Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
05/02/2019 08:00 AM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB142 | |
| HR10 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HR 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 142 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HR 10-REAUTHORIZE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
8:08:04 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 10, Urging the United States Congress to
reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 without an
exemption for tribal governments in the state and to support
Savanna's Act and highlight the crisis of missing and murdered
Indigenous women.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY passed the gavel to Vice Chair Edgmon.
8:08:49 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY introduced HR 10 via a PowerPoint presentation
titled "House Resolution 10." (Indisc. - the first five minutes
of Chair Zulkosky's presentation were not recorded due to audio
difficulties. According to the secretary's log notes during the
presentation, Chair Zulkosky stated: The case of missing and
murdered Indigenous women (MMIW)can no longer be ignored.
Research reveals that violence has reached unprecedented levels.
Public safety problems are linked with significant gaps in the
reporting of data. The Anchorage Police Department has been
highlighted as the most responsive in the country.)
8:13:47 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY reported that according to the Department of
Public Safety (DPS), Alaska's sole cold case investigator has a
case load of approximately 135 unresolved cases. The Rand
Center on Quality Policing, she pointed out, recommends that
cold case investigators carry roughly 10 or fewer cases. She
offered her belief that between the disproportionate rates of
violence against Indigenous women, the lack of public safety
resources throughout rural areas, gaps in reporting and data
statewide, and insufficient cold case resources, it is
imperative that the Alaska House of Representatives highlight
that the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women can no
longer be ignored and share with the Alaska Congressional
Delegation what the legislature believes could strengthen
resources on the ground to solve it.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY stated that as consideration is given to public
safety needs across the state, it must be acknowledged that
providing adequate public safety services is a right that should
be afforded to every Alaskan, no matter where they live.
Multiple studies, commissions, and reports on rural public
safety in Alaska all come to the same conclusion - local
responsibility for structures of law enforcement and justice
systems are necessary to keep communities safe.
8:15:12 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY, in reference to slides 7-9, stated that through
federal legislation like the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
and Savanna's Act, Congress acknowledges that the goal of
protecting Indigenous women is a shared purpose with tribes. In
an environment of decreased spending, leveraging increased
federal resources through partnerships with tribes in Alaska can
help make progress on issues like missing and murdered
Indigenous women. Solution-based partnerships provide for
opportunities for significant systems change.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY said the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is an
historic piece of legislation that changed existing policy to
better combat violence against women throughout the nation.
Each reauthorization in 2000, 2005, and 2013, strengthened the
bill and included provisions aimed at enhancing the safety for
Native victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, stalking, and trafficking. In 2005 Congress recognized
the severity of the violence against Native women and the need
to enact federal legislation supporting increased protections.
However, the 2005 and 2013 reauthorizations excluded Alaska
tribes from the improvements and accompanying resources.
Alaska's Congressional Delegation is working to resolve this.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY reported that Congressman Young introduced an
amendment to [House Resolution] 1585 reauthorizing the 2013
Violence Against Women Act provision addressing the Alaska
exemption for tribal access to law and justice resources and
jurisdiction. On the U.S. House Floor, Congressman Young
pointed out that [Alaska] Native villages currently lack any
efficient tools to criminally prosecute the offenders. Tribal
courts are taking domestic violence cases, but jurisdiction is
tricky. Congressman Young's amendment allows for five pilot
projects in Alaska that recognize tribal jurisdiction for
villages that have at least 75 percent Alaska Native residents.
It also provides Alaska tribes access to additional federal
resources for tribal law enforcement and tribal court capacity
building and preserving solvency of public safety and justice in
remote rural Alaska during an era of decreased funding.
8:17:39 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY moved to slide 10 and explained that Savanna's
Act (S. 227) is a bill cosponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski.
This bill increases coordination among all levels of law
enforcement, improves data collection and information sharing,
and empowers tribes with the resources they need in cases
involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls,
regardless of whether the cases occur in rural or urban areas of
the U.S. This legislation aims to bridge the gap of the limited
data on the number of missing Native women by directing the U.S.
Department of Justice to formulate new guidelines for the
reporting of violent crimes against Indigenous people. The bill
also improves access for tribes to certain federal crime
information databases, mandating that the Attorney General and
the Secretary of Interior consult with Indian tribes on how to
further improve these databases and access to them. It also
requires certain federal agencies to solicit recommendations
from tribes on enhancing the safety of Native women. The bill
creates standardized guidelines in consultation with tribes for
responding to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans,
which will include guidance on interjurisdictional cooperation
among tribes, federal, state, and local law enforcement. The
bill also requires statistics on missing and murdered Native
women and recommendations on how to improve data collection to
be included in an annual report to Congress.
8:19:10 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY related that during the time she has been in the
Alaska State Legislature, conversations have occurred on the
House Floor about whether House Resolutions are effective.
