“There will be a much, much, much heightened sensitivity to legitimate causes within reservations that, quite frankly, we've just been taking advantage,” said Biden, author of the 1994 Crime Bill. Tribal justice systems “should have greater say. I tried to get that in the original crime bill when I wrote it. I find it absolutely fascinating that we have this dual jurisdiction.”
Native women, in particular, suffer when tribal jurisdictions overlap with state and federal jurisdictions, creating an environment of lawlessness, said Biden, in an interview with the Missoulian, after speaking to a crowd of some 1,200 people at Flathead High School.
“We use that jurisdiction as rationale not to proceed against abuse against women,” said Biden, D-Del., who also wrote the landmark Violence Against Women Act.
The act now contains a much-heralded safety provision for Native women.
“We have the highest rate of rape of all industrialized nations in the world,” Biden said. “The one thing I'm proudest of in my career is we have changed the definition of what constitutes assault. It used to be that, ‘She's my woman.' ”
“Indian or not, no one has the right to raise his hand to a woman in anything other than self defense,” he said. “And as federal prosecutors, when that crime involves someone who is not a member of an Indian nation, we will see to it that it is prosecuted. We will change the culture by doing that.”
Between 2004 and 2007, the United States declined to prosecute 62 percent of Indian Country criminal cases referred to federal prosecutors.
Biden is co-sponsor of the Tribal Law and Order Act, a bill introduced in July by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. The act will expand the authority of tribal police to make arrests for crimes committed on tribal lands.
“Under an Obama-Biden Justice Department, you will have federal prosecutors prosecuting these crimes,” said Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. “It will be a priority.”
The act also calls for improvement of courts, jails, policing and youth programs on reservation lands with already severely understaffed law enforcement departments. For every 1,000 reservation residents, there are less than two law enforcement officers, compared to upward of six officers for every 1,000 residents on non-tribal lands.
Finally, the Tribal Law and Order Act aims to increase sentencing in tribal courts from one to three years.
Biden delivered his first campaign speech in Montana, a state where presidential nominee Barack Obama has already made five appearances, including a rally on the Crow Reservation in May. That stop marked Obama's first campaign visit to a reservation leading up to the primary election.
Directors for the campaign's Montana office have organized an aggressive effort throughout the state, where paid staff members have been posted to all but one of the state's seven reservations.
“We're tapping into the excitement Barrack Obama is generating across the country, but especially among the tribes where people are coming together and are excited about a national campaign,” said Caleb Weaver, an Obama spokesman. “We recognize that energy and excitement and that's why we're putting out the resources with paid staff to get people organized. People know if they get engaged, things can be better.”
Rosemary Caye attended the Flathead High School rally to learn more about Biden. She hoped the next U.S. president and vice president would embrace Native people, a population treated as if invisible, she said.
“What are our similarities? What are our dissimilarities?” said Caye, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation. “Let's work together and start rubbing shoulders. And if there are any type of racial barriers, let start breaking those barriers and ask how we can make opportunities better for the indigenous people here.”
Caye said she was most concerned about creating more economic development opportunities for Native people. She said 96 percent of the people in her community live below the poverty level.
Biden told his Kalispell audience that the entire U.S. economy was an “anemic failure.”
Caye, who lives in Elmo, believes the Obama-Biden ticket represents “fresh ideas and experience. Put the two together and I think we'll rock.”
Obama has said he will create a senior White House staff position for a Native policy adviser. He has also promised to host an annual summit of tribal leaders.
Biden said it's time for the United States to end its “ultimate benign neglect” of Native peoples.
“We've walked away from our responsibilities,” said Biden. “We haven't kept our promises. We haven't abided by the treaties we've had. We have not done what we said we were going to do as a nation. Period.”
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