Restoration Magazine

2017 VAWA Consultation: A Safeguard to VAWA Implementation

Established under the VAWA 2005 as a mandate to safeguard the successful implementation of the Safety for Native Women Title, the annual consultation serves as an essential yearly review of VAWA now plays an essential role in an annual review of VAWA by Indian tribes.

December 6, 2016, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation, CA—Each year, since 2006, the VAWA consultation opens with a traditional prayer and shawl ceremony. The ceremony was offered to the tribal coalitions in 2005 as a gift from Tlingit Elder Jessie Johnnie, from Hoonah, Alaska. In many regions tribal coalitions have created Honor Shawls for the women of their tribal nations. The Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition led the shawl ceremony during the 2016 VAWA annual consultation pictured left to right Germaine Omish-Guachena, Keely Linton, Catherine Revelez, Linda Schwartz, and Maulette Martin.

 

Attendance at the December 2017 annual VAWA consultation in Palm Springs, like the previous 11, was at certain points difficult to listen to as tribal leaders presented heart-wrenching stories of the violence endured by the women of their tribes. The leadership shared, too, their concerns as sovereigns and their urgent recommendations for immediate action to remove the gravest barriers, many of which are legal.

In the drafting of the 2005 Tribal Title, consultation was viewed as an essential safeguard to achieving the statutory purpose of the Title to strengthen the ability of tribal governments to increase the safety of Native women. The VAWA consultation statute mandates that during such consultations, the United States solicit recommendations from Indian tribes concerning three specific areas:

  1. Administering tribal funds and programs
  2. Enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.
  3. Strengthening the federal response to such violent crimes

It is well recognized that without the statutory mandate the federal departments and Indian tribes would not have engaged over the last 11 years to identify the barriers and recommendations to increasing the safety of Native women.

“It is not a process of blame but one where we identify and address the real, often institutionalized, barriers to the safety of Native women. The solutions to these barriers most often rest on restoring and strengthening the sovereignty of Indian tribes,” said Juana Majel Dixon, Co-chair NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women. “ The NCAI Task Force understood that for VAWA to systematically increase protections for Native women, Indian tribes as nations would need to identify barriers and solutions to enhance their abilities as governments to protect women.”

In many regions, tribal coalitions have created Honor Shawls for the women of their tribal nations.

VAWA 2013 built upon the annual consultation mandate and confirmed that the inclusion of a separate annual consultation continues to be essential to the implementation of VAWA with Indian tribes. This interaction on a nation-to-nation basis has allowed tribal governments and the United States to discuss matters that at the broadest level impact the safety of Indian women, and to propose strategies to address these issues. The 2013 tribal amendments were the result of the concerns raised during the consultation process since 2006. 

The 2013 tribal amendments to the annual VAWA consultation provided below were passed under at the recommendation of tribal leaders. These recommendations have greatly assisted in the success of the consultations providing all relevant federal departments attend and institutionalizing a process assuring the greatest possible participation. The amendment regarding the annual report provides for ongoing access to both the recommendations and responding actions taken by the federal departments.

  • The Attorney General provides 120 days’ notice to Indian tribes of the date, time, and location of the annual consultation.
  • The Secretary of Interior attends the annual consultation.
  • The Attorney General submits to Congress an annual report that:
    • Contains the recommendations made by Indian tribes during the year covered by the report
    • Describes actions taken during the year to respond to recommendations made during the year or a previous year
    • Describes how the Attorney General will work in coordination and collaboration with Indian tribes, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of the Interior to address the recommendations
  • Sex trafficking is added to the list of items to be addressed at the consultation.
More than 200 tribal leaders, representatives, and staff attended the 2016 VAWA consultation to raise their concerns and recommendations for addressing barriers to the safety of Native women.