Sometimes people say it just means legislators are talking to
themselves. But as was heard from the Alaska Congressional
Delegation this year, resolutions mean a lot when federal policy
is being considered.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY said HR 10 provides the Alaska House of
Representatives with an opportunity to stand in solidarity with
victims, families, and communities that legislators believe in
the importance of protecting Alaska Native women and children.
As public safety is discussed across the state, it sends a
message that violence against Indigenous women should no longer
be ignored or go unpunished. She said HR 10 expresses support
for federal legislation that has been studied, commissioned, and
negotiated for several decades at the federal level. As the
only Alaska Native woman currently serving in the state
legislature, this area is of particular interest to her.
VICE CHAIR EDGMON concurred with Chair Zulkosky's statement
about resolutions. Sometimes resolutions are passed time and
again on a single subject. But, to his knowledge this is the
first time that this topic has come before the Alaska State
Legislature in any capacity. In his view, HR 10 carries
incredible weight and meaning in terms of giving exposure to an
issue that has been waiting for attention and resolution. He
thanked Chair Zulkosky for bringing forth HR 10.
8:21:19 AM
VICE CHAIR EDGMON called a brief at-ease to return the gavel to
Chair Zulkosky.
8:21:42 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened invited testimony on HR 10. She noted
that the first witness, Abigail Echo-Hawk, is co-author of the
Urban Indian Health Institute's 2018 report on missing and
murdered Indigenous women and girls.
8:22:02 AM
ABIGAIL ECHO-HAWK, MA, Chief Research Officer, Seattle Indian
Health Board (SIHB); Director, Urban Indian Health Institute
(UIHI), stated she was born and raised in Interior Alaska. She
said her mother, Yvonne Echo-Hawk, is one of the adopted
children of Katie John of Mentasta Village. Her father is of
the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma but was raised in Delta Junction,
Fairbanks, and Mentasta Lake. She said the report on missing
and murdered Indigenous women and girls was issued in November
2018. The report was released in Washington, DC, at the capitol
in partnership with U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.
MS. ECHO-HAWK said UIHI partnered with the senator on this
report because UIHI found that Alaska ranked highest for both
missing and murdered Indigenous women; they were in the top 10
for the state as well as the city of Anchorage. The purpose of
the report was to show that missing and murdered Indigenous
women are not limited to Alaska Native villages, tribal lands,
or reservations, but rather an epidemic that is happening
anywhere Indigenous women lived. The UIHI set out to create the
very first data report on 71 cities across the U.S.
MS. ECHO-HAWK said UIHI looked specifically at Alaska because of
her connections to the state and because community members
across Alaska were seeing huge numbers within their communities
and it was a big concern to them. Alaska as a state has 52
cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and Anchorage has
31 specific cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Anchorage ranks third [among the 71 cities in the report] for
the highest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women
cases and Alaska as a state ranks fourth. It is believed that
this is an absolute undercount of what is actually going on.
MS. ECHO-HAWK explained that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
requests were initially submitted to Alaska's cities and larger
towns, but UIHI struggled to get information from across the
state. For example, a request was submitted to the Juneau
police, but they closed out UIHI's request saying that they had
a similar request from a university. They said they assumed
UIHI and the university must be working together, so no data was
received from them. She pointed out that there was a fee
associated with FOIA requests in Alaska. Alaska accounted for
93 percent of all the cost of accessing data. Across most of
the country UIHI did not have to pay fees to access data through
FOIA requests.
8:26:09 AM
MS. ECHO-HAWK related that without data for the state of Alaska,
UIHI was unable to understand what was going on and to get a
good baseline of data on missing and murdered Indigenous women
and girls in Alaska. A FOIA request was then submitted to the
Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) which asked for any
historical data on up to the present of missing and murdered
Indigenous women and girls. The request was initially refused
because DPS estimated that there were up to 1,200 cases of
missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls within their
files and it would take too much effort, time, and resources to
gather that information for UIHI. That was very disappointing,
so UIHI reached out to some Alaska Native leaderships who
assisted UIHI in working with DPS. The department agreed to
provide data from 2013-2018 as that was digitized.
MS. ECHO-HAWK pointed out that 1,200 is an estimate given by a
DPS representative. This would give Alaska the highest number
for this epidemic across North America, including Canada. If
this number is correct, it would make Alaska the center of the
epidemic, which is why UIHI was so anxious to get as much of
that information as possible. However, by the time the report
was released in November 2018, no information had been received
from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Therefore, at the
end of 2019 UIHI will be issuing a report specifically on the
state of Alaska. Information is being gathered by UIHI in
collaboration with Alaska Native organizations across the state.
The report will contain the data as well as the stories of
individual family members. The intent is for the data to give
policymakers and communities a basic understanding of the impact
and for the stories to tell the impact to their loved ones and
their community. Work will continue with U.S. Senator Lisa
Murkowski's office to ensure that this information is used at
federal and state levels.
