Police, Politics, and Poverty: Structural Determinants of Violence and Abuse towards Native American and Alaska Native Women

By: Antara Varma

Edited By: Ethan Schott

Photo by Obert Manondo/Flickr

In the United States, Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) women are subject to staggering rates of violence and victimization. More than 84 percent of Native American and Alaska Native girls and women experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime, nearly 60 percent experiencing rape or sexually assault, and a homicide rate ten times that of the rest of the United States (Parker et al., 2024; Key Statistics | NCAI, 2021; Rosay and National Institute of Justice, 2016; Graham et al., 2021) Though these rates of gendered violence are often characterized as solely interpersonal problems—a product of drug use and alcoholism in Indigenous men—such framing disregards the multitude of institutional barriers also contributing to and enabling violence against NA/AN women. In reality, the prevalence of abuse and violence against Native American and Alaska Native women indicates the presence of numerous institutional and structural barriers, including a lack of tribal law enforcement, prosecution power, and federal funding.

In the 1978 Supreme Court case Oliphant vs Suqamish Indian Tribe, it was determined that NA/AN tribes do not have the authority to try and punish non-Native Americans in criminal cases without express Congressional authorization. This is especially harmful considering that over 90% of female Native victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) attribute their assault to a non-Native offender (Rosay and National Institute of Justice, 2016). One woman, for instance, noted that because her assault took place on Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate land by her non-Native husband, all tribal police could do was hold him long enough to “try and give her a head start” (Sidorsky and Schiller, 2023).

Though this lack of tribal power was partially remediated with the 2013 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—which extended tribal criminal jurisdiction to include non-Native American offenders for cases of domestic, dating, and sexual violence against Native victims on tribal soil—only 31 of 574 tribes actually exercise this expanded jurisdiction, and in most cases still “do not have [meaningful] jurisdiction over non-Indian offenders, even if the victim is a tribal member,” (Congressional Research Service and James, 2023). This is often because for a non-Native to be prosecuted for a VAWA-authorized crime by a tribal court, they must be proven to have “sufficient ties,” to the tribal community. This may include living in the territory, being employed by the tribe, or being the “spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner,” of the prosecuting tribe or another tribe within the territory. Thus, in cases where NA/AN women are raped, assaulted, or otherwise victimized by strangers who enter Native territory, they are entirely at the mercy of state or federal intervention.

Furthermore, the costs of exercising this expanded jurisdiction present a significant barrier to entry for many tribes. The VAWA mandates that tribes exercising their expanded jurisdiction must have a compliant court system, including trained judges and guaranteed counsel, which can become “prohibitively expensive” for financially strained tribal nations that are also responsible for high costs associated with maintaining law enforcement and incarceration facilities (NCAI, 2018). One report notes that for tribal populations of 1,601-6,500 people, a basic law enforcement and full-time court system would cost between 2.3 and 2.0 million dollars, respectively (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2020). Thus, many tribes possess neither the jurisdiction to appropriately prosecute crime nor the financial support to gain such jurisdiction. This is unfortunate, considering that the outcomes of expanded tribal jurisdiction over sexual and domestic violence cases have been “positive,” with “143 arrests, 74 convictions, and 24 pending cases,” among the 18 tribal nations participating in a pilot program, a significant increase over past years (Sidorsky and Schiller, 2023).

In light of the limited prosecutorial power of tribes, it is crucial that state and federal governments are addressing tribal cases diligently which, despite strides in the last decade, is still often not the case. A 2017 survey by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the anti-human trafficking efforts of 132 federal native law enforcement agencies discovered that from 2014 to 2016, 75% of agencies had not initiated even one investigation, and 5% did not “know if they had” (Congressional Research Service and James, 2023). Similarly, in 2021, GAO reported that the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to prosecute 46% of referred assault cases and 67% of sexual abuse and related matters in 2021, citing “insufficient evidence” (Congressional Research Service and James, 2023). Thus, the proportion of violent crimes resulting in prosecution is minimal compared to the extent of violent crimes occurring, especially considering that only 45% of Native victims of violence report their experiences to their police (Pember and ICT, 2025).

Though the expanded jurisdiction provided by VAWA in 2013 has rendered some progress, it must be matched with adequate funding. At the tribal level, increased federal funding can help address gendered violence by supporting the creation of VAWA-eligible justice systems, increasing law enforcement capabilities, and expanding resources like shelters, rape kits, and post-incident healthcare for survivors. Currently, most tribes only have 1.9 officers per thousand people, and only 55 NA/AN-led domestic violence shelters exist throughout 574 tribes (Congressional Research Service and James, 2023; Malcoe et al., 2004). Increased funding could help resolve these gaps.

Furthermore, a survey of 312 Native American women demonstrated that intimate partner violence (IPV) is “strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage,” with women experiencing low socioeconomic conditions being four times more likely to have experienced IPV (Malcoe et al., 2004). Thus, increased federal funding in the form of SNAP, TANF, and federal healthcare is also key to alleviating poverty and reducing gendered violence.

Changing the type of grant could help as well. Currently, tribes receive funding through competitive grants, for which they must apply for repeatedly. This prioritizes tribes that can afford grant writers and is highly subject to changes in federal priorities, making it unreliable and difficult to use effectively and strategically. Switching to a formula grant, a non-competitive award that awards a fixed amount based on the tribe’s population, size, financial and violence rates, would increase tribal security and give leaders more flexibility and control over how they implement their funds. While switching to a formula grant may seem like a small change, it could greatly increase the accessibility and functionality of expanded jurisdiction.

The epidemic of sexual and physical violence against Native American and Alaskan Indian women is morally, ethically, and politically unacceptable. For decades, they have been isolated from resources, abandoned by underfunded institutional legal and judiciary structures, and abandoned by state and federal agencies. The rights, dignity, and safety of Native American and Native Alaskan women should not be another bullet point on the Congressional agenda: it is a crisis that demands sufficient funding, institutional support, and policies that empower tribal communities in their pursuit for justice. Behind each statistic lie thousands of women who had dreams, hopes, and wishes, and are remembered every day by the people who love them. We cannot let them rest in vain.

The views expressed in this publication are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Rice Journal of Public Policy, its staff, or its Editorial Board.

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References

Bureau of Indian Affairs. Report to the Congress on Spending, Staffing, and Estimated Funding Costs for Public Safety and Justice Programs in Indian Country, 2017. 1 Feb. 2020.

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Sidorsky, Kaitlin N., and Wendy J. Schiller. “Obstacles to Federal Policy Adoption: The Case of Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdictions in Native American Tribal Nations.” Perspectives on Politics, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592723001640.