SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS PASSES LEGISLATION TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES & IMPROVE REPORTING ON MISSING & MURDERED NATIVE AMERICANS
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON — Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced that the committee passed S. 1942 , Savanna’s Act, today.
“The committee took action to improve tribal access to crime information databases and federal reporting of missing and murdered Native Americans,” Hoeven said . “This legislation is intended to lead to better data collection and information reported to Congress on a tragic problem that affects many tribal communities across the country.”
Savanna’s Act will require the Department of Justice to develop guidelines for addressing cases relating to missing and murdered Native Americans.
Savanna’s Act was introduced in the Senate on October 5, 2017 by Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration.
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115th CONGRESS 1st Session
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To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
October 5, 2017
Ms. Heitkamp (for herself, Mr. Tester , Mr. Franken , Mr. Heinrich , Mr. Merkley , and Ms. Warren ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as “Savanna’s Act”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES .
(a) Findings .—Congress finds the following:
(1) On some reservations, Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average.
(2) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times as likely to experience violent crimes—and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes—compared to all other races.
(3) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women, or 84.3 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime.
(4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age.
(5) According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, United States Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52 percent of violent crimes that occur in Indian country.
(6) Investigation into cases of missing and murdered Indian women is made difficult for Tribal law enforcement agencies due to a lack of resources, such as—
(A) necessary training, equipment, or funding;
(B) a lack of interagency cooperation; and
(C) a lack of appropriate laws in place.
(7) The complicated jurisdictional scheme that exists in Indian country—
(A) has a significant negative impact on the ability to provide public safety to Indian communities;
(B) has been increasingly exploited by criminals; and
(C) requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State law enforcement officials.
(b) Purposes .—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments with respect to responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians;
(2) to increase coordination and communication among Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies;
(3) to empower Tribal governments with the resources and information necessary to effectively respond to cases of missing and murdered Indians; and
(4) to increase the collection of data related to missing and murdered Indian women and the sharing of information among Federal, State, and Tribal officials responsible for responding to and investigating cases of missing and murdered Indians.
In this Act:
(1) F EDERAL DATABASES.—The term “Federal databases” means—
(A) the National Crime Information Center database;
(B) the Combined DNA Index System;
(C) the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System;
(D) the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program;
(E) the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System; and
(F) other Federal databases relevant to responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians.
(2) I NDIAN.—The term “Indian” means a member of an Indian Tribe.
(3) I NDIAN COUNTRY.—The term “Indian country” has the meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code.
(4) I NDIAN TRIBE.—The term “Indian Tribe” has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ).
(5) L AW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term “law enforcement agency” means a Tribal, Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency.
SEC. 4. IMPROVING TRIBAL ACCESS TO FEDERAL CRIME INFORMATION DATABASES .
(a) Tribal Enrollment Information .—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall update the online data entry format for Federal databases to include a new data field for users to input the victim’s Tribal enrollment information or affiliation, as appropriate.
(1) I NITIAL CONSULTATION.—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall complete a formal consultation with Indian Tribes on how to further improve Tribal data relevance and access to Federal databases, which shall also inform the development of law enforcement and justice protocols under section 5(a).
(2) A NNUAL CONSULTATION.—Section 903(b) of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 ( 34 U.S.C. 20126 ) is amended—
(A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking;”;
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
“(4) improving access to local, regional, State, and Federal crime information databases and criminal justice information systems.”.
(c) Report .—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit a report to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that includes—
(1) the results of the formal consultation described in subsection (b)(1);
(2) a description of the outstanding barriers Indian Tribes face in acquiring full access to Federal databases and related national crime information systems; and
(3) the plan of action of the Department of Justice to—
(A) implement suggestions received from Indian Tribes through the consultation process; and
(B) resolve the outstanding barriers described under paragraph (2).
SEC. 5. STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS FOR RESPONDING TO CASES OF MISSING AND MURDERED INDIANS .
(a) Standardized Protocols For Missing And Murdered Indians .—
(1) I N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the consultation process described in section 4(b)(1), the Attorney General, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and in consultation with Indian Tribes, shall—
(A) review existing (as of the date of the review) law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to missing and murdered Indians; and
(B) recommend such existing protocols, revise such existing protocols, or develop new protocols, as necessary, to establish protocols to serve as guidelines for law enforcement agencies with respect to missing and murdered Indians.
(2) P UBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Attorney General shall make the protocols under paragraph (1) publicly available and shall distribute them to law enforcement agencies.
(b) Requirements .—The standardized protocols under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) Guidance on inter-jurisdictional cooperation among law enforcement agencies at the Tribal, Federal, State, and local levels.
