Post by blackcrowheart on Sept 23, 2006 14:51:00 GMT -5
Despite nationwide drop, Native women still beaten
www.bismarktribune.com/articles/2006/09/17/news/local/120953.txt
<http://www.bismarktribune.com/articles/2006/09/17/news/local/120953.txt\
>
Anti-domestic violence advocates Nona Long Knife (pink) and Delina Cuts
The Rope stand outside the women's shelter on the Fort Belknap
Reservation in Montana. Photograph by Michael Gallacher/Missoulian
Lee News Service
(Editor's (Editor's note: Reporter Jodi Rave has spent much of the past
year reporting on the reasons for - and solutions to - the
disproportionate rate of domestic violence against Native women. This is
the first installment in an occasional series.)(Editor's note: Reporter
Jodi Rave has spent much of the past year reporting on the reasons for -
and solutions to - the disproportionate rate of domestic violence
against Native women. This is the first installment in an occasional
series.)
By JODIRAVE
FORT BELKNAP, Mont. - Neoma Abbott can feel the firefighting season
coming to a close, and that means violent flareups on the Fort Belknap
Reservation are about to begin.
That's because so many men who were away fighting fires will soon return
to fight loved ones, she said.
At least one woman used the firefighting season to file for divorce
before her abuser returned.
"She's waiting for the explosion," Abbott said. "But she'll be out by
then."
During the rest of the year, Abbott offers women protection.
Abbott offers women on the Fort Belknap Reservation - not far from the
Canadian border in northern Montana - protection from the men who rape
and beat and abuse them.
Some stay for weeks at the refuge for beaten women. Some stay a year.
Some arrive beaten, or when they sense trouble.
He started drinking today. I know something will be happening tonight.
For 21 years, Abbott, a shelter volunteer, has helped women heal from
broken arms, broken legs and broken hearts.
Some injuries aren't so obvious. She remembers a woman whose face looked
OK. But her back was blue, and her memory bruised with thoughts of a
molested daughter.
"She's the one who didn't go back to the abuser," Abbott said. "The rest
go back."
Beaten bodies
Domestic violence isn't unique to those on Fort Belknap.
Nationally, women are battered every 18 minutes. They represent all
social, economic, racial, ethnic and educational backgrounds.
And even though the White House announced last fall domestic violence
decreased 59 percent during the last decade, the same can't be said in
Native communities.
"The numbers seem to be going up," said Sarah Deer, Tribal Law and
Policy Institute attorney in Minneapolis. "But we don't know if (it is
because) domestic violence is becoming more frequent or because more
people are reporting."
It is estimated that in their lifetimes, one in three Native women will
be raped. Six of 10 will be physically assaulted.
Native women experience 66 percent of violent crimes committed against
Native people.
And there are likely several reasons why Native women are victimized at
rates higher than any other population in the United States.
Federal and state jurisdictions often conflict with reservation land
bases, hampering tribal law enforcement's ability to arrest and
prosecute non-Native abusers. And the higher rate of other-race abusers
could be the result of Native women living in urban settings and border
towns.
Grassroots leaders like Karen Artichoker, director of the Sacred Circle
women's resource center in Rapid City, S.D., have been leading efforts
on behalf of indigenous women for decades.
Ten years ago, groups such as Sacred Circle succeeded in getting Native
women recognized in the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
But for the first time in the act's 12-year history, a task force
consisting of Native coalitions and leaders from the National Congress
of American Indians succeeded in amending the law to meet Native women's
needs.
The effort has been praised as one of the greatest collaborations in
Indian Country in recent years. Together, they brought Native women's
need for protection before lawmakers.
Harvard's Honoring Nations program will honor the task force Oct. 3 in
Sacramento, Calif.
"As a unified force, the two navigated the political waters in D.C., and
the Native voice was heard," said Amy Besaw, director of Honoring
Nations. "This is a model that Indian Country should consider for other
issues that face our nations."
The result: Congress approved the Violence Against Women Act's Title IX
- Safety for Indian Women - increasing the authority of tribal
governments to protect women.
"This year has been monumental," said Jackie Agtuca, a national Violence
Against Native Women task force member. "You saw grassroots Native women
and tribal leadership step up to really make it well known that we need
a stronger response to prevent violence to Native women."
The new law brings anti-domestic violence advocates closer to realizing
a vision that transforms indigenous communities: where respect is
restored to women; where change can infuse law enforcement practices;
where healing can find its place among families.
