The Indian Country Today Media Network is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to mark up a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill today that will likely strip out Native American protections from the legislation that passed the U.S. Senate in late April.
“The House bill … eliminates Senate language that would provide major tribal court jurisdiction and protection order provisions for tribes in the lower 48 states meant to curb the violence epidemic that exists on many reservations,” according to Indian Country Today. “The Obama administration and a bipartisan majority of the Senate have agreed that the protections are necessary. U.S. Justice Department officials have said that provisions are constitutional, and would help curb high crime rates facing many reservations.”
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