Groups seek protection for women

By Diana Marrero Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Like so many tribal lands across the nation, the Blackfeet Reservation in northwest Montana is home to a staggering number of cases involving violence against women but few services that cater to victims, women's advocates say.

Some relief could come in the form of a strengthened version of the Violence Against Women Act coming before Congress this month. The 1994 law is expected to expire at the end of this month unless lawmakers reauthorize it.

"It seems like it's never a priority to help these victims," said Francis Onstad, a member of the Blackfeet tribe who often works with abuse survivors. "They've lived with it for so long they don't see it as a problem."

However, national estimates from the National Congress of American Indians' task force to end violence against women tell a sobering story.

One out of every three Native American women will be raped in their lifetimes — making them nearly twice as likely as the average American woman to be sexually assaulted.

Their chances of being stalked are also roughly double that of the average American woman, and they are more likely to be physically attacked.

"Indian women are not held in honor by this country," said Juana Majel-Dixon, a member of the Pauma tribe in San Diego, who is serving on the violence against women task force. "If this was happening to non-Indian women, there would be a cry across this nation to stop the violence."

On the Blackfeet Reservation, there are about 500 cases of domestic violence a year, Onstad said. She said the number of rapes there is hard to gauge because so many of them go unreported.

A new version of the bill would enhance the ability of tribes like the Blackfeet to prosecute perpetrators, increase the amount of research on violence against Indian women, boost federal spending for tribal services and ensure better cooperation between the nation's tribes and the federal government.

One key provision would establish a national tribal sex offender and protection order registry so tribes could track offenders who move to other reservations. The bill would also allow tribal law enforcement agencies to search and add criminal information to federal databases.

The additional federal support could not come at a better time for tribes struggling to stem the tide of abuse in their communities, advocates say.

"If it wasn't for those federal programs, there would be nothing being done here," said Onstad, who helps run a domestic violence program on the Blackfeet Reservation and is developing services for tribal members who have been raped. "Everything we do needs to come from grants because the tribe doesn't have the money to fund it."

Onstad dreams of building a women's shelter on the reservation someday. For now, she helps battered women find safe haven from abuse at a nearby hotel or at shelters as far away as Great Falls or the Flathead Reservation.

Indian women tend to respond better to the services offered in Flathead, she said, because workers there are better prepared to deal with Native women.

Culturally, many Indian women tend to keep their troubles to themselves, struggle with independent living skills and have trouble living in a bigger city after spending their lives on the reservations, Onstad said.

Indian women must also deal with a unique set of obstacles that keep them from seeking the help they need, women's health experts say. Many live in rural communities without access to a phone or car. They fear reprisal from relatives of their assailants if they speak out. And many are so poor they feel they cannot leave their partners despite the abuse, advocates say.

Alcohol, drug abuse, unemployment and poverty are among the biggest reasons for violence on the reservations, advocates say.

"This was not a problem traditionally in our societies," said Karen Artichoker, of Sacred Circle, a national resource center for Native women based in Rapid City, S.D.

Lax enforcement on the reservations and by the federal government reinforces a belief by repeat offenders that they can prey upon Indian women without facing any consequences, advocates say.

Because of the special relationship between tribes and the federal government, only federal officials can charge non-Indians who commit crimes on reservations, and a federal law prohibits tribal governments from sentencing Native Americans for more than one year.

"There's not one day that goes by without domestic violence happening here," said Dianna L.K. Main, a domestic violence supervisor and probation officer on the Fort Belknap reservation in northern Montana. "People don't realize the toll of domestic violence here."

Limited resources, lengthy distances on the reservation and high gas prices restrict what they can do to help victims of domestic and sexual violence, she said. The clinic on the 700,000-acre reservation can be anywhere from five to 50 miles away from where tribal members live, she said.

On the Flathead Reservation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes help fund the Safe Harbour shelter, one of few shelters on Montana's reservations, said shelter manager Aide Talamantes. Safe Harbour also receives federal and state funds.

The shelter offers women a safe home until they get back on their feet.

The program is successful with Native American victims because many of the advocates there are Native themselves, she said.

"It's a totally different lifestyle," she said. "They have a hard time sharing. They share more with a women of color because they feel they can trust you more."