, from Alaska, would you like to make a 

statement at this point in time? 

STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI,

U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank you for 

scheduling the hearing this afternoon, this oversight hearing, as we 

examine the very difficult statistics that impact American Indian 

and Alaska Native women. These are statistics that none of us are 

proud of, and whether it is one in three Native women that will 

5

be raped in their lifetime, or one in four, the fact of the matter is 

that any act of violence against any woman is simply unacceptable. 

We have struggled for so long in our State to try to improve 

these statistics and I wish that I could tell you that we are making 

some progress, but I meet with far too many who tell me that there 

is still so much that is kept in the shadows, still so much that continues, and as it continues we know the destruction that it causes 

not only to the victim, but to the families, to those in the communities. 

Something that I never thought would be a situation in my State 

is that of a growing level of sex trafficking amongst our young Native women. I am told that they are considered ‘‘veratile’’ because 

they can be trafficked either as Asian or Hawaiian on the Internet, 

and we have had some really frightening instances of young women 

coming into town, coming in from the villages, basically being 

picked up off the street and lost, gone forever into these sex trafficking rings, and the families never knowing where they are or if 

they will ever come back. 

I have had an opportunity to speak with law enforcement officers 

in Anchorage, our largest city, to determine, well, how big is this? 

Is this just one story in the newspaper today? And, unfortunately, 

it is not, and I think we face these realities with a sense of helplessness at times. 

Everything that we can do at the Federal level, at the State 

level, and at the local level to shine the light on what is going on 

and to help in any way that we can, we need to do so, so I appreciate your efforts here today in helping to shine that light. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski, for 

your statement. 

As Chairman, it is my goal to ensure that we hear all who want 

to contribute to the discussion. As I have done in the past, I want 

to remind you of this and tell you that the hearing record is open 

for two weeks from today and encourage everyone to submit your 

comments in written testimony. 

I want to remind the witnesses to please limit your oral testimony to 5 minutes. Let me ask the witnesses to please take their 

seats at the table. Thank you. 

Tom Perrelli is the Associate Attorney General at the Department of Justice, and Dr. Rose Weahkee is the Director of Division 

of Behavioral Health at the Indian Health Service. 

I want to welcome both of you and ask Mr. Perrelli to please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF THOMAS J. PERRELLI, ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY 

GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Mr. PERRELLI. Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and 

Members of the Committee, thank you so much for holding this 

hearing and shining a spotlight on an issue that cannot get enough 

attention, and for bringing together experts to talk about how best 

to protect, shield, and safeguard Native women from violent crime, 

which is a very high priority for the Department of Justice as we 

work in anticipation of the reauthorization of the Violence Against 

Women Act this year. The Department has been engaging in comVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
6

prehensive discussions, including formal consultations with Indian 

tribes, about how best to protect the safety of Native women. 

As I think all of the Senators have indicated, violence against 

Native women has reached epidemic rates, and not simply violence, 

but we see in some communities murder rates of Native women at 

10 times the national average. Tribal leaders, police officers, prosecutors tell us of an all-too familiar pattern of escalating violence 

that goes unaddressed, one beating after another, each one more 

severe than the last, ultimately leading to death or severe physical 

injury. 

Something must be done to end this cycle of violence. For a host 

of reasons, the current legal structure for prosecuting domestic violence in tribal communities is not well suited to combating this pattern of escalating violence. Federal resources are stretched thin 

and are often distant from where the violence occurs, and tribal 

governments, police, prosecutors, and courts, which need to be an 

essential part of the solution, often lack authority to address many 

of the crimes. 

Until this Committee acted last year with the Congress with the 

Tribal Law and Order Act, tribal courts could only sentence Indian 

offenders to one year in prison. It was an extraordinary achievement to move that to three years, and we think that that will make 

a material difference in tribal communities going forward. 

But still tribal police officers who respond to a domestic violence 

call, only to discover that the accused is a non-Indian and, therefore, outside the tribe’s criminal jurisdiction, often mistakenly believe that they can’t even make an arrest. Not surprisingly, abusers 

who aren’t arrested are more likely to repeat and escalate their attacks, and research shows that the failure to arrest and prosecute 

abusers only emboldens attackers. 

We see three major gaps that Congress could address that involve tribal criminal jurisdiction, tribal civil jurisdiction, and Federal criminal law for Federal prosecutors in Federal court. The first 

is that the patchwork of Federal, State, and Tribal criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country has made it difficult for law enforcement 

and prosecutors to adequately address domestic violence, particularly the kinds of misdemeanor domestic violence, such as simple 

assaults, that may ultimately lead to greater violence. 

New Federal legislation could recognize certain tribes’ power to 

exercise concurrent criminal jurisdiction over domestic violence 

cases, regardless of whether the defendant is Indian or non-Indian. 

Fundamentally, this builds on the philosophy of the Tribal Law 

and Order Act, which recognized that tribal nations with sufficient 

resources and authority will best be able to address violence in 

their own communities; that law offered more authority to tribal 

courts and prosecutors if certain procedural protections were established. 

Second, there is at least one court ruling out there that has 

found that tribal courts have no authority to issue or enforce protection orders against non-Indians who reside on tribal lands. We 

think that is actually contrary to what Congress tried to do in the 

Violence Against Women Act and we think it is important to clarify 

that in legislation. 

7

And the third thing is we have to recognize that Federal criminal 

law has not developed in parallel in this area with respect to the 

States. The States, in the area of domestic violence in particular, 

have developed graduated sanctions for particular kinds of conduct, 

recognizing that you need more severe sanctions as the conduct increases in severity. 

Federal law has not matched that over time, so we would propose 

Federal legislation that would, again, more clearly track what you 

see in State law, creating a one-year offense for assaulting a person 

by striking, beating or wounding; a five-year offense for assaulting 

a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner, resulting in substantial bodily injury; and a 10-year offense for assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling, suffocating, or attempting to strangle or suffocate. 

We think those reforms would significantly improve the safety of 

women in tribal communities and would allow Federal and tribal 

law enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes. 

I thank the Committee very much for focusing on these issues 

and look forward to answering your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Perrelli follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THOMAS J. PERRELLI, ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and members of the Committee: 

Thank you for inviting me to testify today regarding how best to protect, shield, 

and safeguard Native women from violent crime. The Department of Justice has 

placed a high priority on combating violence against women in tribal communities. 

In anticipation of this year’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 

(VAWA), the Department has been engaging in comprehensive discussions, including formal consultations with Indian tribes, about how best to protect the safety of 

Native women. We are very pleased that you also are focusing on this critically important issue, and we look forward to working with you on it in the coming weeks, 

months, and years. 

The Epidemic of Violence Against Native Women 

Violence against Native women has reached epidemic rates. One regional survey 

conducted by University of Oklahoma researchers showed that nearly three out of 

five Native American women had been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners. According to a nationwide survey funded by the National Institute of Justice 

(NIJ), one third of all American Indian women will be raped during their lifetimes. 

And an NIJ-funded analysis of death certificates found that, on some reservations, 

Native women are murdered at a rate more than ten times the national average. 

Tribal leaders, police officers, and prosecutors tell us of an all-too-familiar pattern 

of escalating violence that goes unaddressed, with beating after beating, each more 

severe than the last, ultimately leading to death or severe physical injury. 

Something must be done to address this cycle of violence. For a host of reasons, 

the current legal structure for prosecuting domestic violence in Indian country is not 

well-suited to combating this pattern of escalating violence. Federal resources, 

which are often the only ones that can investigate and prosecute these crimes, are 

often far away and stretched thin. Federal law does not provide the tools needed 

to address the types of domestic or dating violence that elsewhere in the United 

States might lead to convictions and sentences ranging from approximately six 

months to five years—precisely the sorts of prosecutions that respond to the early 

instances of escalating violence against spouses or intimate partners. 

Tribal governments—police, prosecutors, and courts—should be essential parts of 

the response to these crimes. But under current law, they lack the authority to address many of these crimes. Until recently, no matter how violent the offense, tribal 

courts could only sentence Indian offenders to one year in prison. Under the Tribal 

Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA), landmark legislation enacted last year in no 

small part due to the efforts of this Committee, tribal courts can now sentence Indian offenders for up to three years per offense, provided defendants are given propVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
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er procedural protections, including legal counsel. But tribal courts have no authority at all to prosecute a non-Indian, even if he lives on the reservation and is married to a tribal member. Tribal police officers who respond to a domestic-violence 

call, only to discover that the accused is non-Indian and therefore outside the tribe’s 

criminal jurisdiction, often mistakenly believe they cannot even make an arrest. Not 

surprisingly, abusers who are not arrested are more likely to repeat, and escalate, 

their attacks. Research shows that law enforcement’s failure to arrest and prosecute 

abusers both emboldens attackers and deters victims from reporting future incidents. 

In short, the jurisdictional framework has left many serious acts of domestic violence and dating violence unprosecuted and unpunished. 

The Department of Justice’s Efforts to Combat This Violence 

The Department of Justice has made, and is continuing to make, strong efforts 

to investigate and prosecute domestic-violence cases in Indian country, including, 

among other things:

• Deploying 28 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys whose sole mission is to prosecute 

crime in Indian country.

• Instructing U.S. Attorneys to prioritize the prosecution of crimes against Indian 

women and children.

• Establishing new domestic-violence training programs for law-enforcement officials and prosecutors alike.

• Creating a Violence Against Women Federal/Tribal Prosecution Task Force to 

develop ‘‘best practices’’ for both Federal and tribal prosecutors.

But we believe that more needs to be done. 

Areas Ripe for Legislative Reform 

The Department of Justice sees three major legal gaps that Congress could address, involving tribal criminal jurisdiction, tribal civil jurisdiction, and Federal 

criminal offenses. 

First, the patchwork of Federal, state, and tribal criminal jurisdiction in Indian 

country has made it difficult for law enforcement and prosecutors to adequately address domestic violence—particularly misdemeanor domestic violence, such as simple assaults and criminal violations of protection orders. New Federal legislation 

could recognize certain tribes’ power to exercise concurrent criminal jurisdiction over 

domestic-violence cases, regardless of whether the defendant is Indian or non-Indian. Fundamentally, such legislation would build on what this Committee did in 

the Tribal Law and Order Act. The philosophy behind TLOA was that tribal nations 

with sufficient resources and authority will be best able to address violence in their 

own communities; it offered additional authority to tribal courts and prosecutors if 

certain procedural protections were established. 

Second, at least one Federal court has opined that tribes lack civil jurisdiction to 

issue and enforce protection orders against non-Indians who reside on tribal lands. 

That ruling undermines the ability of tribal courts to protect victims. Accordingly, 

new Federal legislation could confirm the intent of Congress in enacting the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 by clarifying that tribal courts have full civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce certain protection orders involving any persons, Indian 

or non-Indian. 

Third, Federal prosecutors lack the necessary tools to combat domestic violence 

in Indian country. New Federal legislation could provide a one-year offense for assaulting a person by striking, beating, or wounding; a five-year offense for assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner, resulting in substantial bodily injury; and a ten-year offense for assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating 

partner by strangling, suffocating, or attempting to strangle or suffocate. 

The Views of Tribal Leaders and Experts 

The Department of Justice has consulted extensively with Indian tribes about 

these issues, including at the Attorney General’s listening conference in 2009, the 

tribal consultations we held on TLOA implementation in 2010, our annual tribal 

consultations under the Violence Against Women Act, and a series of tribal consultations focused on potential legislative reforms in June of this year. All of these 

consultations—indeed, all of the Justice Department’s work in this area, especially 

in the wake of the TLOA’s enactment last year—have also involved close coordination across Federal agencies, including the Departments of the Interior and of 

Health and Human Services. 

Throughout these consultations, the common thread that ran through nearly all 

the tribal input focused on the need for greater tribal jurisdiction over domestic-vioVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
9

lence cases. Specifically, tribal leaders expressed concern that the crime-fighting 

tools currently available to their prosecutors differ vastly, depending on the race of 

the domestic-violence perpetrator. If an Indian woman is battered by her husband 

or boyfriend, then the tribe typically can prosecute him if he is Indian. But absent 

an express Act of Congress, the tribe cannot prosecute a violently abusive husband 

or boyfriend if he is non-Indian. And recently, one Federal court went so far as to 

hold that, in some circumstances, a tribal court could not even enter a civil protection order against a non-Indian husband. 

Faced with these criminal and civil jurisdictional limitations, tribal leaders repeatedly have told the Department that a tribe’s ability to protect a woman from 

violent crime should not depend on her husband’s or boyfriend’s race, and that it 

is immoral for an Indian woman to be left vulnerable to violence and abuse simply 

because the man she married, the man she lives with, the man who fathered her 

children is not an Indian. 

Tribal Jurisdiction over Crimes of Domestic Violence 

The first area for potential Federal legislation involves recognizing certain tribes’ 

concurrent criminal jurisdiction to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence both 

Indians and non-Indians who assault Indian spouses, intimate partners, or dating 

partners, or who violate protection orders, in Indian country. Such legislation would 

not remove criminal jurisdiction from any government. Rather, it would recognize 

that a tribe has concurrent jurisdiction over a tightly defined set of crimes committed in Indian country: domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of enforceable protection orders. To the extent those crimes can be prosecuted today by 

Federal or State prosecutors, that would not be changed by enactment of new legislation. 

Similar to TLOA, such additional authority would only be available to those tribes 

that guarantee sufficient protections for the rights of defendants. Tribes exercising 

this statutorily recognized jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence should be required to protect a robust set of rights, similar to the rights protected in State-court 

criminal prosecutions. This approach would thus build on the Indian Civil Rights 

Act of 1968, as amended in 1986 and 1990, and on TLOA. Tribes that choose not 

to provide these protections would not have this additional authority. 

Not surprisingly, expanding tribal criminal jurisdiction to cover more perpetrators 

of domestic violence would tax the already scarce resources of most tribes that 

might wish to exercise this jurisdiction. Therefore, new legislation could authorize 

grants to support these tribes by strengthening their criminal-justice systems, providing indigent criminal defendants with licensed defense counsel at no cost to those 

defendants, ensuring that jurors are properly summoned, selected, and instructed, 

and according crime victims’ rights to victims of domestic violence. 

Tribal Protection Orders 

A second major area for new Federal legislation would deal with tribal civil jurisdiction. New legislation could confirm the intent of Congress in enacting the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 by clarifying that every tribe has full civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce certain protection orders against both Indians and nonIndians. That would effectively reverse a 2008 decision from a Federal district court 

in Washington State, which held that an Indian tribe lacked authority to enter a 

protection order for a nonmember Indian against a non-Indian residing on non-Indian fee land within the reservation. 

Amendments to the Federal Assault Statute 

The third and final major area for Congress to consider involves Federal criminal 

offenses rather than tribal prosecution. In general, Federal criminal law has not developed over time in the same manner as State criminal laws, which have recognized the need for escalating responses to specific acts of domestic and dating violence. By amending the Federal Criminal Code to make it more consistent with 

State laws in this area where the Federal Government (and not the State) has jurisdiction, Congress would simply be ensuring that perpetrators would be subject to 

similar potential punishments regardless of where they commit their crimes. Specifically, new legislation could amend the Federal Criminal Code to provide a ten-year 

offense for assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling 

or suffocating; a five-year offense for assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner resulting in substantial bodily injury; and a one-year offense for assaulting a person by striking, beating, or wounding. All of these are in line with the 

types of sentences that would be available in State courts across the Nation if the 

crime occurred other than in Indian country. 

Existing Federal law provides a six-month misdemeanor assault or assault-andbattery offense that can be charged against a non-Indian (but not against an Indian) 

10

who commits an act of domestic violence against an Indian victim. (A similar crime 

committed by an Indian would fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the tribe.) A 

Federal prosecutor typically can charge a felony offense (against either an Indian 

or a non-Indian defendant) only if the victim’s injuries rise to the level of ‘‘serious 

bodily injury,’’ which is significantly more severe than ‘‘substantial bodily injury.’’

So, in cases involving any of these three types of assaults—(1) assault by strangling or suffocating; (2) assault resulting in substantial (but not serious) bodily injury; and (3) assault by striking, beating, or wounding—Federal prosecutors today 

often find that they cannot seek sentences in excess of six months. And where both 

the defendant and the victim are Indian, Federal courts may lack jurisdiction altogether. 

New legislation could increase the maximum sentence from six months to one 

year for an assault by striking, beating, or wounding, committed by a non-Indian 

against an Indian in Indian country. (Similar assaults by Indians, committed in Indian country, would remain within the tribe’s exclusive jurisdiction.) Although the 

Federal offense would remain a misdemeanor, increasing the maximum sentence to 

one year would reflect the fact that this is a serious offense that often forms the 

first or second rung on a ladder to more severe acts of domestic violence. 

Assaults resulting in substantial bodily injury sometimes form the next several 

rungs on the ladder of escalating domestic violence, but they too are inadequately 

covered today by the Federal Criminal Code. New legislation could fill this gap by 

amending the Code to provide a five-year offense for assault resulting in substantial 

bodily injury to a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner. 

And new legislation also could amend the Code to provide a ten-year offense for 

assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling, suffocating, 

or attempting to strangle or suffocate. Strangling and suffocating—conduct that is 

not uncommon in intimate-partner cases—carry a high risk of death. But the severity of these offenses is frequently overlooked because there may be no visible external injuries on the victim. As with assaults resulting in substantial bodily injury, 

Federal prosecutors need the tools to deal with these crimes as felonies, with sentences potentially far exceeding the six-month maximum that often applies today. 

Finally, the Major Crimes Act, which Federal prosecutors use to prosecute Indians 

for major crimes committed against Indian and non-Indian victims, could be simplified to cover all felony assaults under section 113 of the Federal Criminal Code. 

That would include the two new felony offenses discussed above—assaults resulting 

in substantial bodily injury to a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner; and assaults upon a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling, suffocating, 

or attempting to strangle or suffocate—as well as assault with intent to commit a 

felony other than murder (which is punishable by a maximum ten-year sentence). 

Without this amendment to the Major Crimes Act, Federal prosecutors could not 

charge any of these three felonies when the perpetrator is an Indian. Assault by 

striking, beating, or wounding would remain a misdemeanor and would not be covered by the Major Crimes Act. 

