DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AWARDS RECOVERY ACT GRANTS TO SUPPORT TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AND COALITIONS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

DOJ Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PAO
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2009 (202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDY (202) 514-1888
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AWARDS RECOVERY ACT GRANTS TO SUPPORT TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
AND COALITIONS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
More than $6.7 Million to Support Tribal Governments
and Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Coalitions Awarded Nationwide
WASHINGTON – As Department of Justice officials prepare for the first of three working sessions on tribal law enforcement issues, Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $6.7 million in Recovery Act funds was awarded to seven Tribal Governments and 10 Tribal Coalitions in eight states by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The awards were made to Tribal Governments and Coalitions in Alaska, Arizona, California, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

On August 20, 2009, the Justice Department announced the dates of the 2009 Tribal Nations Listening Conference and two preliminary sessions with tribal leaders and experts in law enforcement. The first preliminary session, led by Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden and Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, will be held August 25-26 in Seattle. The Listening Conference is part of an ongoing Justice Department initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on tribal justice in Indian Country.

“American Indian and Alaska Native women are more likely to experience sexual assault and domestic violence than women from other racial or ethnic groups, which is why these funds are so vital,” said Attorney General Holder. “As the Department of Justice convenes the Tribal Nations Listening Conference and pre-sessions, these funds are just the beginning of a renewed partnership between the Department and our tribal communities to ensure the safety of every Indian woman and address Tribes’ criminal justice challenges.”

The landmark American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama, provides the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) with $20.8 million for the Indian Tribal Governments Program to decrease the number of violent crimes committed against Indian women, help Indian tribes use their independent authority to respond to crimes of violence against Indian women and make sure that people who commit violent crimes against Indian women are held responsible for their actions. The award period is 36 months.

The Recovery Act provides OVW with $2.8 million for the Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program to provide much needed resources for organizing and supporting efforts to end violence against Indian women and provide technical assistance to member programs. The award period is 24 months.

OVW, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

More information is available at www.ovw.usdoj.gov and additional details, including a chart and project descriptions, follow.

OVW Recovery Act Awards to Tribal Communities
Alaska Amount
Alaska Native Women's Coalition $154,000

Arizona
Hopi-Tewa Women's Coalition to End Abuse $337,000

California
The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians $450,000
Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition Inc. $246,400
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians $400,000

Michigan
Uniting Three Fires Against Violence $246,172

Minnesota
Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition $154,000
Sacred Spirits $154,000
White Earth Reservation Tribal Council $707,404

North Dakota
First Nations Women's Alliance $348,500
Spirit Lake Tribe $420,188

Oklahoma
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma $899,999
Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma $440,200

South Dakota
Native Women's Society of the Great Plains $215,350
Sicangu Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence $329,000

Wisconsin
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin $899,999
American Indians Against Abuse, Incorporated $350,300

TOTAL $6,752,512

Project Descriptions

ALASKA
The Department of Justice is awarding $154,000 to the Alaska Native Women’s Coalition (ANWC) to hire new staff and identify and develop on-site training on tribal, local, regional and statewide responses and resources. ANWC will accomplish this through hiring a new full-time executive assistant who will be responsible for grant management, financial management, and development of internal fiscal controls and conducting monthly teleconferences in preparation for two on-site trainings, one in the village of Nulato and Hoonah. ANWC will work closely with the Alaska State Troopers, the four judicial districts and specifically the remote native villages of Nulato, located on the Yukon River in the interior of Alaska, and Hoonah, located in southeast Alaska by conducting training and education on domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.

ARIZONA
The Department of Justice is awarding $337,000 to the Hopi-Tewa Women’s Coalition to End Abuse (HTWC) in Arizona to expand public awareness and community education on sexual assault issues, develop resources that support comprehensive and effective responses to sexual assault and increase justice for Hopi-Tewa women survivors of sexual violence. HTWC will hire a full-time project coordinator and a full-time office manager, establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) and Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), develop a Hopi Tribal Sexual Assault Response Manual to hold perpetrators accountable and conduct a Hopi Reservation-wide sexual assault conference to sensitize and educate community members, survivors, criminal justice agencies, advocates, health care professionals and legal services staff on safety issues, needs and available resources for survivors and identify improvements to respond to sexual assault victims. HTWC supports community efforts to end sexual violence against Hopi and Tewa Indian women. The Hopi Reservation is located in the deserts of northeastern Arizona.

