DOJ taskforce on Indian children exposed to violence

ABA House of Delegates Urges Quick Implementation of Recommendations of Attorney General Taskforce

August 4, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

On August 4, 2015, the American Bar Association House of Delegates unanimously adopted Resolution 113, which adopts and urges prompt implementation by the Administration, Congress, and state and tribal governments of specific recommendations contained in the November 2014 report of the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence, entitled Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive. The resolution was co-sponsored by the National Native American Bar Association. NNABA member Jerry Gardner and NNABA board member Lauren van Schilfgaarde assisted in the drafting and initial push for the resolution through the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, newly renamed as the Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice, which also sponsored the Resolution.

Here’s the ABA link to the resolution: http://www.americanbar.org/news/reporter_resources/annual-meeting-2015/house-of-delegates-resolutions/113.html.

Daniel Cauffman, 21, can speak candidly about the physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepmother when he was a child.

He knows his story of closed-fist punches coupled with other acts of physical violence speaks for hundreds – if not thousands – of children on Native American lands across the country.

“I hope it does help,” said Cauffman, a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Mich.

He was one of several young people to give testimony Tuesday alongside regional experts at a public hearing for the advisory committee to the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence.

“I’m glad they do stuff like this ’cause it does raise awareness,” Cauffman said. “As far as hopes goes, hopefully we can pull kids out of the situation.”

More detailed coverage here.