A powerful presentation of the impact of colonization of American Indian tribes on the safety of Native American women and the changes to address such violence under the Violence Against Women Act. This essential reading reviews through the voices and experiences of Native women the systemic reforms under the Act to remove barriers to justice and their safety. It places the historic changes witnessed over the last twenty years under the Act in the context of the tribal grassroots movement for safety of Native women. Legal practitioners, students and social justice advocates will find this book a powerful and inspirational resource to creating a more just, humane, and safer world.

More than one in three Native American or Alaska Native women will be raped at some point in their lives. Most do not seek justice because they known they will be met with inaction or indifference. As one support worker said, "Women don't report because it doesn't make a difference. Why report when you are just going to be revictimized?" Sexual violence against women is not only a criminal or social issue, it is a human rights abuse. This report unravels some of the reasons why Indigenous women in the USA are at such risk of sexual violence and why survivors are so frequently denied justice. Chronic under-resourcing of law enforcement and health services, confusion over jurisdiction, erosion of tribal authority, discrimination in law and practice, and indifference -- all these factors play a part. None of this is inevitable or irreversible. The voices of Indigenous women throughout this report send a message of courage and hope that change can and will happen.

Sharing Our Stories of Survival is a comprehensive treatment of the socio-legal issues that arise in the context of violence against native women--written by social scientists, writers, poets, and survivors of violence.

Winner of the Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award Despite what major media sources say, violence against Native women is not an epidemic. An epidemic is biological and blameless. Violence against Native women is historical and political, bounded by oppression and colonial violence. This book, like all of Sarah Deer’s work, is aimed at engaging the problem head-on—and ending it. The Beginning and End of Rape collects and expands the powerful writings in which Deer, who played a crucial role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, has advocated for cultural and legal reforms to protect Native women from endemic sexual violence and abuse. Deer provides a clear historical overview of rape and sex trafficking in North America, paying particular attention to the gendered legacy of colonialism in tribal nations—a truth largely overlooked or minimized by Native and non-Native observers. She faces this legacy directly, articulating strategies for Native communities and tribal nations seeking redress. In a damning critique of federal law that has accommodated rape by destroying tribal legal systems, she describes how tribal self-determination efforts of the twenty-first century can be leveraged to eradicate violence against women. Her work bridges the gap between Indian law and feminist thinking by explaining how intersectional approaches are vital to addressing the rape of Native women. Grounded in historical, cultural, and legal realities, both Native and non-Native, these essays point to the possibility of actual and positive change in a world where Native women are systematically undervalued, left unprotected, and hurt. Deer draws on her extensive experiences in advocacy and activism to present specific, practical recommendations and plans of action for making the world safer for all.

This history of Native Americans, from the period of first contactto the present day, offers an important variation to existingstudies by placing the lives and experiences of Native Americancommunities at the center of the narrative. Presents an innovative approach to Native American history byplacing individual native communities and their experiences at thecenter of the study Following a first chapter that deals with creation myths, theremainder of the narrative is structured chronologically, coveringover 600 years from the point of first contact to the presentday Illustrates the great diversity in American Indian culture andemphasizes the importance of Native Americans in the history ofNorth America Provides an excellent survey for courses in Native Americanhistory Includes maps, photographs, a timeline, questions fordiscussion, and “A Closer Focus” textboxes that providebiographies of individuals and that elaborate on the text, exposing students to issues of race, class, and gender

The Rights of Indians and Tribes explains Federal Indian Law in a conversational manner, yet is highly authoritative, containing over 2000 footnotes with citations to relevant court decisions, statutes, and agency regulations. Since its initial publication in 1983 it has sold over 150,000 copies. It is user-friendly and particularly helpful for tribal advocates, students, government officials, lawyers, and members of the general public. The book uses a question-and-answer format and covers every important subject impacting Indians and tribes today and discusses which governments-tribal, state, and federal-have authority on Indian reservations. This fully-updated fifth edition provides a Foreword by John Echohawk, Director of the Native American Rights Fund, and covers the most significant legal issues facing Indians and Indian tribes. This includes the regulation of non-Indians on reservations, definitions of important legal terms, Indian treaties, the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Who is a Native American? And who gets to decide? From genealogists searching online for their ancestors to fortune hunters hoping for a slice of casino profits from wealthy tribes, the answers to these seemingly straightforward questions have profound ramifications. The rise of DNA testing has further complicated the issues and raised the stakes. In Native American DNA, Kim TallBear shows how DNA testing is a powerful—and problematic—scientific process that is useful in determining close biological relatives. But tribal membership is a legal category that has developed in dependence on certain social understandings and historical contexts, a set of concepts that entangles genetic information in a web of family relations, reservation histories, tribal rules, and government regulations. At a larger level, TallBear asserts, the “markers” that are identified and applied to specific groups such as Native American tribes bear the imprints of the cultural, racial, ethnic, national, and even tribal misinterpretations of the humans who study them. TallBear notes that ideas about racial science, which informed white definitions of tribes in the nineteenth century, are unfortunately being revived in twenty-first-century laboratories. Because today’s science seems so compelling, increasing numbers of Native Americans have begun to believe their own metaphors: “in our blood” is giving way to “in our DNA.” This rhetorical drift, she argues, has significant consequences, and ultimately she shows how Native American claims to land, resources, and sovereignty that have taken generations to ratify may be seriously—and permanently—undermined.

Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure examines complex Indian nations’ tribal justice systems, analyzing tribal statutory law, tribal case law, and the cultural values of Native peoples. Using tribal court opinions and tribal codes, it reveals how tribal governments use a combination of oral and written law to dispense justice and strengthen their nations and people. Carrie E. Garrow and Sarah Deer discuss the histories, structures, and practices of tribal justice systems, comparisons of traditional tribal justice with American law and jurisdictions, elements of criminal law and procedure, and alternative sentencing and traditional sanctions. New features of the second edition include new chapters on: · The Tribal Law and Order Act's Enhanced Sentencing Provisions · The Violence Against Women Act's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction · Tribal-State Collaboration Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure is an invaluable resource for legal scholars and students. The book is published in cooperation with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (visit them at www.tlpi.org).