US doubles tribal funding to fight violence against women
mtstandard | September 19, 2018
The U.S. Justice Department will double the funding it gives tribes for public safety programs and crime victims as it tries to tackle the high rates of violence against Native American women, a top official said.The department's third-highest ranking official said more than $113 million in public safety funding will be doled out to 133 tribes and Alaska Native villages to try to address the issue.An additional $133 million will be awarded in the coming weeks to tribes to help Native American crime victims, Jesse Panuccio, principal deputy associate attorney general, announced Wednesday in Santa Fe.The announcement comes after a series of stories by The Associated Press helped put an increased focus on the deaths and disappearances of Native American women and girls. Panuccio noted that tribal leaders have called for more robust investigations into those cases and human trafficking.