Meeting the Needs of American 
Indian and Alaska Native Survivors 
with Disabilities 

Amanda Watson 
August 25, 2020 



What We’ll Be Talking About 

• 
Historical and current context for violence 
against Native people with disabilities 
• 
Unique barriers to services that Native 
people with disabilities face 
• 
Implications for non-tribal advocacy agencies 
• 
Actions non-tribal advocacy programs can 
take to provide more effective services for 
Native survivors with disabilities 

A Note on Language 

• 
People first language 
• 
“Indian Country” 
• 
American Indian/Alaskan Native 
(AI/AN) 
• 
Native/ Indigenous 
• 
Disability (WHO definition) 

Native People in the US 

• 
5.2 million Native Americans (2010 Census) 
• 
573 federally recognized tribes (BIA, 2019) 
• 
Sovereign, government-to-government 
relationship 
• 
84.3% of AI/AN women will experience 
violence in their lifetime (NCAI, 2018) 

Native People in the US (2) 

• 
56.1% of AI/AN woman experience sexual 
violence in their lifetime (NCAI, 2018) 
• 
24% of AI/AN people have a disability 
(NCAI) 

Looking Back to Understand Where 
We Are 

-Compounded forms of trauma 
-Gender-based violence against Native 
people 
-Forms of historical trauma 



Ongoing Impact 

Jurisdictional Challenges: 

Tribal authority to hold non-Native offenders 
accountable has been severely undermined 

The Tribal Law and Order Act and the 2013 
VAWA Reauthorization have helped, but there 
are still significant challenges for offender 
accountability 



Ongoing Impact (2): 

• 
Lack of access to culturally-relevant services 
• 
Invisibility to non-tribal programs 
• 
Stereotypes and harmful assumptions 
• 
Continued efforts to undermine tribal 
sovereignty 

Considerations for Non-Tribal 
Programs 

• 
Cultural differences in how disability is 
viewed 
• 
Understanding history for your particular 
region (and how that impacts Native 
survivors today) 
• 
Need to be aware of how intersecting 
identities create additional risk for violence, 
barriers to support 

Concrete Actions You Can Take 

• 
Know the tribes in your region 
• 
Connect with your tribal coalition, if 
available 
• 
If there are tribal programs, do you have a 
relationship with them? 
• 
Discuss how you identify AI/AN survivors 
• 
Vet your agency’s partners for cultural 
competence 
• 
Ongoing reflection and self-education 

Resources for Further Information 

• 
National Indigenous Women’s Resource 
Center 
-State Tribal Coalitions 

• 
National Congress of American Indians 

Questions? 

Amanda Watson 

Amanda@praxisinternational.org 



Thank you! 

Please take our survey: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/92QP8 
Z5 

Materials for download (PowerPoint PDF 
and Record of Attendance): 

https://vera.egnyte.com/fl/RLSBTqzn84