Agtuca is heartened by what she defines as the foundation of the Safety
for Indian Women provision. It expressly recognizes the need for tribes
to have greater authority in protecting indigenous women.
"At the end of the day, the tribal leaders are responsible for passing
laws that will protect Native women," said Deer, of Minneapolis.
Additionally, Title IX of the law will improve federal response to
crimes of violence against Native women. And it will infuse
unprecedented amounts of federal funding to groups and tribal program
services for Native women.
While Congress has authorized $1 billion for Violence Against Women
Office programs, President Bush has requested about half that amount in
his 2007 budget.
If approved, tribes could access 10 percent from other parts of the VAWA
budget, or an estimated $54 million. Eric Holland, a Department of
Justice spokesman, said the department could not comment on proposed
appropriation figures.
Finally, the provision requires the U.S. attorney general to host an
annual consultation with tribal governments.
The first meeting between tribal leaders and Department of Justice
officials is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Prior Lake, Minn.
Rage and violence
They need the help on Fort Belknap.
There, 31 people per 1,000 were victimized by a parent or spouse,
according to charges filed by the tribal prosecutor at the Fort Belknap
Community Court in 2004.
For comparison: two of 1,000 people in the United States were abused by
a parent or spouse, according to the Corporate Alliance to End Partner
Violence.
About 3,000 people live on the reservation, home to the Assiniboine and
Gros Ventre tribes, where the unemployment rate hovers around 70
percent.
That contributes to domestic violence, because too much idleness stirs
up trouble, said Kate Taylor, a domestic violence advocate for the STOP
program.
"If they're not busy and feeling good about things, they get miserable
and throw it off on everybody else; usually, it's the ones they love,"
Taylor said.
In a recent six-month period on the reservation, 230 domestic violence
calls were made to 911. That didn't include victims who went directly to
the hospital, tribal social services or to domestic violence advocates
working for a pair of programs that offered support to domestic violence
victims.
Budget cuts have since closed those two programs.
But the violence continues.
"More people would seek help if more services were provided," said Rosie
Maine, the tribal court clerk. "So it's kept in the home and not
reported. It's hurting our community."
(Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. She can be reached
at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@;lee.net.)
www.bismarktribune.com/articles/2006/09/17/news/local/120953.txt
<http://www.bismarktribune.com/articles/2006/09/17/news/local/120953.txt\
>
Anti-domestic violence advocates Nona Long Knife (pink) and Delina Cuts
The Rope stand outside the women's shelter on the Fort Belknap
Reservation in Montana. Photograph by Michael Gallacher/Missoulian
Lee News Service
(Editor's (Editor's note: Reporter Jodi Rave has spent much of the past
year reporting on the reasons for - and solutions to - the
disproportionate rate of domestic violence against Native women. This is
the first installment in an occasional series.)(Editor's note: Reporter
Jodi Rave has spent much of the past year reporting on the reasons for -
and solutions to - the disproportionate rate of domestic violence
against Native women. This is the first installment in an occasional
series.)
By JODIRAVE
FORT BELKNAP, Mont. - Neoma Abbott can feel the firefighting season
coming to a close, and that means violent flareups on the Fort Belknap
Reservation are about to begin.
That's because so many men who were away fighting fires will soon return
to fight loved ones, she said.
At least one woman used the firefighting season to file for divorce
before her abuser returned.
"She's waiting for the explosion," Abbott said. "But she'll be out by
then."
During the rest of the year, Abbott offers women protection.
Abbott offers women on the Fort Belknap Reservation - not far from the
Canadian border in northern Montana - protection from the men who rape
and beat and abuse them.
Some stay for weeks at the refuge for beaten women. Some stay a year.
Some arrive beaten, or when they sense trouble.
He started drinking today. I know something will be happening tonight.
For 21 years, Abbott, a shelter volunteer, has helped women heal from
broken arms, broken legs and broken hearts.
Some injuries aren't so obvious. She remembers a woman whose face looked
OK. But her back was blue, and her memory bruised with thoughts of a
molested daughter.
"She's the one who didn't go back to the abuser," Abbott said. "The rest
go back."
Beaten bodies
Domestic violence isn't unique to those on Fort Belknap.
Nationally, women are battered every 18 minutes. They represent all
social, economic, racial, ethnic and educational backgrounds.
