Feds, state lawmakers propose new ways to help Native women

Source: Associated Press


Sharon Cohen, Ap National Writer
Updated 11:15 pm CDT, Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Federal and state lawmakers have proposed or adopted a series of measures designed to address the problem of missing and murdered Native American women and related issues, such as human trafficking, domestic violence and rape. Among them:

FROM CAPITOL HILL

— Savanna's Act : The legislation, introduced last fall by North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, seeks to expand tribal access to some federal crime databases and establish protocols for handling cases of missing and murdered Native Americans. It also would require annual reports to Congress on the number of missing and murdered Native American women. The Democratic senator says if authorities have accurate statistics, they might be able to detect patterns that help solve more cases. Last year, Heitkamp also launched the #NotInvisible social media campaign to draw attention to this problem.

— End Trafficking of Native Americans Act: The bill , introduced in July by three senators — Heitkamp, Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, and Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat — would expand efforts to combat human trafficking among Native Americans and Alaska Natives. It would establish an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Justice and Interior departments and a coordinator within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to organize prevention efforts across federal agencies.

— SURVIVE Act (Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment): This measure would create a tribal grant program within the Justice Department. It would allot 5 percent from a federal crime victims' fund for grants that could be used to help tribes assist survivors of violent crimes and set up programs and services, including rape crisis centers and domestic violence shelters. The bill was reintroduced last year by Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican, and has several bipartisan co-sponsors.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Feds-state-lawmakers-propose-new-ways-to-help-13205241.php