Press Release: AKNWRC Celebrates the Appointment of Tami Truett Jerue to the Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 22, 2024

AKNWRC Celebrates the Appointment of Tami Truett Jerue to the Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women 

FAIRBANKS, AK—The Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC) proudly announces the appointment of Tami Truett Jerue, AKNWRC Executive Director, to the Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women. This appointment represents a significant step forward in ensuring Alaska Native voices are heard in critical discussions about tribal jurisdiction and safety for Alaska Native and American Indian women.

The Task Force, authorized by Section 904(a)(3) of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109–162),  provides advice and recommendations on the development and implementation of a program of research that examines violence against Indian women in Indian Country and Alaska Native villages, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, murder, and sex trafficking, and evaluates the effectiveness of federal, state, tribal, and local responses to these crimes.

Tami brings decades of experience advocating for Alaska Native women’s safety and tribal sovereignty. As a leader and longtime champion against gender-based violence in our Alaska Native and American Indian communities, Tami has consistently worked to address the unique challenges faced by Alaska Native communities in implementing VAWA protections.

“This nomination recognizes the critical importance of having Alaska Native perspectives at the federal level,” said Nettie Warbelow, AKNWRC Board Member. “Tami’s extensive experience and deep understanding of both tribal governance and the specific needs of Alaska Native communities will be invaluable to the Task Force’s work.”

The Section 904 Task Force plays a crucial role in analyzing the implementation of VAWA’s tribal jurisdiction provisions and making recommendations to strengthen tribal ability to respond to violence against women. Tami’s participation will advance an understanding of our Alaska Native tribes’ unique jurisdictional barriers, reinforcing tribal sovereignty, and the urgent national priority of addressing gender-based violence in rural and remote villages where geographic isolation and complex jurisdictional frameworks have historically undermined our Alaska Tribes’ ability to protect their citizens.

Tami will serve alongside Catherine Edwards of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on the Task Force, bringing forward the voices and priorities of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized Tribes in shaping national policy on tribal jurisdiction and gender-based violence.

About the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center:

Organized in 2015, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center is a tribal nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against women with Alaska’s 229 tribes and allied organizations. AKNWRC board members are Alaska Native women raised in Alaska Native Villages and have 153 years of combined experience in tribal governments, nonprofit management, domestic violence, and sexual assault advocacy (both individual crisis and systems), and grassroots social change advocacy at the local, statewide, regional, national, and international levels. AKNWRC’s philosophy is that violence against women is rooted in the colonization of Indigenous Nations.

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