We believe that enacting reforms along these lines—dealing with tribal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence, tribal protection orders, and amendments to 

the Federal assault statute—would significantly improve the safety of women in 

tribal communities and allow Federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold 

more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes. 

I thank the Committee for its interest in these critically important issues and for 

its support. 

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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. 

Perrelli. 

Dr. Weahkee, please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF ROSE WEAHKEE, PH.D., DIRECTOR, DIVISION 

OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, 

good afternoon. I am Dr. Rose Weahkee, Director for the Division 

of Behavioral Health at Indian Health Service. I am also a member 

of the Navajo Nation from Crownpoint, New Mexico. I am pleased 

to have this opportunity to testify on the Indian health system’s response to domestic violence and sexual assault. 

As you know, the IHS plays a unique role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet the Federal trust responsibility to provide health care to American Indians and Alaska 

Natives. The IHS provides comprehensive health service delivery to 

1.9 million federally recognized American Indians and Alaska Natives through a system of IHS-operated, tribally-operated, and 

urban Indian-operated programs. 

Under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

Act, many tribes across the Country have assumed full authority 

for all health care delivery within their communities. 

We all know that the statistics on domestic violence and sexual 

assault against Native women are alarming. What the numbers do 

not tell us, however, is the tremendous physical and psychological 


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toll that sexual assault and domestic violence takes on individual 

societies and Indian Country. 

The President signed the Tribal Law and Order Act on July 29, 

2010, and the various provisions of the Act offer important policy 

support for health, wellness, and public safety in Indian communities. The Act requires the IHS Director to provide written approval or disapproval of subpoenas or other requests from tribal 

and State courts for the testimony of IHS employees. The IHS has 

drafted a revised delegation of authority to include the requirements under the Act and is developing additional guidance for IHS 

programs and facilities. 

The Act also requires the IHS Director to develop sexual assault 

policies and protocols. The IHS has also established a national sexual assault policy which is the foundation for local policies at hospitals that are operated by the Indian Health Service. 

The Act authorizes the Comptroller General to study the capability of IHS and tribal programs to collect, maintain, and secure 

evidence of sexual assault and domestic violence incidents, and to 

develop recommendations for improving those capabilities. IHS has 

worked very closely with the Government Accountability Office in 

the development of this study. 

In addition, IHS has implemented a nationally Coordinated Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative. This Initiative has awarded 

a total of 65 projects throughout Indian Country and IHS tribal 

and urban Indian health programs. This Initiative expands outreach, increases awareness, and supports Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner programs. 

In addition, IHS has a number of partnerships. One of those is 

a partnership with the Administration for Children and Families, 

and in that partnership we have funded over 35 sites to identify 

strategies and develop interventions to address domestic violence. 

This partnership has provided the foundation for future IHS efforts 

in the area of domestic violence and has led to IHS-wide screening 

for domestic violence. 

In addition, IHS has an interagency agreement with the Department of Justice Office on Victims of Crime which involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of the Interior. 

The goal of this initiative is to address the needs of sexual assault 

victims in Indian Country and to ensure more effective and victimcentered investigations and prosecutions. 

To adequately address the problem of violence against Native 

women, IHS focuses on prevention and treatment services. IHS is 

proactively focusing on behavioral health treatment through partnerships and initiatives directed at minimizing the causes of such 

abuse. 

In summary, the IHS and its tribal and its Federal partners are 

committed to maximizing the available resources to provide appropriate prevention and treatment services, as well as safe environments for Native women and girls. 

This concludes my remarks and I will be happy to answer any 

questions you may have. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Weahkee follows:]

31

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Adverse health conditions and health 

risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence-United States, 2005. MMWR, 57(05), 

113-117. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/

mm5705a1.htm 2Sacred Circle and the National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence 

Against Women in Indian Country (2006, September). Restoration of Safety for Native Women. 

Restoration of Native Sovereignty, 5. 3Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Database. 

4 BigFoot, D. S. (2000). History of Victimization in Native Communities. University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, grant number 97–VI–GX–

0002 (NCJ 213165). 5 Bubar, R., & Thurman, P.J. (2004). Violence against Native women. Social Justice, 31(4), 70–

86. 6Poupart, L.M. (2002). Crime and justice in American Indian communities. Social Justice, 

29(1–2), 144–159. 7Smith, A. (2003). Not an Indian tradition: The sexual colonization of Native Peoples [Electronic version]. Hypatia, 18, 70–85. Retrieved June 16, 2007. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ROSE WEAHKEE, PH.D., DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

Good afternoon, I am Dr. Rose Weahkee, Indian Health Service (IHS) Director for 

the Division of Behavioral Health. I am pleased to have this opportunity to testify 

on the Indian health system’s response to protecting, shielding, and safeguarding 

American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. 

The IHS plays a unique role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet the Federal trust responsibility to provide health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). The IHS provides comprehensive health service delivery to 1.9 million Federally-recognized American Indians and Alaska Natives 

through a system of IHS, Tribal, and Urban operated facilities and programs based 

on treaties, judicial determinations, and Acts of Congress. The mission of the agency 

is to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and 

Alaska Natives to the highest level, in partnership with the population we serve. 

The agency aims to assure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and 

public health services are available and accessible to the service population. Our 

foundation is to promote healthy American Indian and Alaska Native people, communities, and cultures, and to honor the inherent sovereign rights of Tribes. 

The IHS works in partnership with the communities it serves as such, IHS hospital administration frequently includes Tribal representatives who closely participate, as key stakeholders, in the health care delivery system. Additionally, under 

the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), many 

Tribes across the country have assumed full authority for all health care delivery 

within their communities, including hospital operations. Currently, 84 percent of Alcohol and Substance Abuse programs and 54 percent of Mental Health programs are 

Tribally operated. Traditionally, behavioral health and medical programs, both IHS 

and Tribally operated, have been separately managed; however, it is now a major 

focus of the IHS to reintegrate these programs to provide more efficient and effective patient care. 

Introduction 

AI/AN women are central to family and community life, yet domestic violence, and 

intimate partner violence, continues to be a serious and pervasive problem. Domestic violence often begins with intimate partner rape and can end in homicide. The 

statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault against AI/AN women are alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 39 percent of AI/

AN women have experienced intimate partner violence—the highest percentage in 

the U.S. 1 In addition, one out of every three AI/AN women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, 2 and AI/AN women are more than five times as likely to 

die from domestic violence-related injuries than women of any other race. 3

It is important to acknowledge the role that historical and intergenerational trauma has played in the high levels of domestic violence and sexual assault against 

AI/AN women. Colonization brought significant changes for AI/AN people—changes 

that have been attributed to the high levels of violent crime in Indian Country, particularly violence against women. 4, 5, 6, 7

What the numbers do not tell us, however, is the tremendous physical and psychological toll that sexual assault and domestic violence take on individuals and society. Besides the obvious costs of medical care and evidence collection, there is increasing evidence that interpersonal violence is associated with many common 

32

8 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Adverse health conditions and health 

risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence-United States, 2005. MMWR, 57(05), 

113–117. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/

mm5705a1.htm

health problems, including obesity, hypertension, chronic pain, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, complications of pregnancy, post traumatic stress disorder 

(PTSD), alcohol use disorders, depression, and anxiety. 8 All of these health problems can impact an individual’s family life and ability to work. The economic impact 

of the loss of work and productivity is enormous. 

Tribal Law and Order Act 

The President signed the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) on July 29, 2010. The 

Act was an important step toward helping the Federal government better address 

the unique public safety challenges that confront Tribal communities. The Act emphasizes decreasing violence against women, and is one of many steps needed to address the challenges faced by AI/AN women and girls. The various provisions of the 

TLOA offer important policy support for health, wellness, and public safety in AI/

AN communities and a recognition of the multiple factors that influence domestic 

violence and sexual assault issues. The TLOA also has several health specific provisions which will be addressed in further detail below. Taken together, these provisions should increase the rate of domestic violence and sexual assault convictions. 

Increased convictions may increase the reporting of domestic violence and sexual assault incidents by changing the climate and norms surrounding violence against 

women in AI/AN communities. 

Testimony and Production of Documents by Federal Employees 

Section 263 of the TLOA requires the IHS Director to provide written approval 

or disapproval of subpoenas or other requests from Tribal or State courts for the 

testimony of IHS employees or for the production of documents by IHS employees 

under the Director’s supervision. The IHS Division of Regulatory Affairs, on advice 

from the HHS Office of the General Counsel, is the lead representative on implementation of Section 263. The IHS has drafted a revised delegation of authority to 

permit IHS Area Directors to authorize testimony by Federal employees in criminal 

and civil cases at the local level. The draft delegation of authority notes that: (1) 

subpoenas and requests may be approved if the request is consistent with HHS’ policy to remain impartial; and (2) subpoenas or requests for documents or testimony 

in violent crime cases which would include sexual assault and domestic violence 

must be approved or disapproved within 30 days after receipt or the subpoenas and 

requests will be deemed approved. The draft delegation of authority pertains to factual information obtained by Federal employees in carrying out their official duties. 

It does not apply to requests for expert testimony from Federal employees. 

IHS Sexual Assault Policy 

Section 265 of the TLOA adds a new section to the Indian Law Enforcement Act 

requiring the IHS Director to develop sexual assault policies and protocols based on 

similar protocols established by the DOJ. In response, IHS established a national 

sexual assault policy, which is the foundation for local policies at hospitals managed 

by the IHS as they develop their own standard operating procedures and protocols 

on sexual assault medical forensic examinations. The policy establishes a uniform 

standard of care for sexual assault victims seeking clinical services. The policy ensures that the needs of the victim are addressed, care is culturally sensitive, patient-centered, and community response is coordinated. The policy also includes evidence collection guidance which aligns with criminal justice system response and 

subpoena regulations. The IHS consulted with Tribal leaders and Urban Indian 

health directors and is reviewing comments for incorporation in future revisions of 

this policy. 

Study of IHS Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Response Capabilities 

Section 266 of the TLOA authorizes the Comptroller General to study the capability of IHS facilities and Tribal programs to collect, maintain, and secure evidence 

of sexual assaults and domestic violence incidents required for criminal prosecution 

and to develop recommendations for improving those capabilities. This section also 

requires a report to Congress to assess current readiness and propose recommendations for improving response capabilities. IHS has cooperated with the GAO in the 

development of this study, which is due to Congress no later than one year after 

July 29, 2010. 

33

IHS Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative 

In 2009, Congress appropriated $7.5 million to the IHS in the Omnibus Appropriations Act, P.L. 111–8, to implement a nationally-coordinated Domestic Violence 

Prevention Initiative (DVPI). In 2010, Congress appropriated an additional $2.5 million for a total of $10 million. Prior to developing specific domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and treatment programs and initiatives, IHS engaged in 

Tribal consultation sessions with the National Tribal Advisory Committee on Behavioral Health (NTAC). The NTAC is composed of elected Tribal leaders across all 

twelve IHS Service Areas. Using the NTAC recommendations as a guide, the IHS 

established the DVPI. 

The DVPI promotes the development of evidence-based and practice-based models 

that represent culturally-appropriate prevention and treatment approaches to domestic violence and sexual assault from a community-driven context. The DVPI expands outreach and increases awareness by funding programs that provide outreach, victim advocacy, intervention, policy development, community response 

teams, and community and school education programs. The funding is also being 

used for the purchase of forensic equipment and includes case coordination of Sexual 

Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE), and 

Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) programs to help victims of sexual assault 

by training medical personnel on how to properly conduct sexual assault medical forensic exams. 

DVPI has awarded a total of 65 projects that include IHS, Tribally, and Urban 

operated programs. These include 49 domestic violence and sexual assault community developed models, 8 domestic violence and sexual assault Urban Indian health 

program grants, and 8 SANE/SAFE/SART programs. Projects have recently begun 

reporting on practice- and evidence-based outcome measures to assess program effectiveness. 

From August 2010 through January 2011, 56 of the 65 funded programs reported 

data. From these programs, DVPI funding resulted in over 220 project-affiliated fulltime equivalent positions and the development of 21 interdisciplinary SARTs. Over 

2,100 victims of domestic violence or sexual assault were served and over 3,300 referrals were made for mostly domestic violence services, culturally-based services, 

and clinical behavioral health services. Over 140 individuals received shelter services. Forty-eight adult and 18 child SAFE kits were completed and submitted to 

Federal, State, and Tribal law enforcement. Over 9,100 patients were screened for 

domestic violence and nearly 9,500 community members were reached through community and educational events. There were 37 training events held, including training on domestic violence, mandated reporting for abuse, child maltreatment, dating 

violence, and bullying, with 442 participants attending. Although the DVPI is in the 

early stages of implementation, these preliminary data strongly suggest very effective programming is taking place in Indian Country across a wide range of communities and areas of focus. 

In addition to the direct services above, the national DVPI conference was conducted last week, July 6–8, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the conference, DVPI 

funded recipients were able to participate in training, effective dialogue, network, 

and share their program experience and expertise involving the prevention and 

treatment of domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian Country. Over 140 

DVPI program and IHS staff attended the conference which specifically covered 

community awareness planning, advocacy, safety planning, agency collaborations 

(specifically with the Federal Bureau of Investigation), impact of battery violence on 

children, provider self care, working with Tribal advocacy programs, engaging men, 

incorporating traditional healing, teen dating awareness, and conducting effective 

community assessments. Specific to the SANE/SAFE/SART programs, the conference covered the important role staff play in evidence collection, identifying 

abuse, and understanding local sexual assault laws. 

IHS Partnerships 

IHS has devoted considerable effort to develop and share effective programs 

throughout the Indian health system. Strategies to address domestic violence and 

sexual assault include collaborations and partnerships with consumers and their 

families, Tribes and Tribal organizations, Urban Indian health programs, Federal, 

State, and local agencies, as well as public and private organizations. We believe 

the development of programs that are collaborative, community driven, and nationally supported offers the most promising potential for long term success and 

sustainment. Our partnership and consultation with Tribes ensure that we are 

working together in improving the health of AI/AN communities. 

Through a partnership with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 

dating to 2002, IHS and ACF collaborated to fund over 35 sites to identify strategies 

34

and develop interventions to address domestic violence in AI/AN communities. 

These domestic violence pilot programs trained medical and nursing staff to screen 

for domestic violence and to provide safety planning for all female patients, forged 

community partnerships, and developed policies and procedures on domestic violence. In addition, sites developed culturally sensitive screening tools, policies and 

procedures, and informational brochures. These programs also educated community 

members and adolescents on healthy relationships, dating violence, and domestic violence. This partnership and the work of the domestic violence pilot programs provided the foundation for future IHS efforts in domestic violence prevention, and led 

to IHS wide screening for domestic violence, routine domestic violence education, 

and the development of safety planning for women. The joint release of a 2010 report by the IHS, ACF, and Futures Without Violence offers a series of recommendations to ensure that domestic violence victims receive appropriate medical care at 

clinics and hospitals. 

The IHS and the DOJ Office on Victims of Crime (OVC) entered into a partnership involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of the Interior. This partnership is the SANE–SART AI/AN Initiative, and is funded through 

the OVC. The goal of the SANE/SART Initiative is to address the needs of sexual 

assault victims in Indian Country that restores the dignity, respect, and mental and 

physical health of victims of sexual assault and ensures more effective and victimcentered investigations and prosecutions. Using evidence-based practices involving 

SANEs, SARTs, and victim-centered law enforcement practices, the initiative will 

support victim recovery, satisfaction, and cooperation with the Federal criminal justice system, as well as supporting victims’ of sexual assault and Tribal communities’ 

need for justice. To address this overall goal, the project will identify, assess, and 

support existing SANE and SART efforts by providing training and technical assistance resources for all of the IHS and OVC funded SANE/SART programs, and 

through the development of comprehensive SANE/SART demonstration projects. 

Summary 

To adequately address the problem of violence against AI/AN women, IHS focuses 

on both prevention and treatment services. HIS treats individuals with associated 

behavioral health problems, and engages and empowers communities to change accepted norms of violence. Prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault begins 

with strong community prevention programs. 

Our prevention and treatment efforts must also focus on children and adults who 

have already witnessed or experienced domestic violence and sexual assault. Our 

youth, who have witnessed domestic violence or who have experienced child abuse/

sexual abuse including incest are at great risk of becoming victims or perpetrators 

of violence and sexual assault as adults. Girls who witness the domestic abuse of 

their mothers, or who are victims of childhood sexual abuse are at special risk of 

developing PTSD, depression, and alcohol use disorders including binge drinking 

and alcohol dependence. Because alcohol and/or drugs are involved in the overwhelming majority of assaults, the IHS is proactively focusing on behavioral health 

treatment and rehabilitation through partnerships and initiatives directed at minimizing the causes of such abuse. 

In summary, the safety of AI/AN women and girls is a serious problem with multiple personal, familial, and community factors. The programs IHS supports significantly improve the lives of AI/AN women and girls. The IHS and its Tribal and Federal partners are committed to maximizing available resources to provide appropriate prevention and treatment services, as well as safe environments for AI/AN 

women and girls in all our communities. 

This concludes my remarks and I will be happy to answer any questions that you 

may have. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Weahkee. 

Now I am going to ask the members of the Committee to ask 

their questions before I do, and I am going to ask Senator Udall 

for his questions, Senator Murkowski, and Senator Franken. 

Senator Udall. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you very much, Senator Akaka. 

Mr. Perrelli, you heard me in my opening talking about how enforcement is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of violence. I assume you would agree with that; that unless you have aggressive 

35

enforcement, the word kind of goes out that nothing is going to be 

done on this. 

Mr. PERRELLI. Senator, I think that is right. Certainty of enforcement is incredibly important in this area. 

Senator UDALL. So when you have half the cases coming in, reading this GAO report, on the violent crimes it is 52 percent where 

there is a declination, and on the less violent it is, I guess, 40 percent, that doesn’t send a very strong signal, does it? 

Mr. PERRELLI. I think on this issue of declinations, let me step 

back and break it down into three pieces and talk about how we 

have tried to address this, because this has been a longstanding 

issue. There is a part of this that is your commitment to addressing 

violent crime in Indian Country and in tribal communities and, in 

particular, in the area of domestic violence and violence against 

children. 

