Here.
Judge Martin is a helluva writer and scholar, see here and here and here.
Cherokee Tribal Court Associate Judge Matthew Martin (center) retired from the court, and was honored at a reception on Monday, Feb. 11. Shown (left-right) are Judge Kirk Saunooke, Painttown Rep. Tommye Saunooke, Judge Steven Philo, Martin, Cherokee County – Snowbird Rep. Adam Wachacha and Cherokee Chief Justice Bill Boyum. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather)
Violence Against Women Act Passes Senate with Increased Bipartisan Support for Tribal Provisions
Recent Senate votes on VAWA indicate clear support for constitutionality of local tribal authority
Washington, DC – In a 78–22 vote today, the Senate passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with a net gain of ten votes since last year’s vote on the comprehensive S.1925 VAWA reauthorization. Now with support of more than three-quarters of the Senate, the VAWA legislation heads to the House of Representatives and includes Title IX; the constitutionally sound tribal jurisdiction provisions authorizing tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian defendants involved in intimate relationships with Native women and who assault these victims on tribal land. Current federal laws do not authorize tribal law enforcement or tribal courts to pursue any form of prosecution or justice against these perpetrators.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is calling the recent votes on VAWA, including today’s bipartisan vote, a clear indication of agreement that the tribal provisions are constitutional, and equally as important, that a final VAWA must provide local tribal authorities the ability to pursue justice for Native women and protect local communities. On Monday the Senate defeated the constitutionality question by striking down an amendment offered by Senator Tom Coburn (OK) to strip the tribal provisions entirely from the bill.
“Today’s passage of the Violence Against Women Act in the Senate, and previous votes to defeat harmful amendments to the bill, sends a clear message to the House that a strong VAWA bill with the tribal provisions must be passed immediately. There is no reason for further delay. This is violence that cuts deep into the hearts of our community. Addressing violence against any women, including Native women, is a priority of all Americans, and the safety of both Native and non-Native communities should not be marginalized,” said Jefferson Keel, President of NCAI, from NCAI’s offices in Washington, DC.
“We look forward to members from both parties coming together to deliver real policy solutions that solve a problem, that if left unaddressed, would leave Native women and local communities in peril. Nothing could be more unimaginable or reprehensible,” Keel concluded.
The legislation heads to the House of Representatives now and while progress on the bill stalled last year, NCAI and its partners remain optimistic and encouraged that a strong VAWA Reauthorization with the tribal provisions will be passed.
“Women and men – Native and non-Native, Senators and Representatives from all backgrounds, and tribal leaders from across Indian Country have all spoken that these injustices must not continue. We intend to keep speaking from our heart and with the law by our side until a comprehensive VAWA is passed. And with the tribal provisions included,” added Juana Majel-Dixon, 1st Vice President of NCAI and the Co-chair of the organization’s Task Force on Violence Against Women. “We are thankful that there are strong leaders in both the House and Senate that have stood for the protections of Native women, regardless of party politics. Native women and our surrounding communities need justice not more obstructions to it – the only obstacle standing in the way is politics.”
Findings show that 34% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes* and 39% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be subjected to violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes**. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46% of people living on reservations in 2010 were non-Natives (single race) and 59% of American Indian women in 2010 were married to non-Native men***.
The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women was established in 2000 and has been working for thirteen years to protect the lives of Native American women and create more secure tribal communities.
* Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey.
** Centers for Disease Control. (2008). Adverse health conditions and health risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence.
***US Census Bureau, Census 2010.
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Navajo’s press release:
Senate Approves Domestic Violence Bill
Tribal Provisions Remain InTactWASHINGTON—The Senate today passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act in a broad, bipartisan vote of 78-22. The bill reauthorizes the Act for the next five years.
The bill keeps language intact that provides added protections to Native American women from domestic violence crimes on tribal lands, and would allow tribes to prosecute non-Indians in narrow circumstances where they commit acts of domestic violence against Indians or violate domestic violence related protection orders. Defendants would need to have ties to the tribe, and prosecuting tribal courts would have to guarantee certain rights for defendants.
Voting in favor of S 47, were the following members from the Navajo Nation congressional delegation: Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. Voting no on the bill included Republican Sens. Orin Hatch and Mike Lee from Utah.
The Senate adopted an amendment to the bill, S-47, by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that would extend through 2017 the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The amendment would expand law enforcement grants for prosecuting trafficking crimes and criminalize confiscating passports or other immigration documents.
On Monday, the Senate rejected an amendment introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., stripping the tribal provisions, which give tribes more authority over non-Indian domestic violence offenders. The Senate rejected a similar proposal last week introduced by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
Tribal provisions will remain a contentious issue as House lawmakers introduce their own version of the domestic violence bill.
