2017-04: In Support of the Movement to End Violence against Native Women and Children

WHEREAS, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was established in 1970 for the purpose of advocating, planning, and promoting the unique and special educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, NIEA as the largest national Indian organization of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian educators, administrators, parents, and students in the United States, provides a forum to discuss and act upon issues affecting the education of Indian and Native people; and

WHEREAS, through its unique relationship with Indian nations and tribes, the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility to meet the educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, residing on and off their reserved or non-reserved homelands; and

WHEREAS, all tribal nations retain the right to regulate domestic relations for our women, children and families; and

WHEREAS, American Indian and Alaska Native women on some reservations face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average; and

WHEREAS, the National Institute of Justice reported that 84 percent of Native women have experienced violence during their lifetime and 40 percent have experienced violence in the past year; and

WHEREAS, former Vice President Joe Biden called on Native leaders to continue fighting the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault against Native women following the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act at the 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference; and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the fifth leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the sixth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age; and

WHEREAS, a 2015 report from the Association of American Universities revealed that American Indian and Alaska Native female students experience the highest rates of harassment, intimate partner violence, stalking, and forcible nonconsensual sexual assault on college campuses across the United States; and

WHEREAS, NIEA is working to eliminate the problems of violence against Native women and children and, in particular, the problems of sexual assault and sex trafficking for students still attending elementary classrooms, secondary schools, and college campuses.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NIEA supports Senate Resolution 60 which designated May 5, 2017, as the ‘‘National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls’’; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Indian Education Association shall work with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and all interested parties to publicize best practices in reducing and eliminating sexual assault and violence against Native women on college campuses, at postsecondary institutions, and in elementary and secondary classrooms; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NIEA until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.