This is an area where we went to our United States attorneys 

in the early part of 2010 and directed them, one, to engage with 

tribal governments, prosecutors on a more regular basis than they 

ever had before; do outreach and have operational plans, actual 

plans about how they are going to address the particular violence 

in those communities. 

Senator UDALL. Do you have each U.S. attorney doing that now? 

There are 90-plus U.S. attorneys going out? Because I know in New 

Mexico the new U.S. attorney has a liaison, an assistant U.S. attorney working with every tribal community on this. Do you have that 

going on all across the Country, in Minnesota, Wyoming——

Mr. PERRELLI. In all of the jurisdictions with Indian Country jurisdiction or with tribes in their jurisdictions, that is about 45 of 

the districts, I believe, not just the tribal liaison, it is meeting with 

tribal leaders and actually developing a plan, and it is something 

we require of them in the first eight months. We also directed them 

to focus on crimes against Indian women and children, recognizing 

that this had been something that had not been sufficiently addressed previously. I think we hope to see the impact of this over 

time. 

Another piece of this, though, is communication, particularly you 

talked about the task force you had. Those kinds of partnerships 

are critically important, particularly where you have all of the jurisdictional challenges that you have today. So we directed our 

United States attorneys to communicate more effectively about 

what is going on in particular cases, and obviously with the legal 

mandates of the Tribal Law and Order Act, to ensure that there 

are opportunities if the Federal Government is not going to proceed 

with a case, then there is the possibility of a tribal court proceeding, depending on the facts, that that might proceed. And we 

are seeing——

Senator UDALL. Let me just stop you a second. That handoff is 

particularly important, because if you have a decision at the Federal level in the U.S. attorney’s office, a declination, they basically 

say back to the law enforcement agency, we aren’t going to prosecute this case in Federal court, but if it just sits there and the 

Federal prosecutors don’t take all the evidence they have, get over 

with the tribal court system, tell the tribal court system we have 

all of this evidence, we think that you could probably move on this 

36

with different standards and whatever, if there isn’t that handoff, 

it is a big problem, isn’t it? 

Mr. PERRELLI. I agree with that. I think that is absolutely right. 

I will give you an example of something we are doing in Montana, 

where the tribal liaison, every two weeks, is talking to the tribal 

prosecutors and going through what is going on with this case, 

what is going on with that case; tell us, is there anything we have 

missed? Is there something that has been reported that we don’t 

know about? Again, trying to build that communication so that you, 

in partnership, can make a decision about what is the best way to 

go. 

I think we recognize that declination rates are likely to remain 

high in tribal communities, in part because sometimes cases come 

in where you decide there wasn’t Federal jurisdiction or that ultimately you refer a case out. But we should be able to do a better 

job of explaining why those prosecutions don’t occur. 

Senator UDALL. Great. My time is almost out, but I just want to 

emphasize to the Justice Department, and I think each of the 

States you see reflected up here in the 45 U.S. attorney’s districts, 

from Alaska to Minnesota to Hawaii to Wyoming, we want to see 

the Justice Department bring those declination rates down. And if 

you are really not going to prosecute, try to work with the tribal 

courts to see something is done, because I think the key to breaking the cycle of violence is making sure that the perpetrators are 

brought to justice. If they have a sense that 50 percent of the cases 

nothing is going to happen, that is a big, serious problem. Thank 

you. 

And thank you, Chairman Akaka, for the courtesies. I know I am 

running a little bit over here. And I wish I could stay for the whole 

thing. I know we are also going to have a vote, I think, in a few 

minutes, so thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Udall. 

Senator Murkowski? 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Perrelli, Ms. Weahkee, thank you for being here today, for 

your testimony. 

Mr. Perrelli, you heard my comments about the sex trafficking 

and the concern that I have that we are seeing these increased 

rates in Alaska where young girls are literally being hunted. You 

have these predators that are hanging out by the homeless teen 

shelters, going to the cultural family events, the annual AFN convention, the largest gathering of Natives in our State, and it is 

really causing a very real, very tangible level of concern within so 

many of our communities. 

Can you tell me what the Department of Justice is doing to really target those sex traffickers that are threatening Alaska Native 

women and American Indian women around our Country here 

today? What efforts are underway and what are we doing to ensure 

that these individuals are being prosecuted to the full extent of the 

law? 

Mr. PERRELLI. Senator Murkowski, I think you identify what is 

really a scourge. We have seen a couple of major cases in Alaska 

involving Alaska Native women coming, perhaps, for health care to 

Anchorage and ending up in the hands of commercial sex trafVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
37

fickers, and we have had prosecutions there. This is an extraordinarily difficult set of issues. 

I think we did a focus group last year on this issue, focusing on 

Alaska Native and American Indian women and commercial sex 

trafficking and found a lack of research and understanding of the 

issue. Law enforcement didn’t always know how to identify the 

issue, so more training is needed. We found that perhaps some of 

the grant programs might need some additional flexibility to allow 

grantees to focus on trafficking issues, and that is something we 

are looking at in the context of the reauthorization of the Violence 

Against Women Act. And I think that we recognize that this is an 

issue that people need to understand better, because I think there 

is a sense that in individual communities they don’t even know it 

is happening until there is a major prosecution. 

The last thing I would say is there is a piece that is back in the 

Alaska Native-American Indian community which is really focused 

on youth and protecting our children. There is also a piece where 

some of this activity occurs in major urban areas, where we don’t 

necessarily have the culturally appropriate services in those areas 

for Alaska Native and American Indian women, and we need to 

think about how to provide them protection, safe places to go when 

they may be away from home and may be in danger. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Let me ask you, because so many, or oftentimes, I should say, it will be a situation where the young woman 

is really a young woman, she is a minor, she is under age and has 

been brought into this prostitution ring. We have had Federal laws 

on the books since the early 1900s that make transporting a minor 

over State lines for the purposes of committing a sex act, under the 

Mann Act, illegal and calls for prosecution. 

Well, let me ask it this way. Is it a crime, then, for a young 

woman, a minor, if she is transported from a Native village or a 

reservation in the lower 48 to another part of the State for purposes of prostitution, this young woman is being used as part of sex 

trafficking, if we were to clarify that that is a crime just as transporting a minor across State boundaries is a crime, does that help 

you at all? 

Mr. PERRELLI. Well, I think under at least the TVPA, if there is 

force, fraud, coercion of any kind, there only needs to be an effect 

on interstate commerce, there doesn’t need to be actual transport 

across any State line. So I think that at least that statute, I think, 

would quite often deal with, I think, the situation that you are 

talking about. But we should at least discuss this issue of moving 

from Native village to outside the Native village. I think this is one 

we haven’t focused on. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. I would appreciate that. 

Dr. Weahkee, we are focused today on the impact on Native girls 

and women, but more specifically on women, but I think we recognize, we all recognize that children that are in a household where 

there are acts of domestic violence that are occurring, those children are impacted as well, and in a way that perhaps we don’t fully 

understand. I think we all know in our heart it is not good, it is 

not a healthy situation. 

But I am curious to know whether, within the IHS system you 

have been specifically looking to possible linkages between acts of 

38

domestic violence within the home that young people see and the 

very elevated rates of youth suicide that we are seeing. Are you 

tracking any of that? 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Well, the research does suggest that those risk 

factors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and family violence are 

predictors for suicide, so there is a relationship between that experience and suicide, and we see that with other risk factors as well; 

child abuse, child sexual abuse. All of those contribute to the predictors for suicide, and also in terms of historical trauma. So we 

look at not only the impact of historical trauma, but the multiple 

losses that individuals and children and communities are facing, 

and all of that are risk factors for suicide. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. But that is something that you are tracking? As we all try to figure out how we deal with this epidemic of 

youth suicide, I think it is helpful to know what some of that background is and, unfortunately, it seems that far too often it ties back 

to domestic violence, family violence within the home. 

Mr. Chairman, I have gone over my time. I have another question for Dr. Weahkee, but I will submit that one for the record. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. 

Dr. Weahkee, I am going to follow up on Senator Murkowski’s 

discussion of the effect on children. In your testimony, your written 

testimony, you describe the children who witness or experience 

abuse are at great risk of developing PTSD or depression, and even 

of becoming perpetrators themselves. We had this testimony yesterday in the Judiciary Committee on the reauthorization of VAWA, 

Violence Against Women Act, that a kid, once a kid witnesses violence, this kind of violence against his or her mother, or whomever 

the violence is against, it might be against themselves, they become 

a different person, essentially. 

And we have epidemics not just of the tragic epidemic of suicide, 

but of drug abuse and alcoholism and other mental illnesses. In 

testimony we received yesterday and from your testimony, it is 

very clear that these children require treatment to respond to the 

profound psychological impacts of violence upon them. 

Can you speak to what the Indian Health Service is doing to 

make this kind of treatment accessible to children? 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Well, there is definitely a need for treatment and 

prevention, and, as you mentioned, it really contributes to a whole 

host of physical and emotional issues, school problems, bullying. So 

we are working with your Federal partners in coordinating our resources to address those issues because we see these issues not 

only as needing a health response, but also we need to involve our 

schools, our parents, our communities, tribal leaders, and our 

criminal justice system. 

So one aspect is providing the services and making them accessible to Indian children, perhaps utilizing telebehavioral health 

services, access to behavioral health providers in Indian communities, but also making sure that they have the appropriate training to deal with issues of child sexual abuse and child abuse in 

general. 

And, as we know, there is difficulty in terms of accessing these 

services, but we are implementing different efforts to try to make 

39

access to those services more available to IHS tribal and urban Indian communities. So part of it is providing the treatment and prevention programs, but also ensuring that our providers are trained 

to respond to these issues and making sure that we are coordinating with multiple systems to respond. 

Senator FRANKEN. And what does it mean in terms of a child 

who has witnessed this in Red Lake? What does that mean? Does 

the child go to somebody and say I witnessed this and they immediately get treatment, or what does it mean? 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Well, what it means is it hopefully results in access to that treatment. And I am not only talking about the behavioral health providers, but ensuring that our primary care providers are aware of these issues. We know that a lot of times these 

kids are not going to their behavioral health providers for whatever 

reason. A lot of times they are going to their primary care providers or emergency rooms in IHS facilities or tribal facilities. 

So it is important for us to make sure that those health providers 

are also screening and making appropriate referrals to behavioral 

health when that is needed. 

Senator FRANKEN. Okay. Ms. Weahkee, Amnesty International’s 

2007 Maze of Injustice Study, which Professor Deer, who will be 

testifying later, was instrumental in developing, reports that ‘‘Although IHS services are free, if an American Indian or Alaska Native woman has to go to a non-IHS hospital for a sexual assault 

forensic examination, she may be charged by that facility. The IHS 

has a reimbursement policy, but it is complex and survivors may 

not be aware of it. In some cases the IHS has reportedly failed or 

refused to pay for forensic examination at outside facilities.’’

Ms. Weahkee, I have introduced bipartisan legislation that would 

prohibit any State, local, or tribal hospital from billing rape victims 

for their rape kits. Until we get that bill passed, can the Indian 

Health Service commit to working to improve this system so that 

a woman never has to pay one dime for her rape kit? 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Yes. And in the newly established sexual assault 

policy it does state in there that IHS hospitals are required to provide free sexual assault forensic examinations and full reimbursement. So that is a requirement now as a result of that newly established policy, and that was established just this past March. 

Senator FRANKEN. I am sorry to go over my time, but that policy 

still doesn’t answer the question if a woman has to go to a nonIHS hospital. 

Dr. WEAHKEE. They are required to provide full reimbursement 

as well. Not only provide access to free sexual assault forensic examination, but also full reimbursement for that service. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. 

Mr. Perrelli, four out of five offenders who sexually assault or 

batter Native women are non-Indian, but the Supreme Court ruled 

that Indian tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit crimes on Indian lands. Without a legislative fix, 

the question is how do we hold these non-Indian offenders responsible? 

40

Mr. PERRELLI. And, Mr. Chairman, that is certainly the situation 

that we are in now. I think we are trying to do a number of things 

to address that currently. One is, again, the notion of partnerships; 

that Federal, State, local, and tribal officials all need to be working 

together because any individual matter, whether a defendant is Indian or non-Indian will be determinative of where that person can 

be prosecuted. 

So we are trying to build partnerships in particular between localities and tribal communities. A memorandum of understanding, 

cross-deputization agreements, agreements so that the criminal 

justice system is more seamless that the tribal police officer knows 

that they can arrest the person and knows to whom they can hand 

them off ultimately to be prosecuted. So there is that piece. 

Training. We have launched a couple of major efforts in training 

as a result of the Tribal Law and Order Act, so we have a significant Indian Country training initiative and are working on best 

practices in conjunction with a task force with tribal law enforcement officials. 

But I do think that this is an area that, without legislation and/

or investment, it is not going to be easy to make a major impact 

on the problem. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, we hope we can work with you on that. 

Dr. Weahkee, the Tribal Law and Order Act required the Director of the Indian Health Service to develop standardized sexual assault policies and protocol for IHS facilities. The Director issued 

the policy in March. How is the Department implementing these 

protocols agency-wide? 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Well, obviously one part of the step is to actually 

establish the policy, but we also need to think about how that can 

be implemented throughout our IHS hospitals as well. So as part 

of that we are developing a delegation of authority that will give 

some clear guidance and include the Tribal Law and Order Act requirements. 

We are also in the process of developing guidelines for our IHS 

employees and programs so that gives more specific and clear guidance and accountability around implementing the sexual assault 

policy. And the other piece is to ensure that our providers have 

training about the Tribal Law and Order Act requirements, the implementation of the sexual assault policy, and how that works in 

terms of coordinating those services with other agencies like the 

U.S. Attorney’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

So that is part of what we are also doing, is ensuring that we 

have that coordinated training or cross-training with law enforcement and prosecutors so that we understand each other’s role in 

addressing domestic violence and sexual assault. They understand 

what we need to do in terms of the health care response and our 

providers have a better understanding of the role that they play as 

well. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

I am going to call for a second round. 

Senator Murkowski? 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator Franken has brought up the issue of the rape kits and 

the hurdle that has been in place with the cost associated, so I apVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
41

preciate the fact that full reimbursement will be applied. One of 

the things that we anticipate that we will learn from the GAO report that this Committee asked for that was tasked with reviewing 

IHS collection and the preservation of the forensic evidence, I think 

there are some things that we may learn that will be new. But I 

think one of the things that I am expecting to learn from that is 

that there are some real obstacles in the collection and the preservation of the forensic evidence, and particularly when you get out 

to some very remote, very rural areas, as we have in far too many 

places across rural Alaska. 

What is IHS doing to work to help with the training of the individuals who will be tasked with this so that the steps are taken 

appropriately? It is a difficult enough situation to be the victim, but 

then to know that you may have lost that opportunity to have your 

matter prosecuted because somebody just didn’t know how to correctly collect and/or preserve the forensic evidence. So what are we 

doing? Because we know that this is going to be an outcome of this 

GAO report. 

Dr. WEAHKEE. Well, one piece is with the establishment of the 

sexual assault policy, it gives very detailed information in terms of 

the chain of custody, what needs to be collected, how it needs to 

be stored. So that is provided within the sexual assault policy 

itself. 

As you mentioned, training is also a very significant and important issue to ensure that our providers are actually implementing 

the policy and know how to collect forensic evidence, how to store 

it, how to transfer that evidence as well. So we have been providing 

regional training, sexual assault nurse examiner, sexual assault forensic examiner, sexual assault response team trainings that include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement, and 

prosecutors as part of that training. So we do plan to continue to 

do that. 

Just last week we had our Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative conference that was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we 

provided training to over 140 providers, and I would say in the 

past year we have provided training to over 600 health care providers on these very issues. So those are one way. I think we need 

to continue to provide that training and it needs to be maintained 

because we know that we have different providers coming in or 

that they need to continue to have that continuing education about 

how to do that. 

And I mentioned earlier the other partnership that we have is 

with the Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Interior. So as part 

of that, it is an American Indian-Alaska Native sexual assault 

nurse examiner, sexual assault response team initiative and we are 

going to be working together to address a lot of these challenges 

and to work together to come up with some solutions. And I think 

that will also benefit our system, but also their systems as well. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. And I appreciate that you are giving that 

considered attention to some of the unique obstacles that we face. 

In most of our facilities you don’t have a doctor, you don’t have a 

nurse; we have community health aides. They will need that level 

of training. In many areas there may be issues that relate to the 

42

appropriate storage and whether or not we can appropriately and 

adequately provide for the storage. The transport of the evidence, 

if you are weathered in and there is no airplane, there is no way 

in or out, how do we deal with this? So I appreciate that you are 

working with some challenges there that are perhaps a little bit 

unique, but in fact they are part of the daily world that so many 

in our villages face. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski. 

Senator Franken. 

Senator FRANKEN. Mr. Perrelli, I just want to talk about law enforcement a little bit. We have had testimony and we have had 

hearings here on the level of law enforcement on reservations and 

the problems in recruitment and retention of law enforcement officials, and even the level at which the funding in reservations 

where crime may be four times as high as in the other areas of 

America, they are budgeted for two-thirds what the average jurisdiction would be in America. To what extent does the shortage of 

law enforcement officials in Indian Country account for the lack of 

prosecutions and enforcement of domestic violence? 

Mr. PERRELLI. I think it has a very significant impact. If you 

have one or two officers who are covering hundreds and hundreds 

of square miles, and for an individual who is faced with the prospect of reporting something that has just happened, the idea that 

someone wouldn’t get there for a couple of hours may well cause 

someone to say, you know, I am just going to have to figure out 

a different way to deal with what I am facing here. So I think we 

have recognized that. Each of the last few years we have asked for 

funds for additional FBI agents. Last year, in our Community-oriented Policing Services Grant programs, we were able to fund only 

one of eight officers across the Country, but we tried to fund every 

single tribal police department that applied because we recognized 

that the need was so tremendous. 

So another thing we are doing to try to address this is we have 

designated three community prosecution pilots where we try to put 

a Federal prosecutor who is more engaged with the community, either living on or near the reservation, along with a victim witness 

specialist so that you get the opportunity, sort of access to victim 

services as quickly as you can possibly get it, and that you hopefully build trust over time in working with those individual communities. 

