Tribes, Idaho officials will learn more about ‘new era of violence’ for indigenous people

A coalition of tribal, state and federal officials and social justice advocates are forging ahead with researching and addressing issues surrounding missing and murdered indigenous people in Idaho.

“The missing and murdered indigenous epidemic is very complicated. It afflicts urban and rural Indian Country nationwide,” Tai Simpson told members of the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs at the Capitol on Wednesday. Simpson works for Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence and is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe.

“This is a new era of violence for indigenous women as many tribes are also seeing increases of human trafficking, opioid and methamphetamine epidemics and extraction industry proliferation, which results in violence against indigenous people as well,” Simpson told the council, which comprises leaders from Idaho’s five tribes and state legislators.

The National Institute of Justice in 2016 reported 1.5 million indigenous women are affected by violence in their lifetime, she said.

“We are affected by gender-based violence more than any other racial group in the country,” she said. “Fifty-six percent of indigenous women have experienced sexual violence. Of those, 54% have experienced that sexual violence prior to being 12 years old. Homicide is the third leading cause of the death for indigenous women ages 10 to 24.”

“Predators target Native American folks experiencing poverty, homelessness, mental health issues and substance misuse,” Simpson continued. “We are seen as outside the protection of the American legal justice system, which further perpetuates the issue as well.”

Tribes do not have the authority to prosecute non-Natives who commit violent crimes on tribal lands.

During a Council on Indian Affairs meeting in October, council members learned that due to lack of reporting, no one knows how many of Idaho’s tribal members are missing or murdered. The council voted to move forward with determining if and how this issue is affecting Idaho.

Idaho gets started on problem

To get started, the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance, a state entity, partnered with Simpson and the nonprofit Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence to host in Boise on Dec. 19 a summit with tribal, law enforcement, state and federal stakeholders.

In summarizing the summit’s results, Simpson told the council a lack of reporting and tracking of missing indigenous persons and myriad jurisdictional issues are at the forefront of Idaho’s problems, making it difficult to determine just how many tribal members are affected.

Based on what limited information is available, Simpson said, “Idaho is not at a crisis level. But that does not mean prevention and response are not equally important,” she said.

“One missing or one murdered is too many in Idaho, she said.

Gathering accurate data and relevant information, including the stories behind these incidents, is the first step. Delving into those private and personal tragedies involving women and tribal members will be challenging, Simpson said.

“I encourage a very open and honest dialogue about what this issue means in our communities. It means addressing the issues of violence, the things that we don’t talk about, the things that we keep quiet,” she said. “Everybody deserves a safe community. This isn’t necessarily siloed to tribes alone.”

Simpson said increasing education and awareness of this issue “is a deterrent to predators.”

“The louder we get about this, the less likely we will see more occurrences of it as well,” she said. “This is especially a unique opportunity for us to collaborate between tribes, city, county and state officials in a way that we haven’t before.”

The December summit proved so beneficial that another one is set for April 20 in Coeur d’Alene. Additionally, in October, the Idaho Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence will host a missing and murdered indigenous people conference. The date and location for that conference have not been set, but it will likely be on the Fort Hall Reservation in eastern Idaho.

May 5 could become MMIP Day in Idaho

In conjunction with a national day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous people on May 5, the Idaho Legislature is considering designating that day as an MMIP day of awareness in Idaho as well. A resolution sponsored by Rep. Caroline Troy, R-Genesse, sailed through the House last week.

“This is a pretty tough issue to talk about,” Troy told the House Health and Welfare Committee on Feb. 12 while introducing House Concurrent Resolution 33. The committee advanced the resolution to the House floor, which passed it Feb. 14.

Troy said that when it comes to violence against women in the U.S., “indigenous women face the highest rates per capita of any other race.”

“Predators may target native women and girls precisely because they are perceived as marginalized and outside the protection of the American legal system,” she added.

The resolution is awaiting a hearing before Senate State Affairs Committee.