Law, College of
Nebraska Law Bulletin (Selected Issues)
Date of this Version
11-22-2024
Document Type
Article
Citation
Nebraska Law Bulletin, November 22, 2024
Abstract
This paper discusses the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Epidemic. Specifically, it analyzes what contributes to the disparate homiciderate for indigenous women by non-Indian offenders in IndianCountry. This paper concludes that to help combat the problem, the federal government should restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over crimes of homicide occurring in Indian Country where the victim is Indian, and the perpetrator is non-Indian.
Part II provides a brief history of colonialism, the use of the Discovery Doctrine in North America, and how the normalization of violence against Native women as a part of “conquest” has led to the violence against Indigenous women we see today.
Part III explains how jurisdictional complexities and the lack of prosecution by the federal government contribute to the disproportional number of Indigenous women murdered by non-Indians in Indian Country.
Part IV examines how the federal government and specific tribes have addressed the MMIW Epidemic throughlegislative acts and pilot programs.
Part V proposes restoring tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians accused of murdering Indigenous people in Indian Country as a solution to the disparate homiciderate between Indigenous women and other populations.