(2) Standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains appropriate to Indians, including standards on entering information to Federal databases on missing persons within a certain timeframe after receiving the missing persons report.
(3) Guidance on improving law enforcement response rates and follow-up to cases of missing and murdered Indians.
(4) Methods to ensure access to victim services for Indian victims and their families.
(c) Directions To United States Attorneys .—
(1) D IRECTIONS.—Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall direct United States attorneys with jurisdiction to prosecute crimes in Indian country under sections 1152 and 1153 of title 18, United States Code, to develop written standard protocols to investigate cases of missing and murdered Indians that—
(A) are guided by the standardized protocols under subsection (a);
(B) are developed in consultation with Indian Tribes and other Federal partners, including—
(i) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(ii) the Department of the Interior;
(iii) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
(iv) the Indian Health Service;
(C) detail specific responsibilities of each Federal partner; and
(D) shall be implemented not later than 60 days after the direction is issued.
(2) A DDITIONAL DIRECTIONS.—Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall direct United States attorneys with jurisdiction to prosecute crimes in Indian Country from an authority other than section 1152 or 1153 of title 18, United States Code, to discuss the Federal response to cases of missing and murdered Indians with their Tribal partners and Federal partners as appropriate during annual consultations.
(d) Training And Technical Assistance .—The Attorney General shall provide Indian Tribes and law enforcement agencies with training and technical assistance relating to the development and implementation of the law enforcement and justice protocols of the Indian Tribes and agencies, respectively, in accordance with the standardized protocols under subsection (a).
(e) Compliance .—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, Federal law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes relating to missing and murdered Indians shall modify the law enforcement and justice protocols of the agency to satisfactorily comply with the standardized protocols under subsection (a).
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS .
(a) Beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly prepare and submit a report, to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, that—
(1) includes known statistics on missing and murdered Indian women in the United States;
(2) provides recommendations regarding how to improve data collection on missing and murdered Indian women; and
(3) includes information relevant to the implementation of the standardized protocols developed under section 5(a).
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To me, one of the frustrations of this action is that in 2010, The Tribal Law and Order Act, and in 2013, the Violence Against Women's Reauthorization Act should have carried this requirement.
I know many of you don't give a rat's butt about what is happening in Indian Country, and you really don't care 'bout the statistics relating to the violence/deaths/diseases/poverty/etc about the Tribes/Nations and the people -
BUT -
you want a united country? Look at the news the past couple weeks - three "white" girls went missing and every news channel in the U. S. plastered the young lady's status all over the front pages.
In the meantime, 712 Native American girls/women either disappeared or were killed last year and nobody said squat about their loss.
United?
Sadly this horrible situation exists in Canada as well...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/04/the-mystery-of-1000-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-in-canada/?utm_term=.4064f0509f6d
But, remember Kavika - we are the "Invisible People" on both sides of that border.
1,000 in Canada in 2016 and 721 in the U. S. in 2017 - shouldn't that raise some alarms?????
You would think it would, but seems that isn't a priority.
Reservation lands are under the "protection" of the Federal government. True they are sovereign lands with Tribal/Nation government, but the Feds still dictate through laws as to what/when/where/why/how the Tribes/Nations handle their governments. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act "supposedly" gave the tribes/nations "freedom" to govern their Tribes/Nations just as long as the Tribe/Nation had a Constitution and Business Plan approved by the Feds. Some tribes/nations did not submit either to the Feds and are allowed to govern, but they are under more scrutiny than the others who did submit the "required" paperwork.
There are 6 states who have mandatory requirements for jurisdiction over the tribes/nations in their state and they are called Public Law 280 (1953) states.
There are many ways in which Public Law 280 may affect crime victims in Indian country, including the following:
Federal Role Eliminated: In states without Public Law 280, the federal criminal justice system has a special role in Indian Country - crimes are often investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; major crimes and interracial (Indian v. non-Indian) crimes are prosecuted through the United States Attorney’s offices; the federal victim witness coordinator is actively involved in these federal cases; etc. In states with Public Law 280, this special federal role is eliminated.
Greatly Expanded Role of State Criminal Justice System: In states without Public Law 280, the role of the state criminal justice system in Indian country is generally limited to non-Indian v. non-Indian crimes only. In states with Public Law 280, the role of the state criminal justice system in Indian country is essentially the same as outside Indian country. The prior federal role has been transferred to the state, but the grant of criminal jurisdiction to the states is even greater than the prior federal role. Consequently, Public Law 280 significantly expanded the realm of non-Indian control over reservation activities.