8:29:06 AM
MS. ECHO-HAWK said Alaska has an opportunity to be a leader in
addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women
and girls, which is why she is so excited about HR 10. In her
work across the country she has seen these resolutions be used
at the federal level to push for legislation that is necessary
and needed. She related when UIHI submitted its FOIA request to
Anchorage, the city searched its current data and matched it
against data that UIHI had from community members. Anchorage
found that two-thirds of the cases that UIHI had listed as
American Indian/Alaska Natives were not listed that way within
the city's database. Much of that had to do with racial
misclassification. Racial misclassification is rampant across
the U.S. and Alaska. A strong point of what is happening with
the federal legislation is that many states are taking this on.
MS. ECHO-HAWK explained that for many databases, if the race and
ethnicity of the missing or murdered person is not entered, the
database will default the person to white. While she cannot say
that Anchorage had the default-to-white problem, Anchorage did
have many of those cases classified as white women when the
cases in their system were actually Alaska Native women. The
Anchorage Police Department went back and reclassified those as
Alaska Native women. It highlights the need for best practices
and how race and ethnicity is captured because this epidemic has
remained hidden from most of society for so long. [Despite] the
lack of data, rampant misclassification, and inability to access
data through the FOIA requests, American Indian/Alaska Native
people know that their women continue to go missing and are
murdered at epidemic rates.
8:31:10 AM
MS. ECHO-HAWK reiterated that Alaska accounted for 93 percent of
costs for UIHI to access data. Sitka and other towns had fees
to access the information and she was unable to pay them. This
is a barrier to community members and organizations looking to
establish what and where the problem is and how to address it.
Data cannot be accessed because of fees, bureaucracy, and the
lack of resources at the Alaska Department of Public Safety to
look at its historical records, which inhibits the ability of
UIHI to truly understand what is going on. Legislation like the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and others require better data
collection and accountability, which will address racial
misclassification and allow for tribal communities to be the
ones directing the efforts for prevention and working with a
missing or murdered woman's loved ones and community members.
MS. ECHO-HAWK reiterated that the State of Alaska could become a
leader because Alaska has the highest numbers of missing and
murdered Indigenous women. She said HR 10 acknowledges that
this is an epidemic and that this epidemic will no longer be
silent or invisible. The legislature is standing up and
acknowledging and addressing this crisis. As UIHI goes forward
with releasing its 2019 report, it will continue to work with
the state, the Alaska Native villages and corporations, and the
Alaska Congressional Delegation to ensure that this information
is used for the health and wellbeing of Indigenous women and
girls in Alaska.
8:33:21 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY thanked Ms. Echo-Hawk for her testimony and the
work she had done on this issue nationwide.
8:33:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ inquired whether Ketchikan charges a fee to
access data.
MS. ECHO-HAWK confirmed Ketchikan charges a fee and because UIHI
didn't have the resources to pay that fee, Ketchikan was not
included in the data.
8:34:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON thanked Ms. Echo-Hawk and UIHI for their
work. He remarked that the information regarding Alaska is
startling and alarming. He inquired whether Ms. Echo-Hawk has
recommendations to improve getting information from Alaska about
missing and murdered Indigenous women.
MS. ECHO-HAWK responded that one recommendation, related to the
rampant racial misclassification, is to train state troopers and
police departments on best practices. She said UIHI has found
that people are uncomfortable, don't know, or don't know how to
use the data systems for collecting this information. This is
startling given that when a person goes missing one of the first
descriptors needed about them is their race and ethnicity, yet
that is not being captured in Alaska and many other states. So,
UIHI is looking at establishing best practices and making police
departments and state troopers accountable for gathering race
and ethnicity correctly.
MS. ECHO-HAWK said another recommendation is to address the fees
and inability to access information by community members and
others who submit FOIA requests. For example, UIHI is a small
organization and she had no funding to do this project, so she
self-funded the project at a cost to her of about $20,000 and so
she didn't have the funds to pay all the fees. The UIHI report
is being used across the U.S. to introduce legislation in 16
state and as the basis of multiple pieces of federal
legislation, and she did it for $20,0000. Yet it is still
lacking in good, in-depth data. The fees and inability to
access information prevent communities and organizations from
getting information that is needed to make informed decisions.
MS. ECHO-HAWK further recommended that tribal leadership and
voices be included in shaping what is needed within the
communities, particularly by looking at the Alaska exemption in
the last iteration of VAWA [and the lack of resources in Alaska
to research the data]. Resources in other states allowed other
tribal nations to work at both prevention and intervention
levels when somebody went missing or was murdered. Most
Indigenous people across the U.S., including herself, know
somebody who has gone missing or was murdered and that should
not be the norm. So, right now the specific and actionable
pieces in Alaska are the racial misclassification and the access
to data through FOIA requests.
8:38:32 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY said the next invited witness, Amber Webb, will
be speaking to the incredible art installation located behind
the committee members.
