Restoration Magazine

Since our humble beginnings as a grassroots, Alaska Native non-profit organization, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC) has grown to become a leading voice for Alaska Native survivors of gender-based violence on the Tribal, federal, state, and international stages. Officially established in 2015, a group of long-time Alaska Native Advocates and allies with over 150 years of combined experience delivering life-saving advocacy in remote Villages and urban settings had the resiliency to envision an Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center designed to provide technical assistance and training to Tribes and Tribally based advocacy programs supporting establishment or growing of gender-based violence programs specific to the needs of that community or Tribe.

The AKNWRC remains at the forefront of the battle against gender-based violence impacting Alaska Native women and Alaska’s 229 federally recognized Tribes. Our vision, which guides our work each day, is violence against Alaska Native women is rooted in the colonization of Indigenous Nations, and reversing these devastating effects lies in the exercise of Tribal sovereignty and traditional ways. AKNWRC exists to work in partnership with Tribes to address gender-based violence by providing uniquely Alaska Native-designed and delivered technical assistance and training that is rooted in each Tribe’s distinct voices, languages, and teachings.

Nine Years of Advocacy, Support, and Success for Alaska Tribes (2015-2024)

Highly Specialized and Individualized Policy Monitoring and Training and Technical Assistance to Alaska Tribes

Providing highly specialized and collaborative policy monitoring, training, and technical assistance to Alaska Tribes has always been the foundational bedrock of AKNWRC. Since 2015, AKNWRC has supported Alaska Tribes with technical assistance to develop and sustain Tribally determined, gender-based violence programs and strategies—rooted in the Tribe’s voices, languages, and teachings. We’ve also helped to increase national and international awareness about the systemic barriers Alaska Native Tribes have fought in isolation for too long.

Although the training and technical assistance needs of Alaska Tribes have changed, the basis of how AKNWRC provides training and technical assistance to Alaska Tribes remains firmly rooted in Tribes’ voices, languages, and teachings. Today, just as we did in our early beginnings, AKNWRC provides targeted, one-on-one, Tribally driven, and highly specialized training and technical assistance to Alaska Tribes, assisting with both short and long-term planning and solutions.

Over the past nine years, AKNWRC has provided training and technical assistance to over 150 of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized Tribes, representing outreach to over 65% of Alaska’s Tribes. This breadth of assistance to Alaska Tribes has naturally required an increase in the professional staff of AKNWRC. Today, the AKNWRC family has grown from just two staff in 2015 to over 15 full-time staff, which includes Alaska-Native advocates, technical assistance program specialists, policy makers and professionals who understand Alaska’s unique jurisdictional, legal, geographical, and survivor services landscape and the importance of balancing Western-defined justice and Alaska Native-defined justice.

AKNWRC’s Advocacy Institute

Numerous Tribes nationwide, including those in Alaska, are actively establishing and improving victim service programs as standalone services or integral components of comprehensive justice system advancement. While each program is tailored to the specific needs of its Tribe or community, including advocacy services is pivotal. Victim advocates, regardless of their designated titles, play a crucial role in assisting victims and survivors in navigating various systems that provide essential services. They also contribute to fostering better outcomes for victims, systemic improvements, and aiming for enhanced services and streamlined processes.

Before developing and delivering AKNWRC’s first advocacy training, numerous victim advocacy training courses offered excellent content. But, none were tailored to the Alaska Tribal cultural context with a victim-centered approach. AKNWRC’s advocacy training program and curriculum goes beyond 40 hours of in-person training, incorporating a mentorship component to connect participants with Advocacy Organizers and experienced Tribal victim advocates.

In partnership with Native advocates in the lower 48, AKNWRC’s advocacy curriculum has been designed by on-the-ground Tribal advocates with extensive experience in working in isolated and remote Alaska Native Villages for many years, often predating the establishment of formal programs in these communities. Throughout Alaska, there exists a lack of law enforcement, shelter, and other support systems for victims and survivors. AKNWRC is committed to offering our advocacy training program multiple times annually to ensure that numerous rural advocates can access training tailored to their needs.

We aim to create a network of advocates across Alaska, facilitating mutual support and peer connections. This network aims to assist Tribal programs in working within their justice systems to establish safety, support, and long-term healing for victims and survivors. A key aspect involves pairing more experienced advocates with newer ones to provide support, encouragement, and knowledge transfer and to foster sustainability in Tribal victim services staffing across the state. Many Tribal Advocates, particularly those in rural Alaska, operate as one-staff programs with limited support and guidance. AKNWRC’s advocacy training program addresses these unique needs, striving to enhance services for Alaska Native victims and survivors.

In 2024, we will continue the delivery of our AKNWRC Advocacy Institute training to Alaska Tribes—a 40-hour OVC, OVW, and FVPSA-approved Alaska Native-centered Advocacy Training for Tribal advocates developed and delivered by seasoned Alaska Native advocates on the AKNWRC staff and board, as well as other partners.

The 2022 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization and Subtitle B – The Alaska Public Safety Empowerment Subsection

The 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) included historic provisions that restored Tribal jurisdiction over non-Native offenders who commit certain domestic violence crimes on Tribal lands. However, because of how Indigenous land claims were settled, this particular jurisdiction, tied to federally defined “Indian country,” categorically excluded 228 of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized Tribes from exercising the special criminal jurisdiction conferred.