Senator FRANKEN. It seems that we have so many vicious cycles 

in Indian Country. I mean, you talk about what this does to the 

kids who are witness to violence and how that correlates with suicide or their being abusers themselves, ultimately, or crime or drug 

abuse or mental health issues, and then you see that because of the 

lack of recruitment of law enforcement in Indian Country, that that 

is a problem. 

And one of the reasons that you have a lack of recruitment is 

that when you are asking someone to be a law enforcement in Indian Country, they are going into a situation where the schools are 

not great for their kids, the housing isn’t great for their family, the 

employment opportunities aren’t terrific for their spouse, so we 

have just these continuous vicious cycles that I see over and over 

43

again when I am in this Committee, and it seems like we have to 

really make an effort to close those cycles. 

And one of them, to me, is making sure that we have the proper 

level of law enforcement, that we have the proper level of response 

to children who are witness to abuse, and that it is not enough to 

say, well, we are trying; it is not enough to say we are planning 

to coordinate; it is not enough to do that, and that our job is to 

make sure that those things become realities and they become realities now, when they should have been realities yesterday. 

And we have a lot of making up to do because we are seeing the 

legacy of all of this for so many years, and I feel that we owe Indian Country a special debt for our own negligence and our own 

guilt in not fully funding education and fully funding law enforcement and fully funding health care that we, by treaty, we are supposed to do. 

I only have a few seconds, so I am sorry. I am going to submit 

a question on what specific jurisdictional challenges you see in 

bringing these people to justice and what legislative fixes you 

might recommend. Okay? 

Mr. PERRELLI. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you very much. 

And thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. 

I have other questions that I will submit for the record, and I 

want to thank the first panel very much for your responses. It certainly will help us in our work here, and we look forward to continuing to work with you on this, and if we need to get to the point 

of legislating some language that will help the cause here. So 

thank you very much, panel one. 

Mr. PERRELLI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. I would like to invite the second panel to the witness table. On our second panel we have the Honorable Donald 

Rodgers, Chief of the Catawba Indian Nation in Rock Hill, South 

Carolina; Carmen O’Leary, the Director of Native Women’s Society 

of the Great Plains in Timber Lake, South Dakota; and I would 

like to ask my friend and colleague, Senator Franken, to introduce 

our next witness, Ms. Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts, from Minnesota. 

Senator Franken. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this honor. 

Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts is currently the Executive Director of 

the American Indian Community Housing Organization in Duluth, 

Minnesota. This organization was founded in 1993 to respond to social issues impacting Native American women, including domestic 

violence and homelessness. It is the only provider of culturally specific housing and services in Northeast Minnesota. I have had the 

pleasure of meeting Ms. Tibbetts several times. On each occasion 

I have been impressed with her knowledge of the needs of Native 

women and her passion for ending violence and homelessness. 

Ms. Tibbetts, thank you for being here, and please go ahead with 

your testimony. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. 

Senator FRANKEN. I am sorry, Mr. Chairman, that is your prerogative to ask. I got carried away, I’m sorry. 

[Laughter.] 

44

The CHAIRMAN. I want to welcome our second panel and ask 

Chief Rodgers to please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DONALD W. RODGERS, CHIEF, CATAWBA 

INDIAN NATION 

Mr. RODGERS. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, 

Chairman Akaka and distinguished members of the Committee. 

My name is Donald Rodgers. I am Chief of the Catawba Indian Nation in South Carolina. I apologize for my accent a little bit, but 

that’s all right. 

On behalf of the United South and Eastern Tribes, I would like 

to thank you for the privilege of testifying in front of this Committee today on the issues of violence against Native women. Violence against women has been a serious concern of Indian tribes for 

hundreds of years, not just recently. 

This has been going on for hundreds of years. I know that it has 

been an issue for the Catawba Tribe since the mid-1700s, when we 

were ruled by the great King Hagler. King Hagler was a renowned 

chief of the Catawba Indian Nation from 1750 to 1763. He is famously remembered for keeping the peace between the settlers and 

the Catawbas in the area, in the upper portion of South Carolina. 

However, what I remember him most for, and what really hits 

home today for us all, is his belief that the evils of alcohol that led 

to the victimization and the abuse of women. He made a bold statement in the 1760s that was how we should treat our women and 

how we should honor them and how we should stay away from alcohol because it would lead us to do things we shouldn’t do. Over 

300 years ago he made this statement, and it is sad that King 

Hagler’s desire to see Native women treated with dignity and respect has not yet been realized. 

As Tribal Chief, husband, father, and son, I am well aware of the 

violence against women in tribal communities. It is a pervasive 

problem with devastating effects. Studies have shown that American Indian and Alaska Native women experience higher levels of 

sexual violence than all other women in the United States. Our 

women are two and a half more times likely to be raped or sexually 

assaulted than any other race in America. One in three Native 

women will be raped during her lifetime. One in three. I have a 

daughter, and whenever I see her with my nieces, one of those children will face this. 

The VAWA grants have helped combat violence against women 

in our own community. We use our VAWA grant to fund a counselor who provides therapy services for member victims of sexual 

assault, as well as children affected by domestic violence. 

The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians runs a domestic violence 

program as well and sexual assault program which provides crisis 

intervention and legal assistance, among many other things. 

All of these changes are helpful, but they are not enough. The 

Federal Government has a responsibility to assist us in safeguarding the lives of Native women. USET fully supports the National Congress of American Indians’ recommendations to help fix 

this problem. We need to restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over 

all persons and clarify tribal civil jurisdiction over non-Indians. 

There need to be new Federal offenses to combat violence against 

45

women and there need to be ways for tribes who are landless to 

bring Federal charges. We need to create service programs for Native women and we need to increase support for tribal domestic and 

sexual assault coalitions. 

Before I close my comments, I figured this would take me a short 

time; I speak a little fast. I am a survivor. I grew up in a home 

with domestic violence, and it was because of poverty, it was because of the things that our people did not have. I am only 43 years 

old, and I didn’t have running water until I was 12. We didn’t have 

electricity until I was 8. I never knew what a hot water heater was 

until I was 19 years old. 

So those issues in Indian Country have caused the effect of domestic violence to increase. Alcoholism, drug abuse, the constant 

badgering of Indian people by the outside that they are no good, 

that they are worth nothing. We have seen that. I grew up that 

way. 

But I am proud to say that I am a survivor and that through 

church organizations, help from friends and other family members 

have allowed me to become who I am today, and with that I will 

be short to thank you for the opportunity, Chairman, to share this 

information with you, but also the personal experience with you. 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Rodgers follows:]

46

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. DONALD W. RODGERS, CHIEF, CATAWBA INDIAN

NATION


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Chief Rodgers. 

Ms. O’Leary, please proceed with your testimony. 


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STATEMENT OF CARMEN O’LEARY, DIRECTOR, NATIVE

WOMEN’S SOCIETY OF THE GREAT PLAINS 

Ms. O’LEARY. Honorable Chairman Akaka and Mr. Franken, 

thank you for inviting me to testify today. 

I am here representing the Native Women’s Society of the Great 

Plains. That is a tribal coalition and our membership is located in 

the Great Plains area, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, 

Montana, Nebraska, and Southern Minnesota. The board is composed of representatives from programs on the ground on a day-today basis who are providing services to the women in our Native 

lands. Some are nonprofit programs, some are tribal programs, and 

we have known about this problem for a long time. I used to work 

in one of those programs. 

Back in 1996, 15 years ago, was when the Department of Justice 

first showed in their statistics that Native women were violated at 

the rate that they are today, and here we are 15 years later with 

more statistics and more funding, but we still have a ways to go 

in bringing those numbers down. 

One of the things that I see that has been a problem and that 

we need to have some help with is that our services are not stable 

for a variety of reasons. We have model programs that have come 

out of these statistics, and they have come and gone. The instability and ongoing need for services remains a great problem in our 

community. The funding that is often made available is discretionary and it is inconsistent. 

There are a lot of reasons that it doesn’t stay consistent from 

year to year. We have women that need those services, and when 

they go, the program may no longer be there, and the failure to 

provide services puts these women at an increased risk for ongoing 

violence and sometimes even death. And to combat that, I think 

the funding needs to be stabilized so the services are continuous, 

and not just a duration of a two- or three-year program. Funding 

these programs on a consistent, annual basis would directly and 

positively combat the problem of violence in our community. 

Like you all have heard today, we need to have accountability for 

offenders in our communities. We just can’t take our time in making that happen. What we find in our communities due to the lack 

of accountability is that they gain a lot of support. In my own experience this year, I had taken leave from work because I was personally involved with some of the victims in a case at Federal 

court. The pedophile had pled guilty, and part of his reason for 

pleading guilty was because of the additional sentencing guidelines 

that have come about because of the new laws that have been 

passed. 

What was appalling was that we had a line officer who regionally 

covers our area for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Education and also 

one of our BIA principals write support letters, and the principal 

was sitting behind the pedophile, not the students, and that type 

of normalization of sexual abuse in our communities has got to 

stop. 

You have to think about what is the impact on the victims and 

their families when prominent people are sitting behind the perpetrators, rather than the victims. That is just heaping more insult 

on injury. I just find it completely inexcusable that Federal employVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
52

ees with a trust responsibility to those they serve could act just so 

outrageously. 

As I travel across our region, I hear of the barriers that our program advocates have to overcome simply to get help for those they 

serve. In some communities there are no local services whatsoever; 

in others there may be a local program, but when that program 

loses its vital funding due to the end of a grant term or some other 

situations, there are no services for women in life-threatening situations. 

In one community the advocates have to think through how to 

get women to receive medical services after a sexual assault. Sometimes it can be four different places that they have to go in that 

particular community. In another community women are taken 

away to anywhere from 60 to 100 miles to receive medical services, 

and maybe they are taken by ambulance, and they have to find 

their own way back to their communities. Those are the type of 

things that the women in our programs help to overcome and to 

find ways to do that, and when those programs go down, once 

again, those are factors and barriers for women to get help and to 

find justice and the medical services that they need. 

So we have to remember that there has to be a plan. There needs 

to be medical response and victim service providers; otherwise we 

re-victimize the women who have been hurt in our response, and 

our lack of response. 

So the other thing I want you to think about is that when a program goes down in whatever community it is in and those advocates have to go on and find another job or do whatever they need 

to survive for themselves, that that outcome is often crushing. 

One of the things that I can recommend, and I have other things 

in my testimony, but that there is the Victims of Crime Fund, otherwise known as a VOCA Fund, and one of the ways that we have 

consistent services in State programs is that that goal is on from 

year to year, and part of that, the Fund comes from Federal offenders who pay in fines and other penalties, and some of them are 

from jurisdictions in Indian Country. 

But we are not put into that formula at all, any of the tribal jurisdictions, and that would be one place that we wouldn’t have to 

find new monies to allocate from Federal dollars; it is already 

there, it is capped, and there would be a couple of different ways 

to ensure that we could have services from year to year by using 

the Fund money, including tribal programs in tribal areas to have 

some of that set aside to ensure that Native victims have access 

to services that they will need from year to year. The Victims of 

Crime Act is supposed to help rebuild lives, and that is where some 

of that comes from. 

Again, like we have heard today, that many of the episodes that 

happen in Indian Country are perpetrators of another race who 

know that they can continue to offend without any consequences 

due to the unique and confusing jurisdictional rules present in Indian Country, and we do need the jurisdictional fix that they were 

talking about earlier that would give back the criminal jurisdiction 

over non-Indians to the tribes, because the offender that goes 

unpunished under our current system needs to get what they deserve, and his victim or victims may finally achieve some sense of 

53

peace knowing that justice was served at least at some level, if not 

at a Federal level. 

We heard from Indian Health Service that the impact of abuse 

on women has long-term effects. We know that their quality of life 

and what has happened to them endures long after any bruises 

heal. 

The CHAIRMAN. Ms. O’Leary, would you please summarize your 

statement? 

Ms. O’LEARY. Sure. My clock is a little bit off, isn’t it? I’m sorry. 

The CHAIRMAN. Your full statement will be placed in the record. 

Ms. O’LEARY. Thank you. 

Part of what I need to submit further, Your Honor, is sexual assault protocol. We have some written testimony that wasn’t finalized yet for that, and I am glad to have the two weeks. 

But Native women deserve an equal chance to rebuild their lives. 

Thank you for allowing me to testify here today, and I am happy 

to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. O’Leary follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CARMEN O’LEARY, DIRECTOR, NATIVE WOMEN’S SOCIETY

OF THE GREAT PLAINS

Honorable Chairman Akaka, and other distinguished members of the Committee, 

thank you for inviting me to testify today. My name is Carmen O’Leary, and I am 

a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe located in South Dakota. I am here 

today representing the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains, a tribal coalition that provides support to programs serving Native women subjected to violence 

throughout the Great Plains. Our member programs are located in North and South 

Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and southern Minnesota. Our board is composed of representatives from each of our member programs. We work together toward the overall goal of increasing the safety of Native women in our Native lands. 

Our Native nations have known for some time that violence against Native 

women is a problem. But this was confirmed for the first time by the federal government in 1996 when the Department of Justice issued a report finding that Native 

women were homicide victims at a far greater rate than any other population in the 

United States. Unfortunately, Native Women continue to lead the nation in victimization rates. One in three Native women experience rape in our nations today. 

I understand that numbers have been presented time and again about the need 

in Indian Country for increased services and accountability. And as a result of these 

numbers, various model programs have come and gone. But the instability and ongoing need for services remains a great problem in our communities. The funding 

that is available is usually discretionary and inconsistent. Too often, women in need 

of services find that the local DV/SA program is no longer funded or the services 

are no longer offered. This failure to provide services puts these women at increased 

risk for ongoing violence, and too often, death. To combat this, funding needs to be 

stabilized so the services are continuous and not just the duration of a two or three 

year grant. Funding these programs on a consistent, annual basis will directly and 

positively combat the problem of violence in our communities. 

In addition to increasing the availability of services, we need to hold offenders accountable by increasing community accountability. How much time will it take to 

overcome decades of behavior that has been accepted due to offenders going 

unpunished and the community accepting the offender’s actions as the status quo? 

This normalization of violence is imbedded deeply in our society today. I had the 

sad experience to observe one of the worst examples of this acceptance in a federal 

courtroom earlier this year. Thanks to the threat of increased sentencing, one 

pedophile plea bargained and was being sentenced. He had pled guilty; there was 

no jury or assumption of innocent at this point in his procedures. The victims who 

had courageously come forth all were current or former students at a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. The regional line officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and one 

of the principals of a local Bureau of Indian Affairs school wrote letters of support. 

But not for their students—for the pedophile. The principal sat behind the pedophile 

at the hearing, not behind the students. I am not sure any of us can understand 

the impact it must have had on these victims and those who love them—that the 

54

support of prominent people in their community supported the perpetrators, and 

dismissed the victims. Sadly, insult to injury is heaped on those strong enough to 

come forward. I find it completely inexcusable that federal employees, with a trust 

responsibility towards those they serve—namely the students—could act so egregiously. 

As I travel across our region, I hear of the barriers that program advocates have 

to overcome simply to get help for those they serve. In some communities, there are 

no local services whatsoever. In others, there may be a local program, but when that 

program loses its vital funding, due to the end of a grant term or some other situation, there are no other local services for women in life threatening situations. In 

another community, the program staff may have to figure out one of four possible 

sites to take a sexual assault victim. Another program had to find a way to get 

women back from emergency services in a far off facility. There, the sexual assault 

victim was taken by ambulance to the emergency room sixty to hundred miles from 

home, and she was left to find her own way back with no resources. In all of these 

situations, very little effort has been made to plan for anything except the minimal 

medical response for victims. And it is the victims that suffer, often revictimized by 

the response process, or lack thereof, that they must face. 

The stability and knowledge gained by the staff is lost as they have to move to 

another job and take their experience and expertise with them. It does take the 

knowledge of the local native women to help other native women. The base of what 

works and what is needed is lost as a program goes down. 

The long term effects of violence to Indian women are well documented. We know 

that the damage to their quality of life endures well beyond the bruises. The fear 

they endure takes so much from women’s lives and the lives of their families and 

our communities. Depression, substance abuse, and suicide are often the remnants 

of the violence in the lives of Native women and their children. It is hard to put 

a life back together after such violence. Then pile on the poverty, isolation, and 

blame that Native women subjected to violence must face. The outcome is crushing. 

These are the barriers victims, women and children, come up against in small 

communities, over and over, in their hunt for safety and perhaps some sense of justice. For years, I have heard the stories of women and their children having to overcome huge barriers to be safe and survive in some overwhelming situations. Often 

times, the advocates who help victims are also threatened in numerous ways as they 

seek to help women and their children. And in more times than I care to admit, 

the violence escalates to the point of murder. A few years ago, one Native woman, 

a mother of five, disappeared. It took thirty days for any agency to launch a search 

for her. And even though her battered body was finally found, her murder goes unsolved to this day. 

Efforts at solutions have been passed, such as the Tribal Law and Order Act. 

These are commendable steps. But additional steps need to be taken in this area 

to fully implement the necessary provisions. One important step is a return of criminal jurisdiction to Indian nations over crimes of domestic violence, stalking, dating 

violence and sexual assault by non-Indians. This type of jurisdictional fix is critical 

to enhancing the safety of Native Women. Many episodes of violence against Native 

women include perpetrators of another race who know that they can continue to offend without any consequences due to the unique and confusing jurisdictional rules 

present in Indian country. With a jurisdictional fix that restores tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians for these limited crimes, the offender that goes 

unpunished under the current system might finally get what he deserves and his 

victim might finally achieve a sense of peace, knowing that justice was served. 

The rate of sexual assault is at epidemic proportions. Grant programs for tribal 

programs are not meeting the needs, and accessing funds from these programs has 

many barriers. This often results in a mindset that sexual assault, although not acceptable in other places, is acceptable in Indian country. Other jurisdictions have 

access to the Victims of Crimes Fund, otherwise known as the VOCA fund. The 

monies in the VOCA fund are monies paid by federal offenders for fines and other 

penalties including fines paid by offenders in federal jurisdictions like those who 

commit crimes in Indian Country. But, under the Victims of Crime Act, practically 

no money is directed at Indian Tribes. States receive a formula grant each year; no 

competition is required so the funding for the services is guaranteed from year to 

year. Tribes need the same type of funding set aside to immediately begin to better 

serve Native victims of violence. Such a tribal set-aside would cause no loss of funding to others receiving VOCA funds under the existing scheme if the amount was 

above the current cap. Such an ‘‘above-the-cap’’ set-aside for tribes would help ensure that Native victims have access to the services they need, while still maintaining the existing set aside amounts for the states. This would focus the funds on an 

area of demonstrated need which has been ignored for far too long. The Victims of 

55

Crime Act is supposed to help rebuild a life through assistance and compensation. 

