Dedicated to Restoring Sovereignty and Safeguarding Native Women and Children
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization committed to ending violence against Native women, children, and communities. We provide national leadership in addressing gender-based violence within Tribal communities by amplifying the voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance, training, and policy development. Our work strengthens Tribal sovereignty, creating lasting change to protect Native women and their families.
Our dedicated staff and board of directors bring diverse perspectives, extensive experience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission. With decades of expertise, we are building a grassroots movement that empowers Tribal Nations to enhance their responses to domestic violence, support survivors, and increase safety throughout Indian Country.
The safety of Native women and children depends on the ability of Tribal Nations to reclaim their pre-colonization belief systems and lifeways—ways of governance that predate the establishment of the United States. This includes the understanding that we are all relatives and have the right and responsibility to uphold the sacred status and integrity of women, which lies at the heart of Tribal sovereignty. Central to sovereignty and the safety of women is the irreplaceable legal right of Tribal Nations to self-govern, access trusted resources, and adopt culturally centered practices. These practices empower the voices and leadership of survivors and grassroots advocates, who are the driving forces behind the social, cultural, and legal changes that women need to live lives free from violence, including access to safe housing, economic security, childcare, healthcare, legal services, and abuser accountability.
Accountability is upheld through Tribal justice systems and laws that protect the sacred status of women. Tribal justice systems incorporate both Indigenous and Western responses, such as policing and prosecution. Unlike non-Native communities, where local governments have the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes against women, federal legislation, case law, and policies have left Tribal Nations with significantly less legal authority and resources to protect their citizens. This gap effectively denies Native women access to justice and culturally appropriate services, preventing them from living free from violence.
NIWRC develops resources and training opportunities to support Tribal Nations, grassroots advocates, and survivors in prioritizing the safety of Native women and their children and requiring accountability of offenders and communities. Native women, their children, and Tribal Nations are entitled to:
- Safety from violence within their homes and in their community
- Justice both on and off Tribal lands
- Access to culturally grounded advocacy designed by and for Native women
- Safe, affordable housing, legal services, childcare, economic security, and other basic resources provided in respectful ways
- Culturally-based, trauma and resiliency-informed services
- Access to Indigenous healing ways