8:39:17 AM
AMBER WEBB, Artist, shared that she is originally from
Dillingham but now lives in Kasilof. She thanked the Tlingit
ancestors of Juneau on whose lands today's meeting is being
held. She said her art piece includes approximately 90 women
from Alaska, Canada, and the border states along Canada, with
about half of the women being from Alaska. She has been able to
include 47 women from Alaska in previous projects. She keeps
collecting more names from people sharing their stories with
her. Ms. Webb pointed out that her research to do this project
reflects the previously heard testimony about the rates. It is
a much larger problem in Alaska than people realize because the
data is difficult to collect, and people are protective of their
loved ones in their stories.
MS. WEBB explained that each portrait in the project is hand
drawn in ink and that the dates of disappearances or murders
range from 1969 to 2018. Since she has been doing the project,
five women from Alaska have gone missing or murdered and have
been added to the project. She has been working on it for a
little over a year and watching the news as these things are
happening and sometimes it is overwhelming to collect this
information at the same time.
MS. WEBB said the purpose of the project is twofold. It is
about awareness, but the root of what it is about is healing
because the issue has gone unacknowledged largely by media. In
so many ways it's been invisible but is not a new issue, it's
been happening for over 200 years. She has collected a lot more
pictures for doing these portraits for the years between 2003
and 2018 because she can access photographs online. Data before
those years is hard to come by because she must wait to meet the
right people who will share a story with her and tell her that
their mother or aunt or cousin was killed and here is a picture.
Many of the pictures she did get came from people in the
community who trusted her to represent their relatives, which is
something she tries to honor in the way she presents the piece.
8:43:10 AM
MS. WEBB related that important but not spoken about is that
most perpetrators of this violence are non-Native people.
Sometimes people have the misconception that this is primarily a
Native issue. But it isn't. It's an issue for everyone who
lives in Alaska and in the U.S. She urged committee members to
not minimize the impact when thinking about the scope of the
violence. She pointed out that her 12-foot project with the
portraits of about 90 women is a very small fraction of the
national impact. Imagine how it would look, she continued, if
it had 5,000 faces because that is what is being confronted.
MS. WEBB pointed out that violence is not a traditional value.
She said HR 10 is important because it brings [Native Alaskans]
closer to returning to that sacred place in society that was
held for thousands of years. [Legislators] are in a powerful
position to acknowledge what has been happening in the
communities. It isn't just to acknowledge what our grandmothers
and great-grandmothers have endured, and what our families have
endured. It's also to create a future where our great-great-
grandchildren don't have to face the same rates that our great-
great grandmothers faced because [Native Alaskans] are in a
position where they can find solutions for this problem.
8:46:12 AM
KENDRA KLOSTER, Executive Director, Native Peoples Action (NPA),
stated she is Tlingit, Raven Kiks.adi, originally from Wrangell.
She said she spent much of her childhood in Juneau and wears
many different hats - tribal member, mother, sister, daughter.
She is passionate about protecting the traditional way of life.
She was drawn to Native Peoples Action by what can be done to
help tribal members and Native people. She explained Native
Peoples Action is a statewide nonprofit that strives to provide
Alaska Native communities and their traditional values with a
voice at all levels of policymaking. Strong Alaska Native
community networks are leveraged to build a volunteer base to
provide encouragement and guidance in connecting their Native
traditional values. She worked for the legislature previously
and was drawn by NPA's work to increase Native voices in
policymaking as well as in Native communities and to ensuring
that Natives always have a seat at the table, whether in the
legislature or in communities.
MS. KLOSTER said NPA has been building relationships with tribes
across the state. As well, NPA is working with policymakers,
non-Native organizations, and Native organizations. The board
and steering committee members of NPA are from across the state,
including Denaina Athabascan, Yup'iks, Koyukon Athabascan, and
Tlingit. The organization has artists, attorneys, chiefs, and
community activists. The focus is on coming together and
working together to ensure Alaska Native values are protected.
8:48:51 AM
MS. KLOSTER said safe communities are core in NPA's work because
numerous reports are telling the story that communities have a
broken public safety system. Public safety is not offered
across Alaska and NPA wants to be a part of fixing that. The
lack of law enforcement and the lack of data collection are why
she was glad to hear Ms. Echo-Hawk speak. The UIHI report is
what she uses when talking with organizations and grassroots
efforts on how to be helpful in backing up this information.
MS. KLOSTER said Native Peoples Action and its partners are
helping with grassroots efforts. Rallies have been held in
Juneau. The rallies and readings of the names of missing and
murdered Indigenous women during Alaska Federation of Natives
(AFN) meetings have been incredibly powerful. She said NPA
wants to uplift those names in the people and provide an
understanding that the statistics being read are the faces of
sisters, grandmothers, and daughters. It is very important to
NPA to work together and see what NPA can do as an organization
to take care of Native women.
MS. KLOSTER addressed Representative Edgmon's inquiry about what
can be done. She thanked Chair Zulkosky for bringing forth HR
10, saying it is important for bringing attention and awareness
to this major problem. She pointed out that research is
something else that can be done. She too was stunned that Ms.
