Violence Against Women Act and Tribal Communities
Tribal vs. Federal Jurisdiction Over Domestic Abuse
American Indians in general experience violent crimes at a rate much higher than the general population. This trend carries over to domestic violence: American Indian women experience domestic and dating violence at more than twice the rate of non-Indian women. Most of this violence involves an offender of a different race. This fact creates a jurisdictional problem because tribal courts do not have criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed within the tribe’s jurisdiction by non-Indians. States generally do not have jurisdiction over such crimes, either. Although such crimes are subject to Federal jurisdiction, frequently overburdened Federal prosecutors are not able to prosecute…
