As APRN's Liz Ruskin reports, American Indian and Alaska Native children see so much violence in their homes and communities that they suffer Post-Traumatic Sress Disorder at triple the rate of the general population, akin to rates among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. That's one of the starting points of a new federal task force report on indigenous children and their exposure to violence. The task force was created more than a year ago to advise the U.S. Attorney General, and held hearings across the country, including in Bethel and Anchorage. The panel presented its findings to high level officials with the departments of Justice, Interior, and other federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
They heard stories of family members who were imprisoned, murdered, or died of alcoholism and drug overdoses.
The 11-member task force report includes dozens of recommendations; most fall into two categories: empower tribes and provide more secure funding for tribal programs and services.
Panel chair Byron Dorgan, a former senator from North Dakota, says Congress has to treat funding for Indian child health and safety as mandatory. "When you have trust responsibility and you've signed treaties," said Dorgan, "don't tell me it's discretionary about whether you fund programs that help children. It is not discretionary."
One of the task force members, Valerie Davidson of Alaska, said she was struck by the testimony of one person who described the effort and uncertainty around funding for tribal programs.
"We compete for grants," said Davidson. "And we put our hearts and souls into that grant application process and we really hope that we win. But we know if we win, 555 other tribes lose. and what are we going to do about their children."
The report devotes a chapter to Alaska. It says while the problem of children exposed to violence is severe in all American Indian communities, it's systemically worse in Alaska. The report cites Alaska's higher rates of crime, remoteness, and the lack of respect for tribal sovereignty. The report incorporates the findings last year of the Indian Law and Order Commission, including its call to recognize broad Indian Country jurisdiction in Alaska.
Davidson says it's disgraceful that Alaska tribes don't have the same protections as tribes in the lower 48. She says the Alaska exemptions about jurisdiction in federal law are punishment, and are especially harmful to children.
However, the state of Alaska argues Congress, with the concurrence of the Alaska Federation of Natives, rejected the concept of reservations when it passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. Moreover, the state says, it says it is cooperating with tribes to improve law enforcement in villages.
Davidson says the state needs to make village safety a higher priority. "We shouldn't have a community that has no law enforcement, because when things go bad, bad things happen to kids."
The report also recommends tribes be empowered to manage their own subsistence hunting and fishing. Davidson says while that may seem out of place in a report on violence, subsistence is vital to Alaska Native families. "We know that when families have pressure, when they can't feed themselves, we know that's when we see increased violence. "