Country ... USA
Issues about native peoples

Justice denied for Native American women ... Can legislation help end violence against indigenous women in the US?

Burgess COMMENTARY
These tweets relate to this AlJazeera Steam program ... the first two appear on the program at around the 17 minute time

18 Sep Peter Burgess ‏@TrueValueMetric
#AJStream 20 years ago I did some consulting work with Native American tribes. US Bureau of Indian Affairs acted like a Colonial Office,

18 Sep Peter Burgess ‏@TrueValueMetric
#AJStream In my view legislation and laws are a waste, like the ancient Treaties. They don't matter when there is a powerful oppressor.

18 Sep Peter Burgess ‏@TrueValueMetric
#AJStream Law should matter, but detail often negates the purpose of the law. Jurisdiction as excuse so that bad things possible is common

Peter Burgess ‏@TrueValueMetric
#AJStream Men a big part of abuse of Native American women. They are abusers, law makers, police. Systemic problem weighted against women

Justice denied for Native American women ... Can legislation help end violence against indigenous women in the US?

In the US, Native American women are facing an epidemic of sexual assault and violence. One in three reports being the victim of a rape or attempted rape and Native American women are also 10 times more likely to be murdered than other groups of women in the US. Most of the attacks are also reported to be perpetrated by a person of another race.

Why is this happening? According to advocates for Native women, it's largely due to poor policing and a failed legal system that allows offenders, who are non-Native Americans, to get away with crimes committed on reservation land. Unfortunately, this has led to many unprosecuted cases and little justice.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Sarah Deer, assistant professor at William Mitchell Law School; Andrea Smith, co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; and Rebecca St. George of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition.

What do you think? How should tribal and US governments solve this problem? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using #AJStream. MORE ELEMENTS FROM THIS STORY