Native Women victims deserve an equal chance to rebuild their lives. 

Thank you for allowing me to present my testimony here today. I am happy to 

try and answer any questions you may have.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

A vote is in order now in the chambers, so, as Chair, I call a recess here, subject to the call of the Chair. So recess. Thank you. 

And I will be right back. 

[Recess.] 

The CHAIRMAN. This hearing on Native women, an oversight 

hearing, will come to order. We will continue with our testimonies, 

and may I call on Ms. Tibbetts for your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF SHERRY SANCHEZ TIBBETTS, EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR, AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY HOUSING

ORGANIZATION 

Ms. TIBBETTS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to take a 

moment to thank Senator Franken for his introduction. 

My name is Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts. I am the Executive Director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization. 

AICHO is a multi-service nonprofit located in Northeast Minnesota. We provide a wide range of culturally specific housing and 

supportive services targeting Native American women who experience physical and sexual violence. 

In 1996, AICHO developed the first transitional housing program 

in the State of Minnesota dedicated to serving Native American 

women who have been battered and were homeless. We operate one 

of only a handful of culturally specific domestic violence shelters 

nationwide and provide scattered site supportive housing to longterm homeless families, individuals, and unaccompanied youth. 

AICHO is also in the process of developing one of the first permanent supportive housing projects in the Country for urban Indian homeless and precariously housed people. While we incorporate traditional American Indian practices and customs in all our 

programs, AICHO serves all persons in need, and we recognize that 

there is an undeniable connection between homelessness and violence against women. 

In 2008, after reviewing client files and case situations, we found 

that 46 percent of all the women connected to an AICHO program 

had been involved in trafficking or prostitution. When staff realized 

that nearly one out of every two women who were in our office on 

a regular basis had somehow been commercially sexually exploited, 

they were shocked. Most of the women had not presented as trafficking victims, though some had admitted that they entered into 

prostitution or began hooking when they were 12 or 13 years old. 

The women seeking services at AICHO had come to our offices 

from other community programs, area reservations, and the 

streets. They presented as just homeless or in need of shelter after 

a boyfriend had beat them up. Some had developmental disabilities; most lived at or below the poverty line and had few resources 

available to them. At the same time, there were also police reports 

and stories from mothers of young girls being lured off reservations 

and other areas and taken to ships on port, beaten, and gang 

raped. 

56

AICHO staff had collected information in response to a request 

from the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. At the time, 

there was a significant lack of information about American Indian 

victims of trafficking and relatively few services to help victims 

find safety and to heal from the trauma in a life of prostitution, 

although there had been numerous reports from advocates of Native girls being trafficked into urban areas and then forced into 

prostitution, pornography, and strip shows across the State and 

over State lines. 

The Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center began working 

on a report, Shattered Hearts, which is the first research in the 

Country to analyze the scope of sexual exploitation of American Indian women and children in the United States. Among the findings, the report stated that historical trauma, multi-generational 

grief and loss, compounded by high rates of poverty and sexual violence, make American Indians extremely vulnerable to sexual predators. 

It has also been our experience at AICHO that many of the 

women seeking our services are experiencing multiple forms of victimization at one time. Violence against women occurs on a spectrum, and Native women are very likely to experience more than 

one form of violence. Domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, 

dating violence, and sex trafficking, as well as homelessness, are 

all issues that intersect with one another and often co-occur. 

Native American women must have access to multifaceted, culturally-based services in order to attain safety, stability and autonomy. Organizations serving them, particularly in an urban setting, 

must be able to provide those services in a culturally competent 

manner. 

As a service provider working with Native American women who 

have been commercially sexually exploited, AICHO makes the following recommendations for moving forward: 

Develop culturally appropriate housing services, especially in 

urban areas. Emergency and permanent housing with client-driven 

supportive services is needed to help Native American women and 

children break away from pimps and those who would exploit 

them, and safely rebuild their lives; 

Provide training and technical assistance to mainstream programs to help them identify trafficking victims. Most women will 

not present as a trafficking victim, but will seek services for homelessness or other causes; and provide assistance to help them deliver services in a culturally competent manner; and 

Finally, eliminate the requirement for law enforcement certification for domestic sex trafficking victims to quality for services 

funded by Federal dollars. Many of the women victimized are in 

fear of their safety if they get involved with law enforcement. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I welcome any questions you may 

have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Tibbetts follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SHERRY SANCHEZ TIBBETTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY HOUSING ORGANIZATION

The American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) is a multi-service nonprofit located in Northeast Minnesota. We provide a wide-range of culturally 

57

specific housing and supportive services targeting Native American women who 

have experienced physical and sexual violence. In 1996, AICHO developed the first 

transitional housing program in the state of Minnesota dedicated to serving Native 

American women who had been battered; we operate one of only 26 culturally specific domestic violence shelters nationwide; and provide scattered site supportive 

housing to long-term homeless families, individuals and unaccompanied youth. 

AICHO is also in the process of developing a multi-use facility that will create one 

of the first permanent supportive housing projects in the country for urban Indian 

homeless and precariously housed families. While we incorporate traditional American Indian practices and customs in all our programs, AICHO serve all persons in 

need. 

In 2008, we found that 46 percent of all the women connected to an AICHO program had been involved in trafficking or prostitution. When staff realized that nearly 1 out of every 2 women who were in our office on regular basis had been commercially sexually exploited, they were shocked. Most of those women had not presented 

as ‘‘trafficking victims,’’ though some had admitted that they had entered into prostitution or started ‘‘hooking’’ when they were twelve or thirteen years old. The 

women seeking services at AICHO had come to our offices from other community 

programs, reservations, and the streets. They presented as ‘‘just homeless’’ or in 

need of shelter after their ‘‘boyfriend had beat them,’’ and only later acknowledged 

that their ‘‘boyfriend’’ had actually trafficked or forced them into prostitution. Some 

had development disabilities, most lived at or below the poverty line and had few 

resources available. There were also police reports from Duluth, where AICHO is 

located, showing that Native girls were being lured off reservations, taken onto 

ships in port, beaten, and gang-raped. 

As a housing organization, AICHO recognizes that there is an undeniable connection between homelessness and violence against women. Often, women experiencing 

physical or sexual violence may have to choose between remaining in an abusive relationship or face being homeless, which can compound a situation by exposing a 

woman (and her children) to higher risks of assault. The vast majority of Native 

American women who come into shelter are not only being physically and emotionally battered by their partners, they are also being sexually assaulted. Sexual assault is often a tool that is used by abusive partners but it also exists as a historical 

legacy for every Native American woman; whereas the dynamics of domestic violence assert power and control of one partner by another, the dynamics of colonization asserts the domination of one race and culture by another. Native American 

women are at the receiving end of both types of domination, and the experiences 

of these forms of violence and oppression are intertwined. 

AICHO staff collected information in response to a request from the Minnesota 

Indian Women’s Resource Center. At the time, there was a significant lack of information about American Indian victims of trafficking and a relative absence of services to help victims find safety and heal from the trauma of life in prostitution, despite numerous reports from tribal advocates of Native girls being trafficked into 

urban areas then forced into prostitution, pornography, and strip shows across the 

state, over state lines, and internationally into Mexico. MIWRC was working on a 

report that documented the commercial sexual exploitation of Native American 

women and children. Shattered Hearts was the first research in the country to analyze the scope of sexual exploitation of American Indian women and children in the 

United States. The report found that historical trauma and multi-generational grief 

and loss, compounded by high rates of poverty and sexual violence make American 

Indians extremely vulnerable to sexual predators. It also found that the average age 

into prostitution was 12 years old. 

Violence against Native American women, whether physical or sexual, is grounded in an abuse of power and reinforced through intimidation, coercion, and control. 

Long-term safety and self-sufficiency for women who have experienced domestic 

and/or sexual violence requires far more than merely leaving an abusive relationship. Freedom from violence requires comprehensive planning and holistic, clientcentered supportive services. Staff at Dabinoo’Igan, AICHO’s domestic violence shelter, have often seen that Native women seeking our services are experiencing multiple forms of victimization at one time. Violence against women occurs on a spectrum and Native women are very likely to experience more than one form of violence. Domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence and sex trafficking 

are all issues that intersect with one another and often co-occur. Native American 

women must have access to multi-faceted, culturally based services in order to attain safety, stability, and autonomy; organizations serving them, particularly in an 

urban setting, must be able to provide those services. 

AICHO provides the following recommendations for moving forward:

58

Develop culturally appropriate housing services, especially in urban areas to 

help protect and safeguard Native American women and children. Emergency 

and permanent housing with client driven services is needed to help Native 

American women and children break away from pimps and safely rebuild their 

lives.

Technical assistance and training for mainstream programs is needed to help 

identify trafficking victims (most do not present as such) and deliver culturally 

competent services. Native Americans are disproportionately impacted by violence and over-represented in domestic violence shelters.

Eliminate the requirement for law enforcement certification for domestic sex 

trafficking victims to qualify for services funded by federal dollars.

Thank you for bringing attention to the sexual exploitation of American Indian 

women and children. Your help is needed to ensure that they receive the care and 

services they need in order to rebuild their lives.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Ms. Tibbetts. We have 

some questions here and I would like to ask Senator Franken 

whether he has any questions of the second panel. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I am sorry I missed your oral testimony, but I did get to read 

it. Ms. Tibbetts, of course, it is great to see you again, and thank 

you for being here today. A 2006 Wilder Foundation study on 

homelessness in the Minnesota Indian community found that 36 

percent of respondents statewide had stayed in an abusive situation because of lack of other housing. Let me ask you about that 

because I have been places in the States and am interested in the 

whole issue of domestic violence and know the importance of emergency housing and transitional housing. How does a lack of affordable housing in Indian Country specifically contribute to the cycle 

of violence? 

Ms. TIBBETTS. Thank you, Senator Franken. I am familiar with 

the Wilder study, and it also shows that Native American people 

are disproportionately represented in homelessness. I think the biggest impact that the lack of affordable housing has on Indian communities is that there are fewer resources for women to go to; they 

will stay in an abusive relationship. 

There are fewer domestic violence shelters available, especially 

out in Northern Minnesota. To put it in context, in Northeast Minnesota, the seven counties around Duluth, which includes three 

reservations, have two domestic violence shelters, for a total of 

about 42 bed spaces. 

If women are unable to access emergency shelter and transitional 

housing or affordable housing isn’t available to them, they have no 

place to go. They may end up back with their abuser; they may end 

up at a homeless shelter or out on the streets and further victimized by those who are predators in those areas. 

Transitional housing is important to help families, but they also 

need long-term housing; they need a place to go after they have 

been in an supportive environment. 

Senator FRANKEN. According to the testimony yesterday we had 

in Judiciary on VAWA, maybe the most important period of time 

for a woman leaving an abusive situation is right after she has left, 

and the person who testified basically said that it is so important 

to engage in planning when you leave a situation. 

Anyone want to speak to that, Ms. O’Leary or Ms. Tibbetts? 

59

Ms. O’LEARY. Safety planning is what I was talking about services, and I am not sure how much of that you were here for, services is what the advocates do on the ground in the programs that 

are funded, and safety planning is a real important time so that 

women take with them the basic things that they are going to need 

for themselves and their children, just to help them survive in a 

shelter, be it their Social Security numbers, IDs, things like that, 

who they can call for help, how they can get transportation. 

In our area, transportation is a big deal because of large geographical areas that have to travel to get to a safe place. All of that 

is part of the services that often go down because of the discretionary funding and inconsistent funding that has been happening 

in Indian Country. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you. 

Ms. Tibbetts, your organization, the American Indian Community Housing Organization in Duluth provides culturally-specific 

programs for domestic violence victims, including a domestic violence shelter, transitional housing, and advocacy. These programs 

are so important to Native women and your organization does a 

great job with them. Can you talk about the need for culturallyspecific programs and why traditional programs may not meet the 

needs of all victims? 

Ms. TIBBETTS. Thank you, Senator. 

Most of our services are geared towards Native women who have 

been battered. It is important to have culturally-specific services in 

place on many different levels. Women may not feel comfortable accessing mainstream programs; mainstream programs may not be 

readily available. The need for culturally-specific services is especially important in urban areas where women who have been battered may have been isolated from their family or their community, 

and we have heard earlier today that most perpetrators of violence 

against Native women are non-Native people. To have a place that 

provides culturally-specific services helps in the healing process for 

women who have been victimized that way. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you. 

I am out of time, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t thank Chief 

Rodgers, Chairman Rodgers for your very moving testimony. 

May I ask one question of the chairman? 

The CHAIRMAN. Go ahead. 

Senator FRANKEN. Not to go into any specifics of your situation 

from which you are a survivor, can you speak a little bit to the psychological ramifications of either being a victim or a witness to domestic abuse? 

Mr. RODGERS. Yes, sir. Thank you, Senator. I will be able to 

share just a moment. When I grew up, my mother was a victim of 

domestic violence, and it turned to the children at times, and psychologically it can do one of two things: it can turn you into a perpetrator or it can turn you into an advocate, and I have turned to 

be an advocate. 

One of the things you asked earlier about, and if I can allude to 

the question, women, when they are involved in domestic violence, 

they love their husbands or love their partner, whoever they are 

with. I grew up with the saying, as I was somewhat being taught 

in many different ways from some of our elders, is that you can 

60

love that person, but you sure can hate what they do. And it takes 

a community of friends and other family to get those people out of 

those situations, and Indian women specifically are strong-willed. 

Right, ladies? 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. RODGERS. Very strong-willed, and it is tough for them to say 

I am weak, and I have seen that. 

But psychologically speaking, it made me stronger as a man, as 

a dad, as a husband, as a father, especially as a father of a daughter. Again, it makes you realize that you don’t want to continue 

with this cycle. And there is spirituality that goes along with this. 

One needs to find spirituality, whether traditional spirituality 

within their own Native culture or whether it is external with modern religion. And once you find that spirituality you can overcome 

that and many, many obstacles that are placed before you. 

And I am just grateful that I had a strong-willed mom who was 

my rock. My dad passed away when I was 17; my mom passed 

away just a few years ago. And for her to go through life as she 

did and remain strong-willed as she was was phenomenal. 

But she was a stalwart to other women because she died blind, 

she died a double amputee, she died of heart disease and liver and 

kidney failure, but until the day she died she worked for herself. 

So being a victim and living like that and overcoming all those obstacles made her a whole lot stronger. So psychologically you do 

one of two things, you either become a perpetrator or you become 

an advocate. So I am proud to say I am an advocate. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you. Thank you for your advocacy. 

Mr. RODGERS. Yes, sir. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Franken. 

Chief Rodgers, what do you think tribal leaders can do to eradicate violence against Native women in Native communities? 

Mr. RODGERS. Mr. Chairman, I think that we, as tribal leaders, 

need to take a stance: one, being advocates against domestic violence, but also allowing and creating programs within your tribal 

communities that will work. We have a social services department 

that uses the VAWA grant to do several different things with, but 

it takes the advocacy of the tribal committee to go out and say 

these are the things that we know are problems and these are the 

things that we approve our dollars to be used for. It is down to my 

signature on what grants come to the tribe, and so tribal leaders 

need to be advocates for those things that are problems. 

I was discussing with Indian Health Service about tribal leaders 

have so much animosity toward Indian Health Service, and I ask 

myself. I serve on the Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee 

and I have asked myself why, as I was traveling the Country, why 

do tribal leaders have so much animosity toward Indian Health 

Service. It is because their heart has grown fainter in one way: 

they have failed to realize what they need to be thankful for and 

be grateful for what they have, than asking for more that they 

don’t need. So in my position, and I share my personal position, we 

as tribal leaders need to work hand-in-hand with the programs 

that are available and advocate those in our own tribal communities to allow those to progress. 

61

We can’t fight it if we don’t have people in place to fight it. And 

that is kind of an oxymoron. Here we are talking about domestic 

violence and we are fighting the problem. But we need to put people in place who are there who can assist those people who are in 

these situations, and we need to make sure tribal dollars are allocated for that, make sure that we advocate for those grants and 

support those grants that support their services, as well as, you 

know, one thing that I guess you see I have a tender heart, and 

it is a fortunate and unfortunate thing. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is bad. 

But as a tribal leader, some tribal leaders are looked to as spiritual leaders, and I have sat in my council with females who come 

who are victims of domestic violence, with their social services director and help them and listen. Tribal leaders need to listen. They 

stop listening to their members many times over and they need to 

be good listeners and help them and advocate for those programs. 

Thank you, sir. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you for your response, Chief Rodgers. 

Ms. O’Leary, how do we improve victims’ access to medical services, especially in rural Native communities? 

Ms. O’LEARY. Your Honor, I think that having services in our 

communities, increasing those services and stabilizing those services so when that message gets out that they are still there. We 

all know that victims don’t always come forward right away. A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend I didn’t know about that 

she had been a sexual assault victim many years ago, and she was 

talking about reporting, even if it wasn’t for the conviction, just so 

that the record was there that that had happened. 

At the time it happened to her there were no services in our communities for her to report to. What I see time and again out in the 

other communities, where we have started up programs and then 

there is no continuity, maybe they heard about the program on the 

radio or something and then when they went to access it it wasn’t 

there. 

So I think that those service providers, those community women, 

the advocates, are the ones that are going to make sure that 

women are able to access services; they are going to help them 

walk through that procedure and they are going to be there from 

day to day and year to year. That is what I see that is working. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Ms. Tibbetts, I just found out that domestic violence shelters 

have been closed in Northeast Minnesota since the budget crisis, 

but homeless shelters remain open. What are the victims doing for 

shelter? 

Ms. TIBBETTS. Mr. Chairman, it is not just in Northeast Minnesota; it is throughout the State of Minnesota. The State is in a 

budget crisis and our government shut down. Many domestic violence shelters depend on State funding to operate. On the first day 

of the shutdown, there were two shelters in the Twin Cities, one 

was a culturally-specific shelter; it shut down. This last week there 

were two shelters in Northeastern Minnesota; they have both 

closed as well, including AICHO shelter. 