Since 2013, Alaska Native leaders and organizations and our partners in the lower 48, including AKNWRC, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, the National Congress of American Indians, and the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence have vigorously advocated for VAWA to be reauthorized and, more importantly, for Alaska Tribes to be in parity with our lower 48 brothers and sisters. An Alaskan fix was needed to overcome the “Indian country” requirement created by VAWA 2013. Our Alaskan fix was included in the 2022 VAWA reauthorization. It resulted from many years of advocacy with our federal delegation, including former Alaska Representative Don Young and current Senator Lisa Murkowski.

With the recent reauthorization of VAWA and the inclusion of Subtitle “B,” Alaska Tribes now have the opportunity to criminally prosecute non-Natives who commit certain “covered crimes” within our Alaska Native Villages. The inclusion of Subtitle “B” and the reaffirmation of our Alaska Tribes’ civil and criminal jurisdiction over Native and non Native offenders represents a significant success for Alaska and the future healing of our Alaska Native survivors of gender-based violence.

The Ongoing Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

AKNWRC continues to be at the forefront of addressing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) within Alaska and nationally. In addition to the continued education and advocacy with our state and federal legislators, AKNWRC is a founding member of the MMIWG2S Alaska Working group—an Indigenous Peoples-led statewide group supported by five Alaska Native partner organizations.

Alaska continues to remain one of the epicenters of the National MMIW crisis. In Data for Indigenous Justice’s (DIJ) 2021 baseline report, “We Are Calling to You,” DIJ found 229 cases of MMIW in Alaska, representing 149 missing and 80 murdered Alaska Natives. In addition, a 2018 Urban Indian Health Institute Report found that of all the states, Alaska had the 4th highest MMIW cases by state and that Anchorage, Alaska’s largest urban area, had the 3rd highest MMIW cases by cities. That report also found that Anchorage ranked in the top five cities with the highest number of cases, not in law enforcement data.

Our collective advocacy and efforts have resulted in successes that will help to offer healing and additional protections to Alaska Native and American Indian women, including:

• Two new MMIW dedicated investigators within the Alaska Department of Public Safety;
• A dedicated MMIW Assistant Attorney General within the Alaska Department of Law;
• The creation of an Alaska Statewide MMIW Council;
• MMIW Awareness Day Proclamations at the State and local level; and
• Increased funding for the Village Public Safety Officers that serve rural Alaska.

In addition, AKNWRC was instrumental in assisting the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska with the promulgation of Alaska’s Savanna’s Act Guidelines and continues to play an integral role in supporting the efforts of our federal and state law enforcement officers who are investigating, responding, and addressing the MMIW crisis in Alaska.

Finally, AKNWRC’s Executive Director, Tami Truett Jerue, and former AKNWRC Director of Law and Policy, Michelle Demmert, served as Not Invisible Act Commissioners representing Alaska. They dedicated countless hours and time away from family to host and attend public hearings surrounding MMIW nationally, detailing findings and recommendations in a final report titled “Not One More”¹ released November 2023 to Secretary Haaland, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Congress.

AKNWRC’s Resource Book - Alaska Native Women: Ending the Violence, Reclaiming a Sacred Status

In 2023, AKNWRC published a groundbreaking resource: An impactful book providing a distinctive Alaska Native perspective on the pervasive issue of violence against Alaska Native women. This literary achievement and labor of love is a tribute to the memory of Shirley Moses and signifies AKNWRC’s steadfast dedication to addressing this crucial matter with cultural sensitivity.

The publication by AKNWRC stands as the first comprehensive attempt to elucidate the intricate problem of violence against Alaska Native women from the viewpoint of Alaska Natives. This book delves deeply into the socio-historical context by going beyond the mere documentation of individual incidents by detailing the disturbingly disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Alaska Native women across generations. Within its pages, readers will discover a pathway towards healing, gaining insight into how this crisis of violence has evolved due to systemic barriers and the inadequate protection afforded to Alaska Native women.

After decades of unwavering advocacy for survivors, the board and committed staff at AKNWRC possess a profound understanding of violence against women. They also acknowledge the sacred status of Alaska Native women within Indigenous Nations. Tracing the roots of the ongoing crisis of violence back to colonization’s impact on Alaska Natives, the book’s title advocates for necessary legal and policy reforms. It encapsulates the vision of putting an end to violence against Alaska Native women, intricately tied to the restoration of the sacred status of women within sovereign Indigenous Nations.

This newly revealed resource provides insight into the essential changes needed to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault, ultimately paving the way for a future where Alaska Native women can live free from fear and violence.

Looking Forward

AKNWRC looks forward to continuing to serve Alaska Native Tribes with policy monitoring, training, technical assistance, and gender-based violence program support. We will continue to develop Alaska-specific resources based on first-hand knowledge and understanding of the uniqueness of Alaska Tribes and look forward to strengthening partnerships and programming. 

In the upcoming decade, AKNWRC is poised to continue cultivating relationships and meaningful collaborations with state, Tribal, federal government, and international agencies. This success involves the exchange of vital information and the establishment of platforms where Tribes can identify and share their culturally specific approaches to addressing domestic violence and sexual assault. The focus remains on reaching out to isolated and underserved Tribes, emphasizing the importance of tailoring interventions that include our uniquely Alaska Native cultural contexts.

AKNWRC remains steadfast, committed, and focused on the success of Alaska Tribes through our advocacy, programmatic, and justice work to support the changes identified by Alaska Native Tribes to heal and address the disproportionate rates of violence affecting our Alaska Native women, families, and Tribal communities.

Website - www.aknwrc.org
Law and Policy - tribaljustice@aknwrc.org
Progroamatic - ttarequests@aknwrc.org
AKNWRC Resource Book - bit.ly/48POi2n

1. Not One More: the Not Invisible Act Commission Final Report