Alaska tribes get nearly $14 million in federal grants to address domestic violence, sexual assault

The tundra in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is seen in the evening sun on Oct. 11, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

The U.S. Justice Department has announced more than $86 million in grants for American Indian and Alaska Native communities to ​​support survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking.

Nearly $14 million of those dollars were awarded to Alaska tribes and tribal organizations.

The news comes after Alaska lawmakers increased state funding to the state’s Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to make up for a decrease in one if its federal funding sources and as advocates have stressed the need for even more financial support.

The grants come through the federal Violence Against Women Act, a law that funds the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, which had its 30th anniversary this month. The law established the federal Office of Violence Against Women within the Justice Department; its Tribal Affairs Division will administer the grants.

Fourteen different tribes or tribal organizations in Alaska have been awarded grants so far and several of them received more than $1 million. The Organized Village of Kake was awarded $1.5 million to support Tribal jurisdiction over crimes committeed in the community, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking.

Bristol Bay Native Association Inc., Aleutian Pribilof Island Association Inc. and the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe each received roughly $1.2 million to support the response to such crimes in the communities they serve.

The Yup’ik Women’s Coalition and the Healing Native Hearts Coalition each received more than $400,000 in grants to continue their work in the Yukon-Kuskokwim and Interior regions.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland weighed in on the awards.

“Tribal communities, and particularly American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, have experienced disproportionately high levels of violence for too long,” he said in a news release. “This $86 million dollar investment represents the Justice Department’s commitment to working in partnership with Tribal nations to address and prevent gender-based violence and provide safety and justice for survivors.”

The Office of Violence Against Women will have made all its grants by Sept. 30, a spokesperson said.