62

What it means is that there are even fewer places for victims to 

go to. We have been making arrangements to have any calls that 

come in referred to other programs. There is a program I Superior, 

which is literally across the bridge from Duluth, where we are able 

to take Minnesota residents to get housing. Because there are shelters that have been closed, the crisis is going to get worse and 

worse for victims and their children, with fewer options for them 

to go to. 

You did mention that homeless shelters are now up and running. 

That is correct. The problem with homeless shelters, when domestic violence victims or women who have been physically or sexually 

assaulted go there, the staff at homeless shelters may not be 

trained to recognize the trauma that some women have experienced. It is also common for predators to hang out at the homeless 

shelters and lure vulnerable women and young girls into prostitution and trafficking situations there as well. 

The CHAIRMAN. Your city, Ms. Tibbetts, Duluth, Minnesota, has 

been referenced in the study of Shattered Hearts as having Native 

women and girls trafficked for prostitution on ships in the Port of 

Duluth. Can you tell the Committee what you think needs to be 

done to stop the trafficking of Native women? 

Ms. TIBBETTS. I think as a service advocate, there are two things 

first. We need to raise community awareness about what is going 

on. When we talk about trafficking, especially in the Duluth area, 

people often refer to the situation at the docks and say, well, that 

has always been going on, but that is just there. They don’t realize 

the magnitude of the problem. 

The other thing is I think there needs to be clearer jurisdictional 

authority over this issue. For example, the Coast Guard attends a 

local trafficking and task force committee. I spoke to the Coast 

Guard regarding any incidences of women being trafficked onto 

ships. They have assured us that with increased security matters 

that this happens very rarely, but that really the Port Authority 

or Customs would be the folks that we needed to talk to. 

When speaking to Customs, they said, yes, they are the first people onboard of a vessel, and they will certify that vessel to enter 

the port, but once the vessel goes into the channel, it becomes a 

local water craft and subject to the local police department. The 

local police are also on our task force and they have reported instances before, in the past, of reports. 

So I think one of the things that needs to be clarified is who actually is in charge in that situation. It is unclear, as a service provider working with these different agencies, who would be the primary contact. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you. That is something that we need 

to work on. Jurisdiction is something we need to look at. 

I do appreciate your responses and thank you for your patience, 

but this is an issue that we need to continue to work on as quickly 

as we can and see what we can do to bring about changes that are 

needed. Your responses will be helpful to us and, as you know, we 

are really looking at what needs to be legislated to help you with 

this kind of problem. 

Senator Franken, do you have any additional second round questions for this panel? 

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Senator FRANKEN. No. As a matter of fact, Mr. Chairman, I am 

kind of eager to get to the third panel so I can introduce Sarah 

Deer, because I have to preside soon and have another thing I have 

to do. But I want to thank the panelists, all of you, for your testimony. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Well, I want to thank the panel, too, very much for your responses and look forward to working with you. Thank you very 

much. 

I would like to call on our third panel, Mr. Mickey Peercy, the 

Executive Director of Health Services of the Choctaw Nation of 

Oklahoma, and I would like to ask my colleague, Senator Franken, 

to introduce our witness from Minnesota, Ms. Sarah Deer. 

Senator Franken. 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is my honor to 

introduce Sarah Deer. Sarah is an Assistant Professor at William 

Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, a member of the 

Muskogee Creek Nation. Professor Deer has dedicated her time 

and her career to ending violence against Native women. She has 

volunteered as a rape crisis counselor and chose to attend law 

school so that she could respond to the unique legal needs of Native 

survivors of sexual assault. 

Professor Deer contributed extensively to Amnesty International’s groundbreaking 2007 Maze of Injustice report on violence against Native women. Last year she received the prestigious 

Sheila Wellstone Award, which recognizes individuals who share 

the great Sheila Wellstone’s vision of safe, healthy homes and communities. Earlier this year Professor Deer was recognized by the 

Department of Justice for her commitment to victims of crime. 

Each time I have met her I have been moved by her commitment 

to ending violence against Native women. 

Professor Deer, thank you so much for being here. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. 

So I would like to ask Mr. Peercy to please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF MICKEY PEERCY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

HEALTH SERVICES OF CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA 

Mr. PEERCY. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Senator 

Franken. 

Also, in providing written testimony, I would ask that folks 

please take a look at that as we go and later on because I can’t 

do justice with the five minutes, but I am going to give it my best 

shot. And on behalf of Chief Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw 

Nation of Oklahoma, I bring greetings, extend to you the support 

of the people of the Choctaw Nation. My name is Mickey Peercy. 

I represent the Choctaw Nation, the third largest tribe in the 

United States, over 206,000 members across the United States, 

some in the areas that each member of the Committee represents. 

We are here today to speak in strong support of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The Act is the nexus to 

protect, shield, and safeguard our sisters, mothers, and daughters 

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against cruelty and violence. I thank you for inviting the Choctaw 

Nation to provide testimony. 

Violence against women wasn’t acceptable in the early years of 

the Choctaw Nation. It is not a part of the culture. It is not a part 

of any culture, it is something that is brought on and learned. It 

was only after colonization that the social maladies began to affect 

the Choctaw people. 

The Choctaw Nation is committed to treating and preventing 

these travesties. Keep in mind the Choctaw Nation is an off-reservation tribe with an area population of 12,000 square miles, 

roughly the size of Vermont. And within that 12,000 square miles 

we have 84 independent school districts. So you can tell the scope 

of what we are dealing with. 

We know that the things that contribute to domestic violence, violence against women, violence against children come from somewhere, and we think a lot of the contribution comes from poverty, 

comes from lack of education, unemployment, alcohol and substance abuse. And the only way you can really end these things 

long-term is to deal with those issues. 

The Choctaw Nation works hard to make sure folks are employed 

and also to make sure that there is career development for those 

who don’t want to go to college, and scholarships for those who 

want to. Also keep in mind we provide substance abuse programs 

for those who are dealing with those issues. 

We have to start there. I have heard it said several times about 

the cycle. It is very true, it is a cycle. And what we are doing is 

attempting to treat it in a multifaceted sort of way. We do a lot 

of things with prevention. The Choctaw Nation is treating those 

who are already involved in the violence cycle and also making efforts to stop the violence before it starts. We have found that violence begets violence. It is a cycle. We view this, again, multifaceted. 

I think I was asked to be here because we have some programs 

going forward and I wanted to bring as many of those out as possible in a very short amount of time. 

First, we have some for the younger kids, Better Beginnings. 

Those are zero to five in the early childhood development sorts of 

programs and dealing with families. 

We have support for pregnant and parenting teens projects. Keep 

in mind, in one small rural school we have four teenagers, we have 

two girls that are pregnant by two young men in that school system, and we are dealing with that. None of them are old enough 

to drive. That is a little frightening. So we work with those kids 

and we work with their parents in an effort to do everything we 

can to make sure that those social issues are taken care of. 

Family Preservation supports healthy paternal behaviors, and in 

2010 we served more than 2,000 women and families. 

It has to be a collaboration. It has to be partnerships. We partner 

with drug courts, with all areas of prosecutors, law enforcement, 

social services agencies through the State. We go to SAMHSA, we 

deal with DOJ. Many of our dollars come from grant programs and 

we fight hard for those grant programs. 

I also wanted to mention a project, Falummichechi. It is 150 children who deal with second graders. They go into the schools and 

65

deal with second graders. That program received an Achievement 

of Excellence Award from Harvard University and we are very 

proud of that program. That is, again, with the youngsters. 

And we also, in terms of the clinical, I have to say before my 

time runs out, we work very hard on the clinical aspect. We do 

have the sexual assault response team in place. We work very 

hard. We have, within our hospital, five SANE nurses, sexual 

abuse nurses. All five of those nurses are certified internationally. 

And that doesn’t happen very often; it sure doesn’t happen in Indian Country. We also have 16 advocates for sexual abuse. 

More programs than I can mention. We are trying very hard to 

stop the cycle. We have a long way to go. What we want to do, 

again, is treat those things that are happening on an everyday 

basis, protect the women, protect the children, but also, starting 

with the youngsters, make sure that we stop the cycle so we are 

not here 20 years from now talking about the same things with the 

same problems. 

Please, those who are interested, please read the written testimony. Thank you, sir. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Peercy follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICKEY PEERCY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEALTH SERVICES

OF CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. 

Peercy. 

Ms. Deer, will you please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF SARAH DEER, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL,

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, WILLIAM MITCHELL SCHOOL OF

LAW 

Ms. DEER. Thank you, Chairman. 

On behalf of Amnesty International and Amnesty International’s 

American Indian and Alaska Native Advisory Council, I would like 

to express my deep appreciation and thanks for inviting me to testify before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing today. 

As you may know, Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots human rights organization with over 3 million members 

worldwide. On behalf of AI’s nearly half a million members here in 

the United States, I thank you for holding this important hearing 

and for the opportunity to testify before Congress and this Committee on some of the grave human rights abuses that American 

Indian and Alaska Native women face here in the U.S. 

While many of these abuses exist in the broader context of both 

current and historical injustices, my testimony will focus on the 

interrelated issues of sexual violence, trafficking and prostitution, 

and disparities in health care. 

As other hearings have documented, it has been challenging for 

the legal system to respond to the high rates of rape in Indian 

Country. There is a complex interrelation between Federal, State, 


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and tribal jurisdiction that undermines tribal authority and often 

allows perpetrators to evade justice. Tribal and Federal agencies 

responsible for providing the services necessary to ensure that survivors receive adequate care and that perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes are chronically underfunded and without 

the appropriate resources to uphold agency duties. Tribal governments are hampered by a complex set of laws and regulations created by the Federal Government and the Supreme Court that make 

it difficult, if not impossible, to respond to sexual assault in an effective manner. 

With the Administration’s long-awaited endorsement of the 

United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

this past December 2010 and the Tribal Law and Order Act of July 

2010, the U.S. now has both a national and an international rights 

framework with which to address the issues that Native peoples 

face here in the United States. 

As one Native advocate put it, sexual assault rates and violence 

against Native women did not just drop from the sky; they are a 

process of history. Many of the current issues that American Indian 

and Alaska Native women face in the United States can be traced 

back to the legacy of abuse and systemic assault on Native culture, 

land, and people as part of the colonization of the Americas. Gender-based violence against Native women was used by settlers as 

an integral part of conquest and colonization. 

The United States Federal Government has historically made a 

series of attempts to compel American Indian and Alaska Native 

peoples to assimilate into the dominant Euro-American society, and 

a number of policies historically designed to promote assimilation 

have contributed to the breaking up of tribal societies. One such 

policy in the 1800s involved removing children as young as five 

from their homes and compelling them to attend boarding schools. 

Many of these historical actions would meet the legal definition of 

human trafficking if they happened in 2011. 

I am happy to share with this Committee that in my professional 

capacity as an Assistant Professor at William Mitchell College of 

Law, I have been working in partnership with my colleagues at the 

Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition and Prostitution Research and Education to conduct additional research and 

analysis on the issue of prostitution in Indian Country, and will 

soon be releasing our findings and report in October. It is our hope 

that the report will shed additional light on the depth and severity 

of the issue and that the needs assessment will have an impact on 

the culturally appropriate services and advocacy. 

The two organizations interviewed 105 American Indian women 

who were prostituted and trafficked in Minnesota and we are still 

engaged in the empirical data analysis, but of the 105 women 

interviewed in the study, their ages ranged from 18 to 60, with an 

average of 35. Two-thirds of the women had been used for sex by 

up to 300 men, with a third of the women reporting that they had 

been used for sex by between 400 and 1,000 men. The women also 

reported that 70 percent of the women that they knew in prostitution had been lured, tricked, and trafficked into it, and 95 percent 

said they wanted to escape prostitution. 

70

As shocking as these statistics are, even more horrifying is that 

this information is but a glimpse into the unknown larger picture 

of which little research and data collection has been done, and we 

look forward to sharing the final report with the Committee. 

In closing, I would like to impress upon you the importance of 

prioritizing Native women’s health and safety for the long term, 

and it will take many, many years, and perhaps even decades, to 

reverse the alarming trends that have only recently been documented, but have been ongoing for hundreds of years. We need to 

know that the Federal Government will stand with us for the foreseeable future, until such time that Native women are restored to 

their traditional status of honor within tribal communities. 

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Mvtol. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Deer follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SARAH DEER, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, ASSISTANT

PROFESSOR, WILLIAM MITCHELL SCHOOL OF LAW


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Ms. Deer, for your testimony. 

Mr. Peercy, you mentioned a number of important health services provided by your tribe for sexual assault victims, including forensic examiners and crisis counselors. How do you fund these critical services? 

Mr. PEERCY. The majority of the funding we were able to go to 

the Federal Government. Several ways. It is kind of what I mentioned a while ago, it is an ACF funding, as well as some Indian 

Health Service dollars. We are a compact tribe, and we also, as was 

mentioned by the Chairman earlier, you kind of make your priorities in your tribe, and we put tribal dollars to that also. 

So it is a combination. Everything we do is pretty much a combination of the IHS, any grant monies that we can find, whether 

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we are fortunate. We are more fortunate than many tribes in that 

we are able to have businesses. We have some business, we have 

some gaming, and we are able to use some of those dollars, so we 

know we are fortunate in that area. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Ms. Deer, given your testimony, criminal jurisdiction is still a 

major issue. What still concerns you about the prosecution of those 

who harm Native women? 

Ms. DEER. I think there are two major issues that tribal governments continue to face. The first is the sentencing limitation. So 

the Indian Civil Rights Act has limited, traditionally, the ability of 

tribal governments to incarcerate for more than one year, and that 

was recently increased to three years with the Tribal Law and 

Order Act, but we are talking about perhaps a child rapist. The 

maximum sentence that the tribe can impose is three years. So 

some victims would feel that it is probably safer to not report, because that perpetrator will come back to that community within a 

short amount of time. 

The second, of course, is the Oliphant versus Suquamish Indian 

Tribe decision of 1978, which held that tribal governments did not 

have criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. This flies in the face 

of hundreds of years of asserting authority over people who come 

into your community and commit crimes. So we are still hoping 

that Congress will reconsider that jurisdictional framework and restore what has been taken away through an amendment to a legislative overturn of Oliphant. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Peercy, does your tribe face any challenges 

in prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual assault, or 

sex trafficking? 

Mr. PEERCY. I would say to you, Senator, I don’t know that it is 

not happening in Southern Oklahoma. The trafficking issue hasn’t 

been a large issue, but the ability to prosecute is always an issue. 

We are scattered over 12,000 square miles and we have tribal law 

enforcement, but we have to use the district courts, and you have 

a large number of district courts in the area. So you have to deal 

with district attorneys, different law enforcement areas. 

We have all the MOUs with all the law enforcement, so we are 

able to have that dual jurisdiction, but it becomes an issue. Really, 

the forensic issues we are just starting. I think we are going to be 

able to come back here in three years and really give some good 

numbers. I know when we talked to the staff they were looking for 

numbers, but many of the things that we are starting are very 

good, but they are very new. So we are putting it all together. 

But there is a definite challenge when you have the distance that 

we have. Plus, we have a hospital in the center of the area, but 

we are three hours away from maybe a hospital in the northeast 

part of our area. We don’t have our SANE nurses there, so we are 

dealing with those local hospitals that may not have their stuff together. 

So, yes, sir, it is a challenge, but we anticipate that we are trying 

to put it together in a comprehensive program in dealing with 

those hospitals, those prosecutors, that law enforcement in different areas, that I can come back to you in several years and say 

we have a model program that we can take on the road and do anyVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK
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where else, even in Minnesota, where we have lots and lots of 

things going on. 

I got outnumbered by Minnesota today, sir, by the way. Thank 

you, sir. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you very much for that, because I 

think we need to generally look across the Country and look for 

model programs and share those programs, instead of starting from 

zero. Some of you have done some excellent programs that have 

worked and maybe others should know about such models. 

Mr. PEERCY. Yes, sir. And I think, again, as we move with the 

collaborative work with SAMHSA, with ACF, with DOJ, those Federal partners recognize and they don’t mind putting us on the road 

to take our programs to other places, and we don’t have anything 

to hide. I know our Chief always says we steal our best ideas, so 

we don’t mind somebody stealing our ideas if they work. So thank 

you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Ms. Sarah Deer, since Native women often encounter many 

forms of violence at once, trafficking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, how can we strengthen the Violence Against Women Act to 

support women who are victims of multiple crimes? 

Ms. DEER. I think the key is always the advocacy, because what 

happens is you have different agencies, different government agencies that have different roles; prosecutors prosecute, law enforcement make the arrests in the investigation; and it is the advocates 

that hold all of those pieces together. So as women experience multiple forms of violence, the advocates can help them walk through 

the process. 

And the Violence Against Women Act does a great job of providing resources, but as Ms. O’Leary said, advocacy programs have 

to apply year to year, and they don’t know, sometimes, from one 

year to the next whether they are going to continue their programs; 

and that makes it, actually, sometimes more dangerous for women 

because they heard about this program that existed and then they 

finally got up the courage to go to it and the funding had been 

pulled. 

So we want to make sure that advocacy programs have sustained 

funding and that they don’t have to turn away women at the end 

of a fiscal year because of lack of funding. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, we have heard from all of you, our witnesses, and I really appreciate it. Again, I am repeating that your 

testimonies will help us try to improve this situation across the 

Country, so I want to thank our witnesses for participating in today’s hearing. I applaud you for taking up this, what we call 

kuleana, or this responsibility, and I recognize the difficult job you 

have in carrying out the policies intended to keep people safe. As 

policy makers, we need to hear your voices as you speak for others 

who are not here and from your experiences with them as well. 

We will be looking at the Violence Against Women Act and other 

Federal laws during this session to make sure the laws are working as intended. From the testimony received, it is clear there is 

still, without question, much work to do to keep our sisters, daughters, and mothers safe and secure. 

78

Again, I want to give those who haven’t had a chance to be witnesses an opportunity to let us know how they feel, so please remember that the hearing record is open for written testimony for 

two weeks and we look forward to your part in this as well. 