CALIFORNIA
The Department of Justice is awarding $450,000 to The Toulomne Band of Me-Wuk Indians in Tuolomne and Mariposa counties of Central California to create a pathway for victims to secure permanent housing by providing transitional housing and related services to at least 32 victims of domestic and sexual violence.
The Department of Justice is awarding $400,000 to the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians in Northern San Diego County to develop a Native Women’s Advisory Committee which will create a plan based on Tribal law and customs to develop relationships with Rincon Indian Health's Domestic Violence Program, women's shelters and rape crisis centers and county criminal and tribal justice agencies to gather data and strengthen services and community response, recruit and hire a full-time advocate position for direct services and organize an education prevention campaign to increase public awareness in the community.
The Department of Justice is awarding $246,400 to the Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition (SHNWC) to provide training and technical assistance to nine tribal communities located in northern San Diego County, California. The coalition will hire a communications officer to plan and organize three conferences focused on enhancing the response and access to services for tribal women exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. As part of the training, all three conferences will incorporate traditional and cultural healing methods that support women who have been affected by violence. The Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition service area includes the tribal communities of Pauma Band, Pala Band, Rincon Band, La Jolla Band, San Pasquel Band, Mesa Grande Band, Santa Ysabel Band, Los Coyotes Band, and the Inaja/Cosmit Band of Mission Indians.

MICHIGAN
The Department of Justice is awarding $246,172 to the Uniting Three Fires Against Violence (UTFAV) to hire new staff and establish a resource center. UTFAV will hire a new full-time outreach coordinator to provide assistance in developing appropriate programming in each of the tribal communities, hire a full-time resource center coordinator to collect and develop resource materials and develop a resource center to collect, develop and maintain information on domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence to ensure that victims receive culturally appropriate services and make information available to women victimized by violence. UTFAV’s service area includes the twelve federally recognized tribes and programs providing victim assistance to women who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault in the State of Michigan.

MINNESOTA
The Department of Justice is awarding $154,000 to the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC) hire new staff, develop culturally specific sexual assault training, public awareness and education materials, including videos and the Barrette Project. MIWSAC will hire a new full-time education and training coordinator, form an advisory committee to develop culturally specific sexual assault training curriculum and a facilitators guide, develop, with input from the membership, culturally specific sexual assault public awareness and education materials, conduct two train-the-trainer workshops utilizing culturally specific training materials, create an educational video to shift paradigms and perceptions about the traditional as well as modern roles of Native women and girls in our society as it pertains to ending sexual assault and create the Barrette Project resource with personal accounts from Native sexual assault victims/survivors to raise awareness and educate the community. MIWSAC serves the eleven tribes as well as a large urban Indian population in Minnesota.
The Department of Justice is awarding $154,000 to Sacred Spirits to hire staff and develop outreach services in Moorhead, Minnesota and other urban areas where a high percentage of tribal members reside. They will hire a part-time fiscal specialist that will integrate financial and management systems and monitor its resources as well as develop long-term stability, hire a full-time development officer to enhance current program capacity, assist in meeting project goals and objectives and develop a strategic plan and create more efficient outreach services in the tribal communities for tribal members living on the White Earth Reservation.
The Department of Justice is awarding $707,404 to the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council in northwest Minnesota to hire one full-time domestic violence/sexual assault investigator within the White Earth Police Department who will also work in cooperation with county law enforcement agencies, hire one full-time Administrative Assistant to support the White Earth DOVE Program and hire one full time Elder Advocate.

