2019 NLADA Annual Conference-Innovative Justice

According to the National Institute of Justice, 8 in 10 Native American/Alaska Native women will be raped, stalked, or abused in their lifetime, and 97 percent of those crimes are perpetrated by someone who is non-Native. Native women are murdered at a rate that is 10 times higher than the national average. Due to a complex web of federal laws and statutes, tribes have been prohibited from prosecuting non-Native perpetrators who commit these crimes on tribal land. A 2019 VAWA reauthorization bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives builds on previous efforts to address this unacceptable justice gap. The VAWA reauthorization has important provisions that stand to help more women living on reservations and other Native communities and to further empower tribes to address violence against Native women. Come hear from experts about what’s stake for Native communities in this important legislation and why it should matter to all of us.