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Interior Letter:
Release:
Interior Department Says Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s
Land will Qualify as an Initial Reservation
Land application demonstrates significant historic ties to Taunton area
MASHPEE, MA – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has received a positive preliminary advisory opinion from the Department of the Interior indicating that the Tribe’s lands in Taunton and Mashpee qualify as an initial reservation once the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s land into trust process is completed with a positive Record of Decision. This special status means that the Tribe will be able to conduct Class II and Class III gaming on the land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Chairman Cedric Cromwell said this news “is another huge step forward toward the development of a first class destination resort casino in Taunton. We look forward to creating thousands of jobs and widespread economic opportunities for our Tribe, the people of Taunton and the entire Southeastern Massachusetts region.”
The news was presented to Chairman Cromwell in a letter from Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn. He informed the tribe that an analysis completed by the Office of Indian Gaming finds that the Tribe’s land in trust application qualifies to be processed under the initial reservation exception.
The initial reservation exception is found in Section 20 of the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act. It is one of the few exceptions to the prohibition of gaming on lands taken into trust after October 17, 1988. The provision is expressly intended for newly recognized Indian tribes, such as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, that do not have an established reservation. The determination is based, in part, on an analysis of the tribe’s historic ties to the area identified in the land in trust application that is currently under review by the federal government.
Chairman Cromwell praised the speedy review process. “On behalf of our tribe, I want to express my deepest gratitude to President Obama, Secretary Washburn, the Interior Department, and the many dedicated officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They truly understand how important it is for our people to have land, to maintain our history, our language and our culture. This will enable us to fully operate as a sovereign Tribal government, to secure the resources necessary to support ourselves, and to provide services such as housing, health care and education to our people.”
In addition, Chairman Cromwell thanked those who have worked on the documentation of the Tribe’s historic ties. “Tribal members and our advisers worked tirelessly to document our historic ties to Mashpee, Taunton, and all our ancestral homeland encompassing present-day Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island. Their efforts were conducted with professionalism, seriousness, and respect for our rich history.”
The Tribe’s application for land in trust includes land in Mashpee and Taunton, Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has proposed a destination resort casino in Taunton. The planning and design process for the proposed casino has moved at a very brisk pace. The Tribe has successfully acquired an option for land, negotiated an intergovernmental agreement with the City, won the support of the residents of Taunton in a referendum, and has progressed with state and federal environmental reviews.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, with approximately 2,600 enrolled members, has called present-day southeastern Massachusetts home for over 12,000 years. The Tribe was acknowledged in 2007 as a federally recognized tribe. As a sovereign nation, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe works to provide housing, health care, education, cultural, and economic development services to its members throughout the region.
Senate Votes Down Amendment to Remove Tribal Provisions from Violence Against Women Act
***VIDEO AVAILABLE***
In Senate floor speech, Sen. Cantwell urged colleagues to reject amendment that would have cut protections for Tribal victims
Cantwell: ‘This is about the life and death of women who need a better system to prosecute those who are committing serious crimes against them’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, urged her Senate colleagues to reject an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (S.47) that would have stripped critical protections for Tribal women. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 31-59 this evening.
The amendment would have removed the vast majority of Section 904 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which ensures that non-Indian defendants in Tribal court are afforded due process in a manner consistent with state and federal courts. This includes the right to effective assistance of counsel, the right to a trial by an impartial jury, as well as all other Constitutional rights.
“This isn’t about politics. This isn’t about a debate on what is a good way to win votes somewhere in America,” Cantwell said in a floor speech prior to the vote. “This is about the life and death of women who need a better system to help prosecute those who are committing serious crimes against them.”
Watch a video of Senator Cantwell’s floor speech here.
Last week Senator Cantwell spoke on the Senate floor about a similar amendment that would overturn Tribal jurisdiction and limit the ability of Tribal courts to punish non-Indian domestic violence offenders who assault Indian women.
Cantwell is an original co-sponsor of the bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on January 22, 2013. Since the first VAWA bill passed in 1994, domestic violence has decreased by 53 percent. The reauthorization bill includes critical improvements to extend domestic violence protections to individuals, including women in Tribal communities, who are currently not protected. An estimated 40 percent of Native women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Eighty percent of perpetrators of these crimes are non-Indian, and under current law, are not likely to be prosecuted by Tribal governments.
Previous reauthorizations of VAWA have been approved in a timely fashion with overwhelming support. Last Congress, a similar Senate version of the VAWA reauthorization bill passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 68-31, but ultimately stalled in the House. S. 47 has 60 co-sponsors and is expected to head to the Senate floor for final passage tomorrow.
Cantwell has been a consistent champion for the reauthorization of VAWA. In December, she joined six of her female Democratic Senate colleagues to call for House passage of VAWA before Congress adjourned for the year. In April 2012, she joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) at the King County Sheriff’s office to highlight the benefits of the bill to local law enforcement.
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Turtle Talk 
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