Again, I want to thank you. We have had a good dialogue and 

received great reports from you directly, and my reason for doing 

what we are doing is that I don’t only want to talk to the chiefs, 

but I want to talk to others as well, and to deal with the so-called 

trenches, to find out what problems there are and how we can resolve them. So that is what this is all about. But it takes our partnership working together to bring this about. So again I thank you 

so much for your time and we look forward to continuing to do this 

work. Thank you very much. 

This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 5:07 p.m. the Committee was adjourned.] 

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APPENDIX

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. BEN SHELLY, PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. CLIFFORD CULTEE, CHAIRMAN, LUMMI INDIAN

NATION


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF JANA L. WALKER, SENIOR ATTORNEY, INDIAN LAW

RESOURCE CENTER


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS (NCAI) 

TASK FORCE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL INDIAN HEALTH BOARD

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) serves all 565 Federally-recognized 

Tribes, both those that operate their own health care delivery systems through contracting and compacting, and those receiving health care directly from the Indian 

Health Service (IHS). Located in Washington DC on Capitol Hill, the NIHB, a nonprofit organization, provides a variety of services to Tribes, area Indian health 


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boards, Tribal organizations, federal agencies, and private foundations. NIHB’s services include advocacy, policy formation and analysis, legislative and regulatory 

tracking, direct and timely communication with tribes, research on Indian health 

issues, program development and assessment, training and technical assistance programs, and project management. 

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing of July 14, 2011 highlighted some important initiatives under the Tribal Law and Order Act (‘‘TLOA’’ or 

‘‘the Act’’). The testimony covered areas that have seen successful efforts in the prevention and treatment of sexual assault and domestic violence. The testimony also 

revealed areas that need more attention in the form of legislative fixes, better cooperation and coordination, or greater understanding. NIHB believes that the success of the Tribal Law and Order Act must be bolstered with additional actions on 

the part of Congress and the agencies charged with implementation of the Act. 

Because NIHB’s focus is on health care, our comments mainly address the ongoing implementation activities of the health care portions of the Act. Our concerns 

break down into five main areas, with sub-areas in four of the five main areas. 

These areas of concern are as follows:

1) Have health care providers received the training they need? (for screening 

and treating domestic violence/sexual assault; for collection, storage and documentation of evidence)

2) Do facilities have the necessary equipment? ( for screening and treating domestic violence/sexual assault; for collection, storage and documentation of evidence)

3) Do facilities have the necessary personnel? (for screening and treating domestic violence/sexual assault; for collection, storage and documentation of evidence)

4) Do facilities have the necessary physical space to conduct all of the activities 

required under the act? (for example, storage areas for evidence, separate areas 

for victims to be treated)

5) Are the procedures in place culturally appropriate?

At their core, most of the issues are questions of funding. While NIHB feels very 

encouraged by the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act, it is, as many have 

pointed out, a first step. This first step must be followed by additional and equally 

determined steps to fund the Act. NIHB believes that the leadership and dedication 

shown by committee members in passing the Act may also provide a powerful call 

to action to the Congress regarding funding. We ask and hope for Committee members’ continued leadership and advocacy in this all-important task. 

Although NIHB believes that funding is a major issue, we would like to develop 

the record on some specific points of concern regarding the health care portions of 

the TLOA. Director of the Division of Behavioral Health, Indian Health Service, 

Rose Weahkee testified (in her written testimony) that the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI) held 37 training events (reported events) in the period 

starting August 2010 through January 2011 (see page 6 of Ms. Weahkee,s testimony). Ms. Weahkee testified that 442 participants attended. Although NIHB believes that the DVPI has made very valuable contributions, it must be noted that 

there are 880 federally employed physicians serving in Indian Health by IHS’ own 

count (see http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/IHSBrochure/Workforce.asp). This 

means that even if all 442 participants in the training were physicians, only half 

of the physicians serving the target population would have accessed DVPI training. 

These numbers highlight the larger issue of training needed for all providers of care, 

including nurses, intake personnel, and technicians. 

As DVPI provided incomplete coverage in terms of participation, it also provided 

incomplete coverage in terms of topics covered. The training sessions included training on domestic violence, reporting for child abuse, child maltreatment, dating violence, and bullying. Many providers will need training in the collection, storage and 

documentation of evidence. The effort to combat sexual assault and domestic violence must be comprehensive. If some areas are neglected, the entire initiative is 

likely to suffer setbacks. If perpetrators know they will not be held accountable for 

their deeds, deterrence is undermined. If deterrence is undermined, a powerful tool 

to address the problem of violence against women will be lost. 

NIHB wants to again express and underscore that we do not fault DVPI for any 

gaps in coverage. We point out these gaps in coverage to illustrate the need for additional programs and funding. The challenges seen in the training context are very 

likely to be repeated in other aspects of implementation of the health care portions 

of the TLOA. 

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NIHB urges the Committee to follow up the July 14, 2011 oversight hearing with 

an additional hearing once additional data sets and reports are gathered and submitted. NIHB anticipates that the study from the Comptroller General (looking at 

the capability of IHS and Tribal programs to collect, maintain, and secure evidence) 

may prove helpful in mapping out a plan for funding and establishing the need for 

such support. 

Thank you for your consideration of these comments. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOLANDA E. INGRAM, B.A., J.D., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

NIWHONGWH XW E:NA:WH STOP THE VIOLENCE COALITION, INC. 

Dear Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: 

My name is Jolanda Ingram and I am an enrolled member of the Smith River 

Rancheria (Tolowa) in northern California. I have been residing and working on the 

Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in northern California for almost 10 years. The 

non-profit that I work for has been providing services to Native women victims of 

sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence for the past 9 years. 

We see approximately 120 women victims of these crimes per year. Our population 

in eastern Humboldt County is around 3,000. We opened the first native shelter in 

all of California in January of 2004. 

Our program was operating with VAWA funding up until we hired a man who 

sexually harassed the staff and youth participating in our summer youth film 

project. Once he was terminated he was hired by the Hoopa Valley Tribe to be their 

Property & Procurement Officer and was able to gain the ear of the Hoopa Tribal 

Council and then made a complaint to the Office On Violence Against Women and 

our funding was slowly shut off without ever having an opportunity to be heard. 

We did not receive any continuation funding and was in line to receive two economic 

recovery grants from OVW but that was stopped based upon the excuse that we 

were under OIG investigation. We pursued a different line of funding from 

SAMHSA (American Indians in Recovery Program) to pay for transitional living and 

recovery support services from California Rural Indian Health Board and Chairman 

Leonard Masten wrote a letter to them stating that our non-profit could not legally 

operate on the reservation. Our non-profit has been certified by the Director of Commerce for the Hoopa Tribe, Daniel Jordan, as a non-profit in good standing for the 

past 8 years. Our final day of operation will be 7/31/2011 due to this ongoing situation which has lasted over 2 years. 

The native women in this community will no longer have a safe place to go. This 

is exactly what the perpetrators of violence on our reservation wanted. They have 

succeeded in shutting down a good program. 

I believe that it is critical that the federal government continue to fund non-profits in Indian country, with or without the political support of the Tribes. Tribal 

Councils are subject to the political forces that shape their decisionmaking and often 

that goes against the best interests of our women and children. It is not politically 

correct to correct people who have done wrong. 

There is no justice for Native women in the current situation. Even with the 

progress that VAWA has made, we are still be undermined by politics. I urge the 

Senate Committee to take some appropriate action to rectify this situation by allowing non-profits to continue to be funded. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. KIRK E. FRANCIS, CHIEF, PENOBSCOT INDIAN NATION

Unprosecuted Rape of a Native Woman 

When a sexual assault happens to a Native woman, especially by a non-native, 

history is repeating itself, unchanged since European contact. 

Amnesty International’s Maze of Injustice report of 2007 has reported that sexual 

assault on Native women happens 2 to 3 times more often than those incidents of 

assault on non-native women and talks about how Indian Country has been failed 

by the Justice system when responding to Violence against Native Women. 

The lack of jurisdiction for Indian Tribes to hold offenders accountable in crimes 

committed on the Nation’s territories is part of the problem. This particular crime 

happened off reservation so the accountability is on State systems. 

The lack of accountability of local, county, state and federal justice systems to 

hold non-native offenders crimes against native people off reservation is another 

way that Native’s are re-victimized. 

This story is of one Native woman sexually assaulted off reservation and the refusal of the justice system to hold the offender accountable. 

116

On August 20, 2004 a 25 year old native woman, staying in Bar Harbor, Maine 

spent an evening, as a lot of young people do, at a local bar with friends. A man 

tried to carry on a conversation with her and she declined to talk to him, eventually 

she did and even accepted an invitation to step outside in the air. 

Once outside, he suggested they take a walk along the waterfront that hundreds 

if not thousands of visitors flock to each year, coming to this quaint New England 

town, seen as a perfect place for family and an ideal Maine destination spot for decades. 

She never imagined that in this very visible area in the center of this affluent, 

world renowned town that she would be in danger. She was so wrong. 

As they stood at the park overlooking the expensive watercraft, berthed by the 

rich, he forced her to the ground and raped her. 

The terror that she experienced as he forced her to submit to him is indescribable. 

There was no way to know what would happen if she resisted, would he kill her? 

Totally helpless to fight his strength and power, she had to endure the forced invasion of her body. 

She has endured the effects that would define who she would be for years to come. 

Depressed, ashamed, humiliated, fearful of all men, unable to form a healthy relationships and fear of social interactions. Certainly she would wonder about pregnancy, STD, HIV/AIDS. 

Her Mother says:

As a mother, it’s instinctive to protect our children and to always think that 

you’re going to be there to keep them from harm. 

When that harm you’ve strive so hard to keep at bay does touch the life of your 

child and you weren’t there to protect them leaves a parent in a gut wrenching 

state. It doesn’t only touch your child’s life; it seeps into every member of your 

family as well. I’ve struggled to comprehend the act of violence that came in 

the form of rape that’s touched my child’s life. Helplessness and the many 

thoughts of what I should have done to prevented this, or what I should do. I 

felt like I couldn’t even be of comfort to my child as I watched her daily struggling with fear, depression and anger. Watching her go into rages and it seemed 

like it was a lost cause. During my daughter’s struggles, she found comfort in 

drugs which lead to her addiction to them. Another helplessness that I had to 

watch her endure as she coped with the addiction and kicking it. 

I’ve often wondered if this man who raped my daughter went about his daily 

life and if he ever thought of what he did. Did he feel ashamed? Did it keep 

him awake late at night? My thoughts of what his upbringing was, did he live 

a life of watching maybe his parent doing harm to another person? Was this 

all normal to him? 

My husband and I, we’ve worked hard at bringing up our children to be kind 

to others, have respect for others. Harming someone wasn’t good and we didn’t 

allow that in our home. 

It’s a nightmare when it happens in a family. It disrupts lives and the road to 

things getting back to normal is a long road. I can honestly say it’s taken many 

years for my daughter to reach a state of mind where she feels safe, where she’s 

confident in herself and deals with the fear of being alone. I wouldn’t wish all 

the things that my daughter has gone through on anyone or any family. 

We made several trips to Hancock County to the District Attorney’s office. The 

first time my daughter had to go before the Grand Jury so they could make a 

ruling on her behalf. Well they heard my daughter’s side and ruled to indict 

this man, but by that time he had left the State of Maine, so there was a warrant out for his arrest. 

It took several years before he was found and was held. We were glad when 

that happened and thought finally something was going to be done. We got another call from the D.A.’s office and we met with them. We were hopeful that 

we would hear something positive, they would tell us he was going to be extradited back to stand trial. It didn’t turn out that way, instead the meeting was 

about why they wouldn’t bring him back, that there didn’t seem to be enough 

to go to trial, etc. and endless stories about cases that looked promising but 

were lost. They wanted her to drop her case, which wasn’t what we wanted to 

hear. So this trip turned out to be a disappointment and as a person seeking 

justice, it makes you lose faith and respect for those that sit in higher places 

that are supposed to be looking out for people like us. 

It left us all feeling that what happened to my daughter wasn’t of any importance and the man gets to walk away free. He walks away to commit more 

rapes and disrupt more lives. 

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My daughter has voiced that even if she doesn’t win this case against him, she 

would be satisfied with some justice of him admitting to the crime and acknowledging it. She wants to have a say, and let him know how much he had disrupted her life and the struggles she had to overcome. (PBM)

As the years went by she has sought help of professionals and that has allowed 

her to start healing, but hasn’t lessened the impact the experience on her as a Native woman, or allowed her to enjoy a social life that others her age enjoy without 

fear. 

The rape was reported to the local police in Bar Harbor and the assailant arrested. He was indicted by a Grand Jury and held for trial. He fled the area. Former 

District Attorney Michael Povitch’s office in Hancock County, where Bar Harbor is 

located, notified her in Jan 2010, he had been found and the office was considering 

extraditing him back for trial. 

On June 30, 2010, several months of unanswered calls and e-mails later, The Victim Witness Advocate called with an appointment. 

Assistant District Attorney Mary Kellett told her that the office was reluctant to 

go forward with the case as they didn’t think they could get a conviction. 

The only one showing compassion for the victim’s feelings was the arresting officer, Sharon Worcester of BHPD. ADA Kellett was outright rude and victim blaming. 

She stated it would cost a lot of money to extradite the assailant to Maine and it 

would not be economically feasible to do so for what she considered a weak case, 

wouldn’t the victim consider dropping her desire to have the case prosecuted. 

This Hancock County ADA has brought many cases to trial and lost yet now has 

one with both physical and medical evidence and refuses. The Grand Jury found 

sufficient evidence to bring the offender to trial, but not the DA; we believe they 

have based their decisions on money rather than facts of a case. 

Refusal to hold an offender accountable has caused this victim additional trauma 

by sending her the message that money to extradite is more important than the well 

being of a native woman that was raped in their town. To the victim and others 

this would appear to send the decades old message of: native women are less than 

worthy of time and finances to hold a non-native offender accountable. 

There would be publicity around the case which could have a negative impact on 

the visitors to the Bar Harbor Region. One wonders about the impact negative press 

would have on the visitors if it were disclosed that the town is not a safe place for 

women or being in the town square opens one up for rape, especially if they happen 

to be Native, the message here is that it is somehow the victim’s fault that someone 

would rape them. One wonders what the same instance of rape happening to a rich, 

white resident of the area by a native would garner for attention. 

A reporter from the Bangor Daily News looked at doing a report on this case, and 

the number of assaults perpetrated upon Native women versus non-natives, but it 

seems it did not rise to the level of importance there either, as this victim has waited for over a year to see that story but has been given lip service with ‘‘I am so 

busy’’ or ‘‘my Editor keeps sending me on important stories’’ excuses! It would be 

better if she would tell it like it is, ‘‘You are not worthy of our time’’ or ‘‘the Bangor 

Daily doesn’t want to rock any political boats’’. 

From a friend:

’’Another rape unsolved, Oh I am sorry, in this case the rape was solved but 

an unwilling town failed to follow through and bring it to justice. It is because 

rape doesn’t happen in this town or is it of the appearance of not having such 

things happen in this tourist town? No it can’t be. look again, this rapist was 

arrested and the charges brought to the Grand Jury almost seven years ago. 

The problem is all the evidence was there and was proven without a doubt but 

the rapist fled. The rapist had fled to Florida and the DA did not extradite him 

to Maine. The DA from Bar Harbor had drilled into the victims head that she 

did not have a chance if the case went to court. The DA over stepped his bounds 

by telling the victim she has no chance in this case. The victim has been dealing 

with this since the incident occurred in 2004. Her suffering from depression and 

fear of trusting others has diminished her self esteem and her ability to cope 

with daily life activities. The family has tried to seek justice for the physical 

violation of their daughters being and has tried to help her. It has been a long 

hard road over these past years and unsuccessful due to limited financial resources. I guess this case needs a powerful representative who will listen . . . 

Has justice been served? No! For the past few years we have been trying to get 

this cased re-opened and brought to justice and bring this individual to justice. 

It has been discussed with a newspaper reporter that informed the family they 

would write a commentary about the trauma of seeking justice for a violation 

on this victim and put it to rest. We have yet to see any write up. When we 

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attempt to follow up and question the delays we are informed of how busy they 

are. 

Give me a break!! This is telling me that this is not important enough to be 

newsworthy. (EJG)

No one knows where this rapist is, the opportunity for him to rape again is magnified by his ability to escape responsibility in this case 

We need to look beyond judicial economics and to consider safety of abused 

women, children, and men , especially in cases having to do with domestic violence 

and sexual assault, if they are assaulted the offender will be held accountable.

If we, as Native women and victims of crime are asking that offenders be held 

accountable it seems reasonable that we would also demand, that the legal and justice systems also be held accountable.What is the Message? 

It was brought to my attention that a citizen of the Penobscot Nation has been 

victimized in the worst way. 

A 25 year old women who was out with friends in Bar Harbor met a guy and had 

a conversation which turned into taking a walk, not through some dark alley or 

through the woods but to a park in one of the most affluent towns in America. In 

this park the women was forced to the ground and raped. 

This disgusting crime was reported and the offender was indicted by a grand jury 

for his crime and then fled.. The offender was located yet to date no decision has 

been made to return him to Maine to answer for this crime, it has been six years. 

Rather inquiry after inquiry by the victim has done nothing to bring this man to 

justice, instead the victim has had to listen to prominent people within the legal 

system tell her that they did not think ‘‘that they could win’’. 

Well to the victim it is not about winning and losing, I would dare say that no 

one ever wins in these situations. For her it is about being heard, for him to have 

to explain his actions, for someone to say this is not ok. 

Victims of this type of crime understand that they will again be victimized in the 

process as they will be asked what they were wearing, how many drinks they had, 

etc. . . But for this victim I commend her courage to stand up to all of that and 

ask for her day in court and face the issue openly. 

I believe this is what we are all entitled to and that is being denied, by denying 

we are, as a society, sending a message of silencing victims of rape, creating a situation where the message to the victim is one of minimizing the incident. 

Native women are sexually assaulted at two times the rate of the average American and the prosecution disparities are about the same in finding justice, no wonder the unreported incidents continue to grow. 

In this case there has been little to no interest by the media about a rape that 

occurred in one of Americas favorite places, this is also very typical in Sexual assault cases against Native women, it simply does not rise to the level of importance 

for the media as evidenced by a reporters comment of ‘‘my editor keeps sending me 

on important issues’’ to explain the lack of coverage. 