Echo-Hawk was unable to access the information. He noted
Washington state has passed two bills: HR 2951 was passed in
2018 and ordered a study to determine how to increase reporting
and investigation on missing Native American women; HB 1713 was
signed into law in April [2019] and will improve law enforcement
response to missing and murdered Native American women.
8:51:48 AM
MS. KLOSTER suggested Alaska look toward Washington state's two
pieces of legislation. Alaska could expand upon them to mandate
that tribal entities and federal and state law enforcement work
together because they likely don't have the same protocols.
Alaska could also look at the data collection issue identified
by Ms. Echo-Hawk; she herself is an example because she is often
classified as white. Much improvement is needed in Alaska's
data collection and the Freedom of Information Act, how law
enforcement works together in Alaska, and looking at bills other
states have passed to see whether Alaska can do the same.
MS. KLOSTER said Native Peoples Action and its partners will
continue to bring awareness in grassroots efforts. Coming up
May 5 [2019] is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at which NPA and other
Native organizations have partnered to put on a rally, a
community gathering, and a heartbeat of the drums. This is the
community coming together to honor these women as well as a call
to action on how to improve this and be a support system and
finding policies and actions. A rally and march will also take
place in Fairbanks on May 5 at the Golden Heart Plaza. She said
NPA will continue to do grassroots efforts, to lift the names of
these women, and to work with communities, organizations, and
policymakers.
8:54:22 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened public testimony on HR 10.
8:54:47 AM
MICIANA HUTCHERSON testified she is a citizen of Central Council
Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and was asked by
President Peterson to come before the committee today. She has
questioned herself about why she is being asked to give
presentations here and at community events. Her mother reminded
her, she related, that her life has been affected by this, but
she just never noticed it. Her mother reminded her of her
great-aunt who lived in Juneau in the 1950s and was found in
Lawson Creek brutally raped and murdered. Her great-aunt's 15-
year-old nephew was the only one available to come identify her
body. Her mother reminded her that recently at a tribal
assembly, missing posters were passed out for Tracy Day, a
tribal citizen who is currently missing in Juneau. Her mother
also reminded her that two weeks ago she had to file a
protective order for herself because she is currently being
stalked by a Juneau community member. Ms. Hutcherson said it
struck her that this is something that has been normalized for
Native women in the Native community; she didn't even realize
that she had such direct connections to missing and murdered
Indigenous women. It is something she was passionate about
before because she has seen these women and this art piece, and
she doesn't know how someone could see this and know about it
and not be passionate about it.
8:56:30 AM
MS. HUTCHERSON said people associate Natives with many different
stories, such as Natives get free college and don't have to pay
taxes. But right now, as a 30-year-old woman, she can tell more
stories of missing and murdered Indigenous women than she can
tell traditional stories from her own tribe. To her, that is a
problem. Native Alaskans know these women's stories but people
outside the Native community don't. Data is needed to tell
these women's stories and to ensure their stories aren't
repeated. It needs to be ensured that they aren't misclassified
in the system. It needs to be ensured that they matter because
they mattered to someone. These women were taken, their stories
are important. At these gatherings people often ask why these
bills are important, but her question is, Why not? Why not
reauthorize VAWA without the Alaska exception? This data is
needed, and this support is needed in Alaska. This affects [all
Native Alaskans], so why wouldn't these bills be needed? All
hands are needed on deck - tribal, state, and federal
governments working together on this issue.
8:58:11 AM
MS. HUTCHERSON stated that there is a history of purposely and
methodically mistreating Native women in this country. A direct
line can be drawn from the time of contact to this issue. This
didn't just develop overnight. It is a result of a system and
it is time to change that system. An old Cheyenne proverb says,
"A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on
the ground, then it is finished." Alaska Native people are
matrilineal and oftentimes matriarchal. So that is quite
literal for Alaska Native people. "When you take our women from
our communities you are taking our identities, you are taking
the very heart of what we stand for," she said. "So, we need
our women, we need them to be protected." The predators who
take and murder these women sometimes do it knowing that nobody
is going to show up. The man who is stalking her frequents
Tlingit and Haida events, he studies Native issues, he knows
that if something happens nobody is coming to look for her and
if they do there will be no consequences.
MS. HUTCHERSON said Alaska's lack of resources amazes her. She
didn't have personal connection with it until she went through
this stalking issue a couple weeks ago. The first place she
went to get a protection order was her tribal court, but they
were unable to offer that to her. They could offer domestic
violence protection but could not offer stalking protection.
So, she went across the street to the state and the office
wasn't open. She went to the AWARE shelter and was told to come
back the next morning. This is not okay. Better resources are
needed.
MS. HUTCHERSON said the families of the women in the art
installation need answers, deserve answers, and deserve justice.
She would like to know at the very least that if she did go
missing, if this stalker does do something to her, that someone
would come looking for her. She offered her appreciation to the
sponsor of HR 10.
