By Sari Horwitz
In the final days of the 113th Congress, lawmakers passed a bill this past week that will allow Alaska Native communities to take steps to better protect Alaska Native women.
The legislation repealed the “Alaska exemption,” a section that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) added to the 2013 Violence Against Women Act. That law allows tribal courts to prosecute certain crimes of domestic violence committed by non-Native Americans against Native Americans and also to enforce civil protection orders against them.
But before the bill passed last year, Murkowski exempted Alaska Native tribes, saying that the legislation pertained only to “Indian country,” where tribes live on reservations. There is almost no Indian country, as defined by federal law, in Alaska.
Murkowski’s exclusion of Alaska Native women in the Violence Against Women law ignited a contentious debate in Alaska and in Indian communities around the country about criminal jurisdiction in Alaska Native villages and the need to better protect Alaska Native women.
The Washington Post highlighted the Alaska exemption in a series this year on crime and justice issues in Native American communities.
“Alaska tribes asked me to repeal Section 910 of the Violence Against Women Act, and I heard them loud and clear,” Murkowski said in a statement after the legislation passed the Senate. But she added that Congress must still ensure that tribal courts in Alaska receive the funding they need for training and operations.
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) called the Alaska exemption an “error” that had to be repealed to “empower Alaska’s tribes and uplift Alaska Native women.” He led the effort to repeal the law in the House, which passed the bill Thursday evening.
When the legislation to protect Native American women was proposed by the Department of Justice, officials there disapproved of any exemption of Alaska Native women. The congressional repeal of Murkowski’s “Alaska exemption” reflects the provision the Justice Department originally drafted.
Last year, the Indian Law and Order Commission, a bipartisan advisory board, called the Alaska exemption “unconscionable” in a report on making Native American communities safer. Troy Eid, the chairman of the commission, praised Congress for repealing the exemption.
“For decades, Congress has excluded Alaska Natives from the full protection of our federal laws, but not today,” Eid said. He said that now precise territorial boundaries must be defined for each of the 229 Alaska Native villages to implement the new safeguards.
“The State of Alaska must now work cooperatively with these federally recognized Native nations to define those territories, on a true government-to-government basis, to support tribal laws and courts to ensure that the rights of all Alaskans will be protected,” Eid said.
