Human Trafficking In Native American Communites
In one of my very first DVM For Hope blog posts, I called human trafficking a “many-faceted problem.” Since that post, I have written sixteen other posts about sex trafficking and labor trafficking. One fact that seems to be a common thread in these posts is that vulnerable people and vulnerable populations are favorite targets of traffickers. There are many vulnerable populations–disenfranchised teenage girls, immigrants, and runaways among them–but one population, Native American women and girls, is over-represented.
VICTIMIZATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT
To understand why trafficking is so common in Native American communities, we first need to understand both the victimization of Native American women and girls in a historical context as well as the risk factors for human trafficking in general. In her article “Human Trafficking In Native American Communities,” Nancy Lake describes the traditional views on women in pre-colonization Native American communities:
Before the colonization of the U.S., Native Americans held women in high regard as life bearers and the future of their people. They were the political, spiritual and ceremonial leaders and violence against women was forbidden. The concepts of property and ownership did not exist in the language or culture and most indigenous languages have no word for rape and prostitution.
This changed, though, with European colonization. Rather than respect them as “life-bearers,” European men tended to view Native American women as exotic sex objects, and there were no laws in place to prevent the exploitation of these women. In fact, they were often traded for “alcohol and other goods.” (1) So, trafficking of Native American women and girls is not a new phenomenon.
RISK FACTORS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS
What factors make a person or persons vulnerable to human traffickers? Here is a list of known risk factors:
• Being a runaway or being homeless
• Identifying as LGBTQI
• Having a history of physical or sexual abuse
• Poverty
• Involvement of child welfare agencies
• Dysfunctional family history
• A history of psychiatric problems
• Substance abuse by a parent or guardian
• Being in foster care
After Native Americans were relegated to reservations, this marginalized population became overrepresented in several areas on this list. Consider the following:
• In testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, expert Lisa Bruner explained that Native American women suffer rates of rape, physical abuse, and murder much higher than that of the general population (2).
• Native American children end up in foster care in significantly larger numbers than the general population (3).
• Alcohol and drug abuse among Native Americans who live on reservations is much more common than it is among other groups. Alcohol abuse levels may reach as high as 23.5% (4).
• 1 in 4 Native Americans live in poverty. On Standing Rock Reservation, the poverty rate is over 40% (5).
With all of these common risk factors, it isn’t hard to see why Native American women and girls would be at risk for victimization by human traffickers.
SOME LESSER KNOWN RISK FACTORS
While the major risk factors for being trafficked are well documented, there are a couple of other risk factors that may increase the vulnerability of Native Americans to human traffickers. Liza Kane-Hartnett describes the problems caused by fracking camps located near reservations:
The proliferation of the fracking industry also contributed to a rise in sex trafficking of Native girls and women as “man camps” were established in remote areas of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, creating a high-demand for sex in an environment rampant with drugs, alcohol, and limited supervision.
In the same article, she points out that trafficking of young Native American girls may be taking place in some tribal casinos (6).
THE PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS
So just how serious a problem is human trafficking in Native American communities? Unfortunately, data isn’t easy to come by. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that even though the number of Native American women and girls who are trafficked was higher than the general population, the prosecution rate for the same population was much lower. According to Suzette Brewer:
…in the years 2013 through 2015, there were over 6,100 federal human trafficking investigations resulting in approximately 1,000 prosecutions in the general population. In the fiscal years 2013 to 2016 in Indian Country, however, there were 14 federal human trafficking investigations resulting in only two prosecutions. (7)
This, combined with other factors such as lack of cooperation among government agencies and deficiencies in data collection for crimes against Native American women, limits the availability of statistics.
Even with the lack of data it is apparent that the situation is not good. Studies have shown that Native American women may represent up to 40% of the victims in some areas (8). In Alaska, particularly in Anchorage, the data would suggest that Native women are arrested for prostitution at twice the rate of other women, even though they are a significant minority. A study in one Minnesota county showed a similar disparity (9). And the news only gets worse. Cindy McCain, wife of Arizona Senator John McCain, testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that Native American girls, frequently under 18, are trafficked for sex to oil field workers and even to Asia and the Middle East (10).
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
At this point, it would be fair for the reader to ask if there are any real solutions to a problem of this magnitude. If there is a silver lining to the situation, it is that increased attention to the problem of trafficking in Native American communities has led the the introduction of several pieces of legislation that could have a positive impact on this vulnerable population. The Tribal Law and Order Act is designed to improve data collection and enforcement:
The Tribal Law & Order Act helps to address crime in tribal communities and places a strong emphasis on decreasing violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. The Act encourages the hiring of more law enforcement officers for Indian lands and provides additional tools to address critical public safety needs. Specifically, the law enhances tribes’ authority to prosecute and punish criminals; expands efforts to recruit, train and keep Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Tribal police officers; and provides BIA and Tribal police officers with greater access to criminal information sharing databases. (11).
Another bill, The Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment (SURVIVE) Act of 2017, will provide assistance for Native American victims of trafficking and other crimes (12).
Other recommendations include the following:
• Get educated about the signs of human trafficking. I discussed these signs in a previous blog post.
• Spread the word about this terrible problem on social media. Most people have probably heard statistics about sexual assault and exploitation in general, but few people know how much more serious the problem is in Native American communities.
• If you are in the law enforcement or medical community, ask your supervisors to provide training in recognizing victims of trafficking, especially if you work in a region with a large Native American population.
• Contact your senators and representatives and let them know you are concerned about this issue. Remind them that the problem of trafficking of Native women and girls is hampered by poor data collection, lack of cooperation among various agencies, lack of victims’ services, and poor prosecution rates for crimes against these victims.
Sources for further reading:
1. Lake, Nancy. “Human Trafficking In Native American Communities.” www.acamstoday.org, 19 January, 2018
2. Kane-Hartnett, Liza. “Trafficking in Tribal Nations: The impact of sex trafficking on Native Americans.” Human Trafficking Search, 22, January, 2018
3. “Trafficking In Native Communities.” Indian Country Today, 24 May, 2015
4. Sunrisehouse.com
5. Krogstad, Jens Manuel. “One-in-four Native Americans and Alaska Natives are living in poverty.” www.pewresearch.org, 13 June, 2014
6. Kane-Hartnett
7. Brewer, Suzette. “Sold for Sex: Senate Committee Investigates Human Trafficking of Native Women and Children.” Rewire.news, 28 September, 2017
8. Kane-Hartnett
9. Lake
10. Brewer
11. United States Department of Justice. Tribal Law And Order Act. www.justice.gov
12. Brewer
Author: Matthew J. Nelson
Matthew Nelson started DVM For Hope to educate people about human trafficking and other injustices. He volunteers with several anti-trafficking organizations, speaks about sex trafficking, and is active on social media as both a blogger and editor. By day he is a veterinarian.