9:01:17 AM
MARNA SANFORD, Tanana Chiefs Conference, thanked the sponsor and
cosponsors of HR 10. She urged that members from both sides of
the aisle cosponsor and support the resolution. She offered her
appreciation for Ms. Echo-Hawk's research and important work.
She pointed out that murder is the third leading cause of death
among American Indian and Alaska Native women, according to Ms.
Echo-Hawk's report. If murder was the third leading cause of
death amongst white women, white people, or the American or
Alaskan population in general, folks would be talking about it.
At a recent tribal court conference in Fairbanks there was
extensive discussion on VAWA and the Victims of Crime Act
(VOCA). here isn't one tribal leader who doesn't know by heart
what VAWA says. It's time for the folks in Juneau to know what
VAWA says and to know how important it is. The research
provided by Savannah's Act is important to the folks who are
trying to make a difference in the Native communities.
MS. SANFORD offered her appreciation for Ms. Kloster's
suggestions on what the state could do in addition to passing a
resolution regarding data collection and ensuring that Alaska's
public safety officers are correctly classifying the cause of
death, whether it be accidental or undetermined. Alaska can do
better and can be providing that information and making sure
that FOIA issues aren't standing in the way of getting proper
research. She offered her hope that HR 10 will receive wide
support in the legislature.
9:04:05 AM
JOEL JACKSON, President, Organized Village of Kake, testified
that the Village of Kake has about 500 people and is located on
Kupreanof Island. He said he has been talking about these
issues for the last two years. It is heartbreaking that it is
taking so long to get something in place to protect Native
women. It is very frustrating to community leaders in rural
Alaska that this is still not being taken seriously.
MR. JACKSON related that a few cases have happened in Kake. In
2013, Mackenzie Howard [13 years old] was murdered right across
from her home in the back of a community church. She laid there
for about 11 hours before any state troopers responded. He and
other community members cordoned off the area and stood watch
all night to protect the scene and local men patrolled the
community to make people feel safe. In 2017, Jade Williams [19
years old] was murdered in her grandmother's house during a
party. Three young men were identified that were there. Mr.
Jackson said he is a first responder and works with Kake's
volunteer emergency medical service (EMS). The EMS provided
life support measures, but Ms. Williams was pronounced deceased
at the local clinic. It was late in the day and again the state
troopers didn't respond until the next day. Again, he and
others cordoned off the home and secured the area.
9:07:24 AM
MR. JACKSON said this is a pattern in rural villages. In 2017
he gave a talk at a tribal conference in Anchorage with state
officials where he said that if a moose or deer is killed out of
season, fish and game officials will show up within hours of the
incident happening. The state officials responded that that
doesn't happen, but he knows otherwise because he has seen it
happen and has heard it from other villages. He reiterated his
frustration with this.
MR. JACKSON noted that Kake has a young man who recently went to
Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) training in Sitka, so Kake
now has a full-time local VPSO. He expressed his disappointment
in the VPSO program, not the men and women working in that
position, but the lack of authority that they have. Domestic
violence is a big problem all over and VPSOs cannot respond to
domestic violence situations because it is one of the most
dangerous of situations and VPSOs don't carry a sidearm.
Traffic stops are another thing VPSOs cannot do because of the
danger. He said VPSOs are well trained and need to be given
this authority. The difference between a VPSO and a state
trooper is three more weeks of training.
9:10:30 AM
MR. JACKSON further noted there are problems with jurisdiction.
For example, a Kake woman and tribal citizen was allegedly raped
in Metlakatla, a reservation. The tribal police there and the
state couldn't decide who would investigate it. By the time
there was an investigation the evidence was not there anymore,
and the case has yet to be resolved. As well, the death of Jade
Williams has yet to be solved and someone held accountable.
MR. JACKSON said he is passionate about protecting his people,
especially the women and children. It is unacceptable that this
is allowed to happen in rural areas. If it was a non-Native
person or child, it would be a whole different story. Everyone
has the right to have protection under the law.
MR. JACKSON stated he attended the Village Police Officer (VPO)
program in Sitka. He was Chief of Police in Kake in the late
1970s and early 1980s and afterwards worked for the city as a
policeman. Later when the city didn't have VPSOs he would
receive and respond to calls on his own. He believes strongly
in protecting his people and so he steps up, but this is
something he shouldn't have to do.
MR. JACKSON pointed out that the 911 system goes through the
Alaska State Troopers Ketchikan dispatch. Dispatch takes the
information and then it goes to either the state troopers or the
after-hours nurse in Sitka. They ask their questions and then
it eventually gets down to going over to the VPSOs or the health
agent in Kake, all of which takes at least 30-45 minutes. He
offered the tribe's help on anything that could be done.
9:14:37 AM
HEIDI VANTREASE, Domestic Violence Advocate, Domestic
Violence/Sexual Assault Program, Organized Village of Kake,
thanked the committee for its work in addressing the missing and
murdered Indigenous women. She said she has worked as a
domestic violence advocate since December 2011. She sees the
challenges and struggles women face when trying to get help.
