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Violence Against Indian Women
Tribal Code Project

A recent study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice entitled American Indians and Crime found that American Indians are the victims of violent crimes at more than twice the rate of all U.S. residents. Moreover, the study indicated that Indian Women are victimized at a rate higher than any other group in the United States, including a rape/sexual assault victimization rate more than twice as high as the rate for Black women and more than three and a half times higher than the national rate.

It is critical that American Indian and Alaska Native communities are provided with the tools necessary to improve an individual tribal justice system's response to violence against Indian women. Before an Indian community can vigorously enforce laws designed to protect Indian women, the individual tribal government must first enact comprehensive violence against Indian women code provisions.

Under a grant from the Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Department of Justice, the National American Indian Court Judges (NAICJA), in conjunction with a broad based Project Advisory Committee, has collected and analyzed resources concerning the development of Violence Against Indian Women tribal codes. The initial results of the Violence Against Indian Women Code Project are set forth below.

Resources, including on-line resources, concerning both violence against women generally and violence against Indian women specifically were collected and analyzed (see below).
General tribal code resources and tribal code development resources were collected and analyzed.
More than forty examples of existing tribal domestic violence codes were collected.
Standards for evaluating Violence Against Indian Women codes were developed - we have developed an on-line slideshow of these standards.
The forty tribal domestic violence codes were analyzed using the standards for evaluating Violence Against Indian Women codes.

AOL Users: click here to view the slide presentation. (Note: When the first page is displayed, maximize the browser window to view the full text of the presentation).

The Project Advisory Committee found that none of the forty existing tribal codes we reviewed met all of the standards established for evaluating Violence Against Indian Women codes. The Project Advisory Committee, however, found that five of the existing tribal codes that were analyzed were good examples since they met many of the established criteria. These five codes are as follows:

Model Domestic Violence Code

Phase 2 of the NAICJA Violence Against Women�s Act (VAWA) Project developed and publicized a Model Tribal Domestic Violence Code. (Download Model Domestic Violence Code Here)

This Draft Code was developed and drafted with the following considerations

1) Easily understood. More than any other portion of a Tribal Code, this one will need precise interpretation and understanding by non- law-trained individuals. Many Tribal Judges and lay-counselors are not law-trained. This Statute also provides for many interpretations and activities by police officers, Domestic Violence counselors, and of course, victims and perpetrators.

2) Be Brief. Some model codes were as long as 60 pages. While very comprehensive, these Codes will likely not even be read by Tribal legislatures, much less passed. We want a code that will be passed by Tribes. The NAICJA Model Code is 13 pages.

3) Many components to build on. Even in this brief code, we touched upon many areas just as the longer Codes have. The difference is the NAICJA Code cuts out some of the specifics. The specifics may already be in most Tribal Codes (e.g. Contempt of Court Procedures) Over time, through their normal legislative process, Tribes can add their own Tribal-specific Domestic Violence statutory specifics.

4) Innovative components. We have included a section dealing with Domestic Violence which is committed individuals from off-reservation. We have used �Tribal jurisdiction� not Reservation as the area covered by the code meaning greater Tribal authority. We have included a section on non-Indian perpetrators. We have broadened the scope of individuals receiving protection under the statute (including domestic partners.) We have provided for greater substance abuse examination, including with the victim; which contributes to a substantial portion of Domestic Violence incidences.

5) Specific penalties. We have listed specific penalties for convictions to aid Tribes in establishing their own penalties. Or, the penalties may be left intact.

6) Broad Penalties. We have provided for civil penalties and restitution to better enable the Court to completely make the victim whole.

7) Judicial Discretion. We have left many areas to the discretion of Tribal Judges, who know the people and Court system in their jurisdictions. We have stayed away from mandatory sentencing. Judges have a better idea of how to prevent additional incidences and to bring about a desired effect.

8) Intent to heal. We have provided for a broad level counseling and incentives for the perpetrator to receive help for a variety of problem behaviors. We do not believe that the intent is to save relationships, but to help people.

Domestic Violence Bench Book

A Tribal Court Bench Book for Domestic Violence Cases (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this file) was produced by the Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association under a grant from the Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Tribal Court Bench Book is a general guideline with recommendations to help tribal courts deal with domestic violence cases. It is arranged into three sections: Pre-Trial, Trial, and Post-Trial. The Bench Book is the result of a year-long process to which tribal judges devoted many hours of personal time. That effort has created a unique legal guide on domestic violence by tribal court judges for tribal court judges.