On Thursday, March 7, 2013, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Nationwide, many celebrated the new provisions allowing tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators of domestic violence and sexual assault. It was a long overdue fix for a jurisdictional loophole.
However, VAWA contained a controversial provision that excluded Alaska Native tribes from the tribal jurisdiction provisions. NARF unsuccessfully worked to have the Alaska exclusion, Section 910, removed from the bill. Compiled here in chronological order are some of the key documents:
U.S. Department of Justice letter to U.S. Senate with its legislative proposals to address violence against Native women, July 21, 2011
Yup’ik Women’s Coalition position letter on Alaska exclusion, March 16, 2012
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska position letter on Alaska exclusion, April 24, 2012
Amendment to the Violence Against Women Act, February 7, 2013
Association of Village Council Presidents position letter on Alaska exclusion, February 8, 2013
Aleut Community of St. Paul Island position letter on Alaska exclusion, February 12, 2013
Aleut Community of St. Paul Island press release on Alaska exclusion, February 13, 2013
Violence Against Women Act 2013 Reauthorization (specific provisions including the Alaska exclusion)
Native American Rights Fund press release on Alaska exclusion, February 28, 2013
Association of Village Council Presidents press release on Alaska exclusion, March 1, 2013
Commentary by NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth, Alaska Native women lose in Violence Against Women Act renewal, March 12, 2013
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