The numbers in the data report are rather alarming and scary.
Two young girls have been murdered in Kake. Her program was
very new when Mackenzie Howard was murdered. Because the
program is a first responder, she sees the impact on the woman's
family as well as the whole community. The community was shaken
when this happened. The community wants to bring names and
faces to the committee to show that it is more than just a data
report, there are people behind these numbers. The program is
doing its best to help the loved ones during this time and the
program is helping on the frontlines to help the community's
women and girls be safe. The program is working diligently so
this doesn't happen again.
9:17:07 AM
MS. VANTREASE said the community is watching and waiting for
solving the cases. Everyone knows either the parents or the
young ladies and are frustrated with having no answers and no
justice being served. As domestic advocates, her program is the
first responder to these cases and stands by the families in the
weeks and months and years following. It has been seen what
these losses do and how it hurts the community. These young
girls have been the catalyst for making change and doing what
can be done in the village. Her program sees the impact of the
lack of offender accountability. It is frustrating for a woman
to go through the process of starting a case, reporting it, and
waiting for it to go court, only to have the offender get off
with a slap on the wrist if even that happens.
MS. VANTREASE related that last year was the first MMIW walk in
Kake and nearly 200 people attended, which is almost half of the
community. This shows the importance of this issue and its
importance to the people. Everyone walked in remembrance of the
families' loved ones who tragically died because of violence.
Everyone walked in solidarity with the families and in hopes of
change. Community work is being done, such as public awareness
and annual culture camps. The state's help is needed to help
ensure that this doesn't happen again, that justice will be
served, that Indigenous women are protected and valued, and that
offenders are held accountable. It is time for the state to
make the safety of Alaska Native women a priority and let it be
seen that Alaska Native women's lives are valued and matter.
MS. VANTREASE pointed out that VPSOs are disallowed from
carrying firearms, yet Alaska rates the highest in domestic
violence cases. An officer was shot several years ago when
responding to a call. It needs to be ensured that VPSOs who
have stepped up to the plate to protect the community are also
kept safe.
MS. VANTREASE urged that the committee's support be seen in the
actions it takes following these hearings.
9:21:22 AM
MISTY NICHOLI, Operations Manager, Native Movement, stated she
is Koyukon Athabascan and is from Kaltag. She said she is a
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) graduate, noncommissioned
officer in the Army Reserves, licensed practical nurse (LPN),
social advocate, and mother of three adult sons. As a Denaa
woman she is a member of the most at-risk demographic in Alaska.
MS. NICHOLI said she is speaking today on behalf of her late
grandmother, Theresa Nicholi, who is one of Alaska's missing and
murdered Indigenous women. She explained how she thought the
death of her grandmother was something that didn't happen often
until she saw articles about Alaska's missing and murdered
Indigenous women. Through Native Movement and its partners, she
was able to lead a collaborative living art memorial that was
unveiled last October at an Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN)
rally. It was started with 38 names that had been shared. Two
Facebook posts were made asking for people who wanted to honor
their loved one names. With those two Facebook posts and eight
hours at AFN, an additional 142 names were given. [Native
Movement] is now responsible for carrying over 184 names of its
stolen sisters.
9:23:00 AM
MS. NICHOLI related that her grandmother's body was found with
bruises and lacerations to her face and hands. There were
witnesses who saw her enter a house, saw a man throw her down
the stairs, and saw him under the cover of darkness carrying
something the size of her small grandmother over his shoulder
towards Mukluk Slough. There was no VPSO in the village at the
time, so the state troopers flew in and took her body without
questioning anyone. It is still talked about today. Like
countless other murdered Alaska Native women, including her Aunt
Margaret and Aunt Elizabeth, her grandmother's death was
incorrectly classified as accidental. She continued:
I remember my mother's screams, cries, and rage when
she learned that justice wouldn't be served. Her
emotions came from deep down in her soul and a part of
her was broken that day. A part of me was broken too.
I learned at nine years old that our lives and deaths
didn't matter. I'd like to say that things have
changed and that there are VPSOs who function as a
liaison for the state troopers to ensure deliverance
of justice, but it hasn't changed at all.
9:24:21 AM
MS. NICHOLI said a young man shared a story with her a couple
years ago:
A young woman in his community was murdered. There
wasn't a VPSO in the village. The troopers picked up
her body and didn't adequately investigate. Later a
man confessed to multiple people that he killed her.
When those people relayed that information to law
enforcement, they were turned away and told that there
was no evidence.
MS. NICHOLI said the State of Alaska's current lack of legal
protection has made Indigenous women a target for perpetrators.
To remedy the state's failure to protect Indigenous women, HR 10
must be passed. Funding must be continued and increased for
VPSOs. Tribal police departments need to be recognized and
worked with. Asking for these protections for Alaska's most at-
risk people will help ensure that Indigenous women have
equitable legal protections, improve their representation, and
increase government-to-government relations.
