Deborah Parker
Civil and criminal jurisdiction has served as one of the most important tests of the limits of sovereignty. Congress and the courts have attempted to discern where federal, state, and tribal laws begin and end in the context of everything from taxation to murder. Making matters more complex, jurisdiction shifts if the situation involves only Indians, only non-Indians, or both; whether it occurs on trust land matters, too. Among the most important debates is that on violence against women. According to national statistics, rates of rape, physical assault, and stalking of Native women exceed those for whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Non-Native perpetrators of these crimes often elude justice because of the restrictions placed on tribal courts and a federal government that often seems unable or unwilling to prosecute. In 2012 Deborah Parker, vice chairperson of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington, provided testimony in support of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and, in so doing, offered a window into the personal politics of sovereignty. A year later, Congress enacted compromise legislation. It limits tribal judicial power to pursue non-Indian perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence against Native women.30
I am here today to support the Violence Against Women Act. I was here on an environmental protection issue on Monday and did not plan on providing my story while at the nation’s capital. However, I could not allow another day of silence to continue.
Yesterday I shared with Senator Murray the reasons why the Violence Against Women Act is so important to our Native American women. I did not expect that I would be sharing my own personal story.31
I am a Native American statistic. I am a survivor of sexual and physical violence. My story starts in the ’70s as a toddler. You may wonder, how do I remember when this occurred? I was the size of a couch cushion—a red velvet approximately two-and-a-half feet couch cushion. One of the many girls violated and attacked by a man who had no boundaries or regards for a little child’s life. My life.
The man responsible was never convicted. In the early ’80s at a young age, I was asked to babysit my auntie’s children. During the late hours of the evening, she arrived but was not alone. Instead of packing my things to go home, my sense was to quickly grab the children. . . . The four or five men who followed my auntie home raped her. I had to protect the children and hide. I could not save my auntie. I only heard her cries. Today is the first time that I have ever shared this story. She died at a young age. The perpetrators were never prosecuted.
During this time on our reservation, there was no real law enforcement. And because I know the life for a Native woman was short, I fought hard to attend college in the early ’90s, and study criminal justice so I could be one to protect our women. However, I am only one. And we still have no real protection for women on our reservations.
In the late ’90s I returned from college and began a program to help young female survivors. We have saved many lives during the creation of this program. However one of my girls, Sophia, was murdered on my reservation. By her partner. I still remember this day very strongly. And yet another one of our young girls took her life. A majority of our girls have struggled with sexual and domestic violence—not once, but repeatedly.
My question for Congress was, and has always been, why did you not protect me or my family? Why is my life, and the lives of so many other Native American women less important?
It is now 2012. I am urging Congress to uphold the US Constitution and honor US treaty agreements to provide protection, education, health, and safety of our indigenous men and women of this country. Please support the Violence Against Women Act, and send a strong message across the country that violence against Native American women is unlawful and is not acceptable in any of our lands.
Our tribal courts will work with you to ensure that violators are accountable and victims are made whole and well. . . . Thank you for listening to my story. I am blessed to be alive today. I send my love and prayers to all of the other victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.