And even though the White House announced last fall domestic violence
decreased 59 percent during the last decade, the same can't be said in
Native communities.
"The numbers seem to be going up," said Sarah Deer, Tribal Law and
Policy Institute attorney in Minneapolis. "But we don't know if (it is
because) domestic violence is becoming more frequent or because more
people are reporting."
It is estimated that in their lifetimes, one in three Native women will
be raped. Six of 10 will be physically assaulted.
Native women experience 66 percent of violent crimes committed against
Native people.
And there are likely several reasons why Native women are victimized at
rates higher than any other population in the United States.
Federal and state jurisdictions often conflict with reservation land
bases, hampering tribal law enforcement's ability to arrest and
prosecute non-Native abusers. And the higher rate of other-race abusers
could be the result of Native women living in urban settings and border
towns.
Grassroots leaders like Karen Artichoker, director of the Sacred Circle
women's resource center in Rapid City, S.D., have been leading efforts
on behalf of indigenous women for decades.
Ten years ago, groups such as Sacred Circle succeeded in getting Native
women recognized in the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
But for the first time in the act's 12-year history, a task force
consisting of Native coalitions and leaders from the National Congress
of American Indians succeeded in amending the law to meet Native women's
needs.
The effort has been praised as one of the greatest collaborations in
Indian Country in recent years. Together, they brought Native women's
need for protection before lawmakers.
Harvard's Honoring Nations program will honor the task force Oct. 3 in
Sacramento, Calif.
"As a unified force, the two navigated the political waters in D.C., and
the Native voice was heard," said Amy Besaw, director of Honoring
Nations. "This is a model that Indian Country should consider for other
issues that face our nations."
The result: Congress approved the Violence Against Women Act's Title IX
- Safety for Indian Women - increasing the authority of tribal
governments to protect women.
"This year has been monumental," said Jackie Agtuca, a national Violence
Against Native Women task force member. "You saw grassroots Native women
and tribal leadership step up to really make it well known that we need
a stronger response to prevent violence to Native women."
The new law brings anti-domestic violence advocates closer to realizing
a vision that transforms indigenous communities: where respect is
restored to women; where change can infuse law enforcement practices;
where healing can find its place among families.
Agtuca is heartened by what she defines as the foundation of the Safety
for Indian Women provision. It expressly recognizes the need for tribes
to have greater authority in protecting indigenous women.
"At the end of the day, the tribal leaders are responsible for passing
laws that will protect Native women," said Deer, of Minneapolis.
Additionally, Title IX of the law will improve federal response to
crimes of violence against Native women. And it will infuse
unprecedented amounts of federal funding to groups and tribal program
services for Native women.
While Congress has authorized $1 billion for Violence Against Women
Office programs, President Bush has requested about half that amount in
his 2007 budget.
If approved, tribes could access 10 percent from other parts of the VAWA
budget, or an estimated $54 million. Eric Holland, a Department of
Justice spokesman, said the department could not comment on proposed
appropriation figures.
Finally, the provision requires the U.S. attorney general to host an
annual consultation with tribal governments.
The first meeting between tribal leaders and Department of Justice
officials is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Prior Lake, Minn.
Rage and violence
They need the help on Fort Belknap.
There, 31 people per 1,000 were victimized by a parent or spouse,
according to charges filed by the tribal prosecutor at the Fort Belknap
Community Court in 2004.
For comparison: two of 1,000 people in the United States were abused by
a parent or spouse, according to the Corporate Alliance to End Partner
Violence.
About 3,000 people live on the reservation, home to the Assiniboine and
Gros Ventre tribes, where the unemployment rate hovers around 70
percent.
That contributes to domestic violence, because too much idleness stirs
up trouble, said Kate Taylor, a domestic violence advocate for the STOP
program.
"If they're not busy and feeling good about things, they get miserable
and throw it off on everybody else; usually, it's the ones they love,"
Taylor said.
In a recent six-month period on the reservation, 230 domestic violence
calls were made to 911. That didn't include victims who went directly to
the hospital, tribal social services or to domestic violence advocates
working for a pair of programs that offered support to domestic violence
victims.
Budget cuts have since closed those two programs.
But the violence continues.
"More people would seek help if more services were provided," said Rosie
Maine, the tribal court clerk. "So it's kept in the home and not
reported. It's hurting our community."
(Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. She can be reached
at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@;lee.net.)