Manataba Messenger

Page 3 CONTINUED FROM COVER STORY: 8th Annual Meet at the Flagpole event honored lives lost and inspired victims The front lawn of the CRIT Tribal building was decorated with purple balloons and pur- ple paper roses and a large bouquet of real flowers with a table passing out red and pur- ple ribbons and small gift bags. Four symbolic chairs were placed on the front lawn, two with beautiful capes symbolizing two men and two women--- acknowledging that not just women are victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence. THE PROCLAMATION Sharnette Evans, of the CRIT Attorney General's office and mother to Little Miss CRIT Zaniyah Howard Evans, who was also in attendance, read the Colorado River Indian Tribes Proclamation 03-21 passed on October 7, 2021, by the CRIT Tribal Council, which permanently declared on the reservation that: Domestic violence is a serious and pervasive crime affecting millions of women, men, children, and communities in the United States every year. The origins of domestic violence and abuse of native women and children can be traced to colonization, including the introduction of alcohol, forced removal of children, boarding schools, and loss of land, culture, language, and traditional ways of life. Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be assaulted than other groups of women in the The United States and homicide are the third leading cause of death for Native women; national statistics show 55.5 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner. There are limited resources on the Colorado River Indian Tribes and across tribal nations, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities to help our rela- tives who are survivors of domestic violence and their children get help and hold offenders accountable. Domestic violence and intimate partner violence can have life-long consequences emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually, and physically; violence harms the core of the human spirit and jeopardizes the future wellbeing of our nations, villages, and communities. Violence against women, children, and elders is not the tradition of our people, and our ancestors have taught the people that women and children are sacred and are to be protected and honored. Ending domestic violence requires the leadership of survivors, support of tribal lead- ers, the collaborative efforts of law enforcement, the tribal justice system, public health officials, and community members. It requires that everyone commit to our indigenous lifeways of nonviolence and respect. Intimate partner violence remains one of the most prevalent yet underreported crimes on the Colorado River Indian Tribes and in Indian country. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED the Colorado River Indian Tribes proclaims the month of October of each year as Domestic Violence Awareness Month to honor domestic violence survivors and advocates; and BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED that the Colorado River Indian Tribes stands united in our commitment to end all forms of domestic violence in Indian Country and the tribal or ancestral home of Colorado River Indian Tribes; and BE IT FURTHER AND FlNALLY PROCLAIMED, we call upon all Colorado River Indian Tribes citizens, law enforcement, tribal organizations, health officials, and all tribal pro- grams to speak out against domestic violence and actively support local efforts to assist our relatives who are survivors of violence to be safe and live their lives free from vio- lence, to hold abusers and systems accountable, and return our nation to ways of respect, honor, love, and compassion. Signed by all nine members: Amelia Flores, Chairwoman, Dwight Lomayesva, Vice- Chairman, Johnson "JD" Fisher, Secretary, Anissa Patch, Treasurer, Josephine Tahbo, member, Robert "Bobby" Page, Jaymee Li Moore, member, Tommy Drennan, member, and Woodrow Sharp, member. VAWA UPDATE BY COUNCILMAN DRENNAN After reading the proclamation, Councilman Drennan gave an update re: the History of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). "For those of you that have been gathering with us at this flagpole, we've been discussing the need to reauthorize the Violence Against Women's Act, but as of this week we learned that this Act is shuffling through the Senate seats as we speak, their last judiciary committee addressed the Violence Against Women's Act on October 5, 2021, of this month. The importance of the reauthorization of this Act for this community is to exert itself on criminal jurisdiction, as we all know criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country is an elabo- rate patchwork depending on the victimization, the type of victim, whether that victim is tribal or non-tribal would address whether the tribes would have jurisdiction to pursue it. What we learned is that these authorities were extended in 2013, and they work. Allowing the tribes to prosecute non-Indians, as the Act permitted in 2013, we see an expansion in the drafted version that is circulating through Congress, now, expanding that jurisdiction not only to the tribal victims but expanding it to our tribal police officers to seek justice when they are injured or assaulted while apprehending a domestic vio- lence or child violent call. So we look at where we are from the last three years we've been meeting here. We are on the verge of now seeing the reauthorization of VAWA and an expanded area of jurisdiction not only for this tribe but for all tribal nations and rural communities. I think it's important that we must keep that in mind as we go forward in the next two months with our Tribal Council, my colleagues are very supportive of the reauthoriza- tion of VAWA, and we keep that in mind as we press forward, we tend to meet here twice a year. However, we need to look forward to exercising this portion of our jurisdiction every day by addressing these issues interdepartmentally as well as within our families, so I do thank you for coming and showing your support for all the professionals that work in this field and the support that all victims need to endure the trauma that they may have succumbed too or that they battle with every day, so thank you all for the meet- ing here today. MESSAGE FROM CHAIRWOMAN FLORES Thank you, Janice, for allowing me this short time to make a brief statement; thank you for putting all the effort into getting this all decorated; I know Councilman Drennan par- ticipated, and the AG staff for volunteering and the help you received to do this. This is just beautiful, just so beautiful the purple and red, and thank you all for wearing purple today; this color shows our solidarity, our voice, our proclamation was read, and that is our tribe's voice. Still, all of us in purple is our show of solidarity, so I thank you. Tribal Council supports this cause for victims, and we put our words into action by cre- ating a permanent proclamation and declaration on behalf of our people. She stated, "one out of 10 individuals are victims, and I hope that no one on the reservation was a victim today and that no one here succumbs to being a victim in the future of any domestic vio- lence or any bullying, because it is out there. She spoke of cell phones being a source of cyber-bullying, the advancement of using apps, and her message was to all community members to be careful using particular apps on their cellphones especially those apps you control your home with, apps that control your passwords, be careful who you share your passwords with, cell phones are also a great source of bullying and harassment. The law hasn't caught up with cyber-bullying yet, so we will have to look at our tribal laws and get that enforced too. So be careful of your phones because they can be a source in our lives that allows for abuse, and it all stems back to COVID-19 and how dependent we have become on our phones. We all can help a victim; we have to lend them an ear and be prepared with the right resources when they are ready to get help. Photo: The photo above is not including everyone in attendance at event.