This incident however has nothing to do with race as this could have been anyone’s daughter, mother or sister as these offenders typically do not discriminate but 

in this case the system seems to be and unfortunately this follows National trends 

for this issue, as a State we have to do better. 

Our culture is a matriarchal society with clan mothers, our communities are dependent on the strength of our women and their well being, so this did not just create one victim but affects our entire community. 

Other governments tell us that we have limited jurisdiction over non Native offenders especially on off reservation crimes. So who does prosecute these offenders 

if not us? 

Those who claim to have responsibility need to uphold it and vigorously fight for 

this young lady. It has been six years since this crime occurred and despite resources and how hard it will be to win action needs to be taken not just for this 

one victim but to send a message that you will not come to our State and sexually 

assault our women, if you leave we will pursue you. 

I think it is time for mandatory extradition for peoples charged or indicted for this 

crime and will pursue making that a reality for all citizens of our State, this crime 

for the victim is one that re occurs within her every day and we just have to be 

better than that. Our goal as leaders and the system has to be to create and maintain healthy communities; in our culture no people play a more important role then 

our women. 

I call on the Hancock County District Attorneys office to get serious about protecting our citizens, stop being afraid of conviction rates and get concerned about 

allowing victims to be heard and heal. 

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That’s what we need to stand for as communities and as a State or we will never 

heal but promote more of these acts by sending the message to offenders that their 

offense is not a serious matter by this State’s non action in bringing this man to 

stand and held accountable. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ESTA SOLER, FOUNDER/PRESIDENT, FUTURES WITHOUT

VIOLENCE


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF SUZANNE KOEPPLINGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MINNESOTA

INDIAN WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER

In late 2009, the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) published 

Shattered Hearts: the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and 

girls in Minnesota. This was the first research in the country to analyze the scope 

of sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls in our country. Since the 

release of the report, MIWRC has created culturally based interventions to work 

with Native women and girls who are victimized by sex traffickers and pimps. We 

have developed a keen insight into the vulnerability factors, gateways to entry, barriers to exit this traumatizing lifestyle, and effective interventions to heal the victims. We provide the following recommendations to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee for consideration as Congress moves to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims 

Protection and Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) in the current session.

• We support the Wyden/Cornyn language incorporated into the TVPRA 2011 (S 

1301) allocating specific funds to serve domestic sex trafficked minors, and the 

$5 million in the President’s budget for HHS/Runaway and Homeless Youth bill 

to serve trafficked youth. We urge specifically that additional funding be directed to serve trafficked American Indian youth in urban areas. The vast majority of young victims, either runaway, throwaway, homeless or at risk due to 


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gang violence, need safe, culturally based long term housing to help them break 

away from the pimps and safely rebuild their lives. Federal funds to serve domestic minor sex trafficking victims is a critical need in this country.

• Eliminate the requirement for law enforcement certification for domestic sex 

trafficking victims to qualify for services funded by federal dollars. In the Minneapolis American Indian community, none of the girls who come to our programs are willing to report these crimes or cooperate with law enforcement, yet 

they are disclosing sexual exploitation beginning at the age of 7 years old in 

some cases and continuing into their teen years. The lack of credible data on 

the scope of sex trafficking is directly related to the requirement of law enforcement certification. Once young victims are given a safe place to sleep with support systems in place, they may be willing to cooperate with law enforcement, 

but they must first begin to feel safe and heal from the traumas they have endured. Providing these services must be within the capacity of culturally based 

programs in urban areas and on reservations. A training program that certifies 

front line advocates to collect data on rates of domestic minor sex trafficking 

will both enrich the service providers ability to intervene with trafficked youth 

and create more reliable data tracking systems to facilitate better understanding of the scope of the problem nation-wide.

• Eliminate the HHS sub contract with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 

to provide service funds to trafficked victims. These are victims of repeated 

rape, many of them are children, and many display heavy drug and alcohol addictions and mental illness resulting from their traumas. The real need on the 

ground for holistic services is compromised by having a faith based intermediary as grant maker. A neutral party should be contracted with.

We believe the depth of sexual exploitation of American Indians is only now beginning to be uncovered. Historical trauma and multi-generational grief and loss, 

compounded by high rates of poverty and sexual violence make American Indians 

extremely vulnerable to sexual predators. Your help is needed in providing the culturally appropriate care they need. My sincere thanks for your concern for these 

women and children. 

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RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA TO

CARMEN O’LEARY

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. JOHN BARRASSO TO

ROSE WEAHKEE, PH.D. 

Question 1. Several witnesses have provided testimony for this hearing stating 

that violence in Indian communities has become the norm. As a result, a generation 

of children is learning that violent behavior is an acceptable way to cope with frusVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:26 Mar 20, 2012 Jkt 071182 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\71182.TXT JACK

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1 Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. 2 Early Childhood Matters (2011). Bernard van Leer Foundation. 

3 Ibid.

4McEwen, B.S. (2008). Central effects of stress hormones in health and disease: Understanding the protective and damaging effects of stress and stress mediators. Eur J Pharm 

583(2–3):174–185. 5Felitti et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of 

the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Am J 

Prev Med 14(4):245–258. 

trations or problems. How are these children supposed to ‘‘unlearn’’ this behavior, 

particularly where it is prevalent throughout a community? 

Childhood exposure to violence is a major public health problem in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. According to Social Learning Theory 1

violence is conceptualized as a behavior learned during childhood within the family 

of origin. 2 The working hypothesis is that violence is learned in this environment 

as a model for conflict resolution, which may then manifest as bullying and interpersonal, domestic and sexual violence in adulthood. In addition, research suggests 

that children exposed to violence are more likely engage in harmful or risky behaviors as adults. 3 Intensive and prolonged stress can lead to a variety of short- and 

long-term negative health effects including alcoholism, depression, eating disorders, 

heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. 4

Interventions aimed at the ‘‘unlearning’’ of violent behaviors have been the subject 

of vigorous scientific debate for decades. In general, a comprehensive approach is 

necessary, using a variety of community-driven public health education, prevention, 

intervention, and treatment strategies. These can include community awareness and 

education events focused on culturally-based and positive alternatives to violence in 

conflict resolution, promotion of healthy communication techniques, bullying and 

teen dating violence prevention, preservation of the family unit through strengthbased intervention, early identification and intervention in cases of child maltreatment, and treatment focused on substituting maladaptive coping strategies with 

constructive ones. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study demonstrated 

that the impacts of trauma are cumulative, and that unaddressed trauma underlies 

a wide range of problems. 5 Since Adverse Childhood Experiences are more likely to 

occur in AI/AN communities and studies strongly suggest a reliable relationship between ACE and certain diseases common among AI/AN populations, prevention 

should be a primary focus. 

The Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI), enabled by the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111–8) and the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Division A, P.L. 111–88), implemented a nationally-coordinated effort aimed at promoting evidence-based and 

practice-based models in the context of community-driven, culturally-appropriate 

prevention and treatment approaches to domestic and sexual violence. Evidencebased models are those that have been formally evaluated and replicated and found 

to be effective; practice-based models are those informed by local clinical practice 

and found to be efficacious but have not been formally evaluated. The DVPI funds 

projects that provide a range of prevention activities such as bullying prevention 

and school education programs. Funded projects also provide community education 

and increase capacity for domestic and sexual violence awareness and intervention 

through increased training related to victim advocacy, development of community 

response teams, policy development, and program implementation and treatment for 

batterers. 

The DVPI has awarded a total of 65 projects that include Indian Health Service 

(IHS), Tribally, and Urban operated programs. In the first year of the program, the 

DVPI resulted in 37,737 screenings for domestic violence (73 percent of eligible patients) and over 2,000 children received direct services including case management, 

crisis intervention, advocacy, medical treatment and counseling. 

Over 2,500 participants were trained at 178 training events. Attendees included 

multidisciplinary and health professionals as well non-medical personnel including 

educational and child care staff, law enforcement and Tribal leaders and elders. 

Topics included general education related to violence prevention, children’s issues, 

dating violence, and bullying among others. In addition, more than 18,000 community members were reached through DVPI-funded community educational events. 

The national DVPI conference was conducted from July 6–8, 2011 in Albuquerque, 

New Mexico. Over 140 DVPI program and IHS staff attended the conference which 

included community awareness planning, engaging men in violence prevention, impact of violence on children, incorporation of traditional healing, and teen dating 

awareness, among other topics. 

126

6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2010). Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, 

59, 1609–1613. 7Parks GA. and Bard, DE. (2006) Risk factors for adolescent sex offender recidivism: evaluation of predictive factors and comparison of three groups based upon victim type. Oct;18(4):319–

42.

Children and adults can learn and develop new skills and behaviors through evidenced-based practices such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is a skill 

based treatment, which seeks to teach and refine skills in changing behavioral, emotional, and thinking patterns associated with maladaptive coping strategies. DBT 

seeks to decrease interpersonal chaos, labile emotions, impulsiveness, and cognitive 

dysregulation; and DBT seeks to increase emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and core mindfulness skills. DBT can be effective in Indian communities because it can help children unlearn the notion that use of violence is an acceptable form of dealing with frustration or problems. The IHS currently funds 11 Youth Regional Treatment Centers (YRTCs) and 127 Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI) projects. A significant number of 

YRTCs and MSPI programs have implemented DBT for a variety of mental health 

issues.

Question 2. Child sexual abuse occurs in too many communities and Indian Country is not immune. In fact, Ms. O’Leary provided written testimony about students 

and former students of a Bureau of Indian Education school who were victims of 

a pedophile. Do you think that this kind of abuse can become cyclical—that victims 

can be traumatized to the point where they themselves become perpetrators? 

Answer. All too often, children are victims of violence, crime, and abuse. This victimization may take the form of bullying, physical assault, child maltreatment, or 

sexual abuse. Children may also witness such events in their homes, schools, and 

communities. Research has shown that exposure to traumatic events early in life 

can have many negative effects throughout childhood and adolescence, and into 

adulthood. The ACE Study found a strong relationship between traumatic events experienced in childhood as reported in adulthood and chronic physical illness such 

as heart disease, and mental health problems such as depression. 6 Treatment may 

be improved by targeting specific risk factors for intervention and making better use 

of risk management resources in the community, while preserving the most restrictive treatment options for the highest risk offenders. 7 However, research does not 

support the hypothesis that victims of pedophiles are more likely to become sexual 

perpetrators themselves. 

Question 3. What is Indian Health Service doing to break this cycle of abuse? 

Answer. The IHS is committed to disrupting and otherwise minimizing risk associated with child abuse by developing and implementing the program and coordination efforts necessary to effectively prevent and address domestic violence, sexual 

assault, and child maltreatment in Indian Country. Some effective approaches include practice-based and evidence-based parenting and parent-child attachment programs, parenting education and support, effective mental health and substance 

abuse treatment for parents and caregivers, early identification and treatment 

among children (i.e., mental health consultation in childcare, pediatric screening), 

treatment for identified trauma, home visitation programs, and case management. 

The IHS Government Performance and Results Act Measure for domestic violence 

denotes the percentage of AI/AN female patients ages 15–40 who have been 

screened for domestic and intimate partner violence during the year. Since 2008, the 

IHS has far exceeded the target screening rate for each year. 

Through the DVPI, the IHS works to expand and strengthen the Tribal and 

Urban responses to domestic violence and sexual assault. There are a total of 65 

IHS, Tribal, and Urban operated DVPI Programs that address prevention, intervention, treatment, awareness, training, policy development and community response 

and coordination for domestic violence and sexual assault. Eight of the 65 programs 

focus on Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner, and 

Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE/SAFE/SART) programs, and the training of 

medical personnel in conducting proper and thorough forensic medical exams. 

The first IHS Sexual Assault Policy was established on March 23, 2011. The policy establishes a uniform standard of care for sexual assault victims seeking clinical 

services in IHS operated hospitals. The policy includes guidance on the collection 

of forensic evidence, which aligns with the criminal justice system response and subpoena regulations. The IHS is presently developing a policy implementation and 

monitoring plan to ensure that the policy is implemented consistently throughout 

the IHS system. The IHS consulted with Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Health 

Directors on the Sexual Assault Policy and reviewed comments for incorporation in 

future revisions. A comprehensive domestic violence and elder abuse policy, similar 

127

in scope and specificity to the IHS Sexual Assault Policy, are currently being developed. 

The IHS will offer (7) Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and (7) Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) training sessions to all 45 IHS and Tribal hospitals in Calendar Year 2012. Clinical skills training will be conducted in a simulation laboratory and any medical provider who has completed SAE training will be eligible to 

attend. Forensic equipment, including cameras, storage cases, tripods, laptops configured with telemedicine software, and colposcopes (where needed), will be purchased for all of the 45 IHS and Tribal hospitals. Efforts to purchase forensic equipment and to expand the SANE/SAFE/SART trainings to include all of the IHS hospitals, clinics, and health stations are underway. 

The IHS and the Department of Justice Office on Victims of Crime (OVC) entered 

into a partnership involving the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of the Interior. This partnership, entitled the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE–SART) AI/AN Initiative, is funded 

through the OVC. Using evidence-based practices involving SANEs, SARTs, and victim-centered law enforcement practices, the initiative will support victim recovery, 

satisfaction, and cooperation with the Federal criminal justice system, as well as 

supporting victims’ of sexual assault and the Tribal communities’ need for justice. 

The IHS is updating the IHS Child Maltreatment Policy through a policy 

workgroup of IHS professionals with extensive field experience in providing direct 

services to abused and neglected AI/AN children. The Policy will address local child 

maltreatment and child sexual abuse policies and procedures for IHS operated hospitals and clinics. The IHS will hold a minimum of 6 regional trainings on child 

maltreatment in Calendar Year 2012. The IHS will work with the local U.S. Assistant Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement and 

social services, Tribal law enforcement and prosecutors, community victim services, 

and State agencies to provide trainings specific to State and local laws. These 

trainings will focus on multidisciplinary approaches for the evaluation and treatment of suspected child maltreatment cases.

Question 4. Victims of sexual crimes need treatment locations that are safe. However, there are potential risks that offenders could threaten the safety of these victims at Indian hospitals or clinics. What is the Indian Health Service doing to keep 

such victims safe at the Indian hospitals and clinics? 

Answer. Chapter 29 of the Indian Health Manual outlines policies required to protect the identity of sexual assault victims and ensure patient confidentiality. The 

policy provides guidance for victim safety and privacy. Each local healthcare facility 

determines the procedures to ensure safety and privacy (Indian Health Manual, 

Chapter 29 3–29.2). Additionally, sexual assault patients must be given priority as 

emergency cases and be provided with a private treatment room. Furthermore, arrangements must be made so that sexual assault patients will not have to wait in 

the main waiting area. 

The SAFE or SANE is responsible for being aware of the scope and limitations 

of confidentiality related to information they gather during the examination process. 

Confidentiality is intricately linked to the scope of patients’ consent. The SAFE or 

SANE, other members of a SART, and other collaborating responders are responsible for informing victims of the scope of confidentiality and must be cautious not 

to exceed the limits of the victim’s consent to share information in each case. Furthermore, the victim must be offered the support and services of a victim advocate 

while in the hospital. The victim advocate is responsible for informing victims about 

their rights before, during, and after the examination process, ensuring the victim’s 

interests are represented and that their wishes are respected. If the victim accepts, 

and the victim advocate is available, arrangements must be made for a victim advocate to accompany the patient during the examination. 

The IHS must make reasonable efforts to limit the disclosure of patient health 

information to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the 

use, disclosure, or request and to those persons or classes of persons to which access 

is needed. All records must be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 

552a) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule (45 

CFR 164) and all other applicable laws and rules. 

All IHS hospitals offering on-site sexual assault examinations must have a process that allows medical providers to notify law enforcement of the sexual assault 

without identifying the adolescent or the adult victim or the suspect (if permissible 

under applicable law). In this case the report to law enforcement must avoid providing any identifying information, and the evidence kit must be identified as an 

‘‘anonymous forensic evidence kit.’’

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Question 5. The Committee has received prior testimony that drug abuse can lead 

to more violence committed against women and children in Indian Country. As part 

of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services is required to coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior and the Attorney General to establish a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) at Indian 

health facilities. What is the status of that program? 

Answer. Data from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that 

the AI/AN population leads all other ethnic groups in past 30-day misuse of prescription-type drugs. In response, IHS has developed and established a number of 

initiatives to curb substance abuse and dependence. The IHS partnered with the 

North Dakota PDMP to secure $100,000 for required programming of an open 

source data transmission solution from the IHS Resource and Patient Management 

System to States using communication formats developed by the American Society 

for Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP), versions (4.0) and (4.1). The resulting agreement included software initialization, testing, troubleshooting, and institution of 

routine reporting to the State PDMP for all Federal sites within the States of North 

Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The IHS has also partnered with the Bureau 

of Justice Assistance (BJA) to secure an additional $35,000 to program the three remaining programming solutions—ASAP 1995, ASAP 2005, and version 3.0. The IHS 

has requested and the BJA has granted that one IHS, Tribal, or Urban (I/T/U) site 

from each State with a unique ASAP version, vendor, or unique data set requirement may be used as a test site. The BJA will allow States with large numbers of 

I/T/U facilities to be assigned a second test site. The resulting data transmission solutions will be made available to all I/T/U facilities nationwide. 

To date, these partnerships have enabled the IHS to secure funding; identify required data reporting elements; recruit and hire vendors to conduct software programming, testing, and trouble-shooting; and develop the required security protocols 

for transmission and receipt of data. The IHS and its partners are engaged in ongoing efforts to execute necessary sharing agreements, initiate reporting at test sites, 

distribute the resulting software to all Federal and Urban Indian health programs, 

provide export software to requesting Tribal sites, and educate patients and staff 

about the need for data submission to State PDMPs to improve clinical care. 

Each State maintains its own PDMP data requirements. These requirements are 

similar but not identical between States, thus making data exchange challenging. 

The IHS must ensure that its participation in each individual State PDMP is consistent with Federal law. For example, IHS is authorized under Federal law to 

share prescription drug data with public health authorities authorized by law to collect and receive such information. However, not all State PDMPs have been established as public health authorities. Some PDMPs have been established with law 

enforcement, rather than public health, as their primary mandate.

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