MS. NICHOLI stated her life has been dedicated to serving her
country and the people of Alaska. She said she would like to
know that her life matters. It is the responsibility of the
able and those charged to serve citizens to ensure that at-risk
populations are protected. She is certain the committee members
all take the responsibility of their positions seriously and so
she has faith that HR 10 will be passed today as a first step.
9:26:24 AM
CARMEN LOWRY, Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), stated that the network is
a 24-member organization with members being domestic violence
and sexual assault service providers across the state. She said
the network fully supports HR 10 and that the resolution is
timely. The network is a federally recognized state coalition
that receives funding from two sources to be able to provide
coordinated services and collaborative services with the state
administrator, who in Alaska is the counsel on domestic violence
and sexual assault. Much activity and work are being done at
the federal level, there are now 18 federally funded Native
coalitions across the U.S. Out of those 18, two are in Alaska -
the Yup'ik Women's Coalition and the Healing Native Hearts
Coalition.
MS. LOWRY said the network realized last year that it had not
done nearly enough to support its Alaska Native sisters in the
work that they are doing, so the network convened a dialogue. A
second dialogue convened a couple weeks ago was attended by
ANDVSA, Yup'ik Women's Coalition, Healing Native Hearts
Coalition, Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, and the
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. These groups
came together in recognition that more had to be done together,
to work together, to look at what was going on with the VAWA
reauthorization, and to learn what the structural barriers are
for Alaska Native coalitions, women, and tribes in having a
greater impact in their own community. It was realized that it
is time to recognize the tragic epidemic of missing and murdered
Indigenous women and girls, of a lack of resources, of a lack of
self-determined opportunity for Alaska Native victims.
9:29:55 AM
MS. LOWRY addressed the question of what else can be done. She
said that at the second dialogue it was determined that an in-
depth fatality review was needed for an Alaska Native murdered
woman or girl. This suggestion is based on work that is being
done in Montana. Montana has one fatality review for a death
that occurs on a reservation or on Indian land, and one that
occurs on non-Indian land. Regarding the lack of data and
inaccuracy of data, the proposed fatality review could provide
in-depth awareness of what could be done differently and what
could be done to prevent this kind of death from occurring. She
said the mandate for moving forward on a fatality review rests
within the Department of Public Safety. She offered her
understanding that DPS is interested in moving forward on this.
MS. LOWRY assured committee members that the network will share
HR 10 with its member agencies and the Alaska Congressional
Delegation. The network will continue to do whatever it can to
lift the work of Alaska Native sisters and organizations.
9:32:09 AM
JULIAN THIBEDEAU thanked the previous speakers for sharing their
stories, which encourages others to share their stories. He
said these stories are often kept to oneself because it hurts,
but when the stories are shared there is a coming out of the
darkness. When sharing these stories, people know that they
aren't alone. Sharing helps people start to come together in
the communities. He pointed out that the 100-plus names coming
as a result of the two Facebook posts are just the people who
happened to be attending AFN and see what was going on.
MR. THIBEDEAU said he is calling today because his mother is a
missing and murdered Indigenous woman. In 1996 his mother was
murdered for some cocaine that wasn't even hers. He explained
he is saying it like that because that is the bottom line, the
motive behind her death. His mother was a beautiful person
inside and out and was an Alaska Native artist and a person who
carried her traditions. She had her struggles too and one of
them was drug and alcohol abuse. She happened to be at the
wrong place at the wrong time. It shouldn't be like that. She
was a good mother and a good person. Some people might say to
write a person off if there were drugs involved, but the drugs
were not in his mother's possession and two people were murdered
that day - his mother and her boyfriend - and he was present
during that time. He was eight years old.
MR. THIBEDEAU related that sharing an emotional subject is hard
to do and it's hard to find the right words to share. He said
his hope is that by sharing, others will be encouraged to share
too. There was justice in his mother's case. The person who
committed the crime was captured. He offered his understanding
that statistically speaking it's not as fortunate for Alaska
Native people, especially in rural villages where law
enforcement isn't present. It is his prayer and hope that
people come together and continue working to break the silence
on violence and to help stop this.
9:38:00 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY closed public testimony after ascertaining no one
else wished to testify.
9:38:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LINCOLN moved to report HR 10 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HR 10 was reported from the
House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HR 10 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HTRB 5/2/2019 8:00:00 AM |
HR 10 |
| HB 10 PP 5.2.2019.pdf |
HTRB 5/2/2019 8:00:00 AM |
HB 10 |
| HR 10 ANKWC Oral Testimony 4.30.2019.pdf |
HTRB 5/2/2019 8:00:00 AM |
|
| HR 10 Tribal Law and Order Commission: Ch 2 Alaska.pdf |
HTRB 5/2/2019 8:00:00 AM |
|
| HR 10 Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-UIHI Report.pdf |
HTRB 5/2/2019 8:00:00 AM |