NORTH DAKOTA

The Department of Justice is awarding $348,500 to First Nation’s Women’s Alliance (FNWA) to hire new staff to enhance the response to violence against Native American women by law enforcement and the judiciary, and enhance the response to sexual violence in the five tribal areas in North Dakota. FNWA will hire a new full-time sexual assault/domestic violence coordinator to build the capacity of services and response for victims of sexual assault, develop a training for law enforcement and the judiciary, develop one training in each tribal community on effectively responding to sexual assault of Native women and conduct a community education campaign in all tribal communities. FNWA serves the four tribes in the State of North Dakota.
The Department of Justice is awarding $420,188 to the Spirit Lake Tribe, in central North Dakota, to hire one full time victim advocate, preserve three existing positions, partner with the local community college in order to provide victims with information on services and emergency financial assistance available, as well as educate students in order to prevent dating and sexual violence, conduct trainings that address issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking for Spirit Lake Nation employees and community college faculty and provide victim services to victims in the 4 county service area.

OKLAHOMA
The Department of Justice is awarding $899,999 to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to hire a full-time coordinator, who will head a program working towards establishing partnerships with institutions of higher education in order to provide victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking the financial assistance to help pay for educational costs not otherwise covered and providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The Department of Justice is awarding $440,200 to the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma to serve Native women of Kay County by developing and enhancing effective plans for the tribal government to reduce violent crimes against Indian women and help keep them safe, improving services that are available to help Indian women who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence sexual assault, and stalking, and working with the community to create education and prevention campaigns that are designed to inform members of the tribal community about domestic violence.

SOUTH DAKOTA
The Department of Justice is awarding $215,350 to Native Women's Society of the Great Plains Reclaiming our Sacredness (NWSGP) to target ten tribal communities for public education activities. TNWSGP will target member organizations of the NWSGP and conduct consistent and appropriate public awareness or community education activities, develop and implement a tribal college campus response to sexual assault, conduct five on-site technical assistance and training visits in year one and year two of the grant, produce sexual assault training, protocol and a response manual, schedule and conduct sexual assault training with United Tribes Technical College and create the infrastructure for appropriate, responsible and sensitive responses to victims/survivors of sexual assault. The ten sites consist of Spirit Lake and Trenton Service Area located in North Dakota, Sisseton and Crow Creek located in South Dakota, Crow Tribe located in Montana, Lower Sioux located in Minnesota, Santee, Ponca, and Winnebago located in Nebraska and Wind River, located in Wyoming.
The Department of Justice is awarding $329,000 to the Sicangu Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (SCADASV) to hire new staff, develop culturally specific training, public awareness and education materials, and develop a teen dating violence campaign. SCADASV will hire one full-time outreach specialist and one full-time education and teen dating violence specialist, create a public education and awareness campaign addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking serving the eastern and northern parts of the reservation, provide information to inform the public, communities, and victims, especially in the eastern and northern reservation, about the services available for victims including services within the tribal criminal justice system and create an intense focus on teen dating violence through the awareness and education of teens and the public on teen dating violence. SCADASV serves the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the target population is mainly Lakota women and teens victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.

WISCONSIN

The Department of Justice is awarding $899,999 to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to hire one Sexual Assault Counselor, two Shelter Aides, and one Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Prosecutor, develop individualized personal safety and treatment plans for victims, including referrals and transportation, to victims of sexual assault placed in the Domestic Violence Shelter, provide appropriate training to Law Enforcement Crime Victim Specialists thereby improving the accuracy of charges filed and case preparation of domestic violence and sexual assault cases, provide victims of sexual assault with direct assistance to access transitional housing, including financial assistance (security deposits, rent and utilities) for up to six months and establish the Coordinated Community Response Team to education on sexual assault and victims services to community members.

The Department of Justice is awarding $350,300 to the American Indians Against Abuse, Inc. (AIAA) to conduct tribally based women’s training for survivor’s, provide funding for a full-time bookkeeper position and a contract auditor position. AIAA will hire a new full-time bookkeeper to maintain and handle all financial transactions and recordkeeping to ensure timely grant reporting, contract with an auditor to perform an independent audit of the AIAA nonprofit and coordinate three trainings to build the capacity of women survivors, AIAA board members, and staff to provide more culturally specific awareness about the overlap between domestic violence and sexual assault, creating the ability to better address the violence in each tribal community. AIAA serves 11 tribes geographically encompassing the entire State of Wisconsin, including the Bad River, Red Cliff, Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac de Flambeau, Sokaogon & St. Croix Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation, Menominee Nation, Oneida Nation, Forest County Potawatomi and Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nations.
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