Limited Tribal Criminal Justice Systems in Public Law 280 States: As a result of the limited federal support for tribal law enforcement and tribal court systems in Public Law 280 states, many Indian Nations in Public Law 280 states still do not have functioning criminal justice systems. There may not be any tribal law enforcement or tribal court system. If a tribal court does exist, it may only exercise jurisdiction over civil actions. If a tribal criminal justice system does exist, it may be informal and/or have only very limited resources available.
Possible Choice of Criminal Justice System: Due to the concurrent jurisdiction of the tribal and state criminal justice systems under Public Law 280, it is possible that a victim of crime may face a choice of criminal justice systems (assuming that there is a functioning tribal criminal justice system) or the possibility of two prosecutions by the separate sovereigns (state and tribal).
Lawlessness of the "Legal Vacuum" Type: Public Law 280 has often created what Professor Goldberg identified as lawlessness of the "legal vacuum" type. The jurisdictional vacuums or gaps caused by Public Law 280 have often precipitated the use of self-help remedies that border on or erupt into violence. These self-help remedies have developed because (1) no government (either tribal or state) has authority, (2) the perception exists that no government has authority, and/or (3) the government has authority in theory but no institutional support or incentive for the exercise of that authority.
Lawlessness of the "Abuse of Authority" Type: Public Law 280 has often created what Professor Goldberg identified as lawlessness of the "abuse of authority" type. There have been many instances in which state law enforcement has intervened, but gross abuses of authority have occurred (power is unleashed by the law that is supposed to constrain it).
Mistrust and Hostility between Tribal and State Officials /Communities: On many reservations, Public Law 280 has contributed to a continuing history of mistrust and hostility between tribal and state officials/communities. The controversy surrounding Public Law 280 has contributed to this situation, including the state dissatisfaction with the lack of federal funding and the tribal opposition to the broad unilateral imposition of state law. Furthermore, a common Indian perception in many Public Law 280 states is that state law enforcement claims that they have no authority whenever the Indian Nation asks them to intervene ("legal vacuum" lawlessness), but that state law enforcement claims that they have this authority whenever the Indian Nation does not want them to intervene ("abuse of authority" lawlessness). Obviously, this situation can present many problems for Indian country crime victims.
The Feds and PL-280 states have been relinquishing jurisdiction in many instances, thanks to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women's Reauthorization Act of 2013 - but it's not enough.
Sorry for the long-winded response and I hope I answered your questions.
These are the kinds of things that happen when someone in power has a burr up their ass who marches women and children hundreds or thousands of miles through the worst of weather without proper clothing, food and shelter in an attempt to make "the problem" disappear "all by itself'.
Two additional things that should be considered in addition to 1st comment and information, 9mm...A common misconception is that only Indians live on reservation land...That is simply not true, many whites live on reservation land as well.
Second, the crimes are not confined to reservations in either the U.S. or Canada. A large percentage of these crimes actually happen off reservation.
Actually there are not...The past couple of years have seen some changes but as a general statement, no they are not. It wasn't until the re-authorization of the VAWA a couple of years ago that native women were included (they are still not in Alaska). This was a huge problem since the native community or tribal police could not arrest and prosecute a non Indian for rape or sexual assault on a native women on or off a reservation.
Your overthinking it just a bit. The native nations report the crime to the local authorities, in Canada that would include the RCMP, the problem has been that the follow up by the authorities has been basically non existent. And this situation has been protested by natives for years with little to no follow up by the local authorities.
There are numerous article and studies on this situation in both the U.S. and Canada.
My tribe and band, The Red Lake Ojibwe reservation is considered a ''closed reservation''...one of the few in the U.S. By being closed it means that no non Indians can live on the land (unless married to an enrolled member) since all land on the rez is considered community property, hence it is closed to anyone other than a Red Lake Ojibwe native. Requirements to be a tribal member are more difficult than most other reservations. Blood quantum when I became a member was 50% and even more importantly you had to save a parent that was in enrolled member of the band. You could not skip a generation and then decide that you wanted to be a member. You also had to be 50% Ojibwe. Being 25% Ojibwe and 25% Lakota doesn't count.
All I can say it's about time. Indians are like the invisible people of this country.
When it comes to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, we have an epidemic on our hands. That’s why I’ve been fighting hard to raise awareness about the # MMIW issue, support survivors, and bring their assailants to justice. Today, we took a step in the right direction by voting to pass # SavannasAct out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and bring this critical bill one step closer to the President’s desk.
From the office of Jon Tester - a man Trump campaigned against two weeks ago.
Kudos to Mr. Tester who is and has been a real advocate for natives.
Rumor has it that once it hits the pres's desk it's done, he will sign it....
and it's about damn time someone did something.