The Alliance of Tribal Coalitions and several Tribal Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Coalitions attended the NCAI Mid-Year Convention & Marketplace located in Mashantucket, CT on June 8-11, 2025. ATCEV and Tribal Coalitions were able to attend NCAI’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Taskforce meeting, comprised of a multidisciplinary group of Tribal leaders, organizations, Tribal Coalitions, advocates, non-Native allies, and policy-makers who come together to discuss a variety of issues surrounding safety of American Indian and Alaska Native women. The NCAI VAWA Taskforce has been helping effect changes in laws, policies, and social norms for over the last 22 years.
The NCAI VAWA taskforce is co-chaired by Carmen O’Leary, the Executive Director of Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains (NWSGP). NWSGP is one of 20 Tribal Coalitions across the nation dedicated to enhancing the response to domestic and sexual violence against AI/AN people.
Two highlights from the NCAI Mid-Year Conference were the passing of Resolution #CT-25-057 (Protecting Tribal Sovereignty and Tribal Victim Service Programs Calling for Resolute Opposition to the Consolidation of the Statutory Office of the Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Tribal Justice with the Office of Justice Programs) and the NCAI VAWA Taskforce Panel in the general assembly as shown in pictures below.
Resolution #CT-25-057 (also published here on the NCAI website) was drafted and proposed by the VAWA Taskforce. A summary of the document is that NCAI opposes the proposed consolidation of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) into the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) as outlined in the President’s FY26 Budget Proposal. NCAI emphasizes that OVW and OTJ are statutorily mandated to exist as separate and distinct offices within the Department of Justice, with specific roles in addressing violence against women and Tribal justice matters. The consolidation would undermine Tribal sovereignty, add unnecessary bureaucracy, and disregard the government-to-government relationship between Tribal Nations and the United States. NCAI calls on the Department of Justice to honor the statutory provisions of the Violence Against Women Act and the Tribal Law and Order Act, maintain the independence of OVW and OTJ, and uphold federal policies of Tribal self-determination.
The VAWA Taskforce Panel was a great opportunity for the general NCAI audience to hear about firsthand insights into addressing violence against women. The panel began with an introduction from NCAI President, Mark Macarro, and included panelists, Carmen O’Leary from Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains, Tami Jerue from Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, Mary Kathryn Nagel from National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Abigail Echo-Hawk from the Urban Indian Health Institute, and Shannon Holsey from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. The panel sparked meaningful conversations about sovereignty and safety.
“The history and patterns of our federal/state law and polices increasing the vulnerability of Indian women and denying them protection afforded to other women, is the foundation of the disproportionate levels of violence against Native women.”- Carmen O’Leary
