Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, talks with a reporter after attending at an event to celebrate the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Washington. Murkowski spoke the the Alaska House of Representatives Special Committee on Tribal Affairs Thursday about what the bill means for Alaska. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, talks with a reporter after attending at an event to celebrate the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Washington. Murkowski spoke the the Alaska House of Representatives Special Committee on Tribal Affairs Thursday about what the bill means for Alaska. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Alaskans laud Violence Against Women Act reauthorization

Reauthorization will create pilot program for Alaskan tribal courts

Alaskans are lauding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act included in the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill recently signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The bill was celebrated during a ceremony at the White House Wednesday where tribal leaders from across the country were guests, including Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson. Peterson and his delegation posted pictures of themselves to social media, including a photo of Peterson shaking hands with Biden.

The reauthorization was the work of a bipartisan group of lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Speaking to the Alaska House of Representatives Special Committee on Tribal Affairs Thursday morning, Murkowski called the reauthorization “an extraordinary step forward,” and said it was the result of several years of work. The bill includes a provision for a pilot program for Alaskan tribes to exercise jurisdiction over non-tribal citizens for certain crimes.

“We know the status quo is not working,” Murkowski said. “The president yesterday said this legislation is not changing the law, we’re changing the culture. We know that we have to secure enduring policy changes, that’s going to require greater resources.”

Murkowski said the pilot program would allow a limited number of tribes to exercise jurisdiction over non-tribal citizens for crimes related to domestic violence and obstruction of justice. According to the senator, participating tribal courts will have to apply to the U.S. Department of Justice and be able to ensure civil protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Indian Civil Rights Act.

Thursday’s committee meeting also featured testimony from local experts about how the state can improve protections in Alaska Native villages. Presiding Judge with Tlingit and Haida Debra O’Gara told members Alaska ranks as one of the most dangerous places in the world for women and Indigenous women are overrepresented in statistics.

Gara said she had previously testified to the committee about the, “interconnection between domestic violence, sexual assault and the and the disproportionality of high numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men and our LGBT relatives.”

The reauthorization continues and in some cases increases funding for extant programs, and Murkowski said it will provide additional federal resources to help tribes and the State of Alaska to coordinate on public safety.

“Yes it’s challenging,” Murkowski said, “Jurisdictional issue makes its complex and sometimes confusing, but that should never deny safety or justice.”

Both Murkowski and U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, voted for the omnibus spending bill in which the reauthorization was included, but Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, did not. In a statement, Sullivan said there was much in the bill he supported including the VAWA reauthorization.

“However, this is a more than $1.5 trillion dollar bill, negotiated and agreed to only by House and Senate leadership, and their staff. It is 2,700 pages long, with thousands more pages in supporting documentation, and senators were provided a little over one day to review and analyze it,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Therefore, I could not support such a bill on which my staff and I were unable to do our appropriate and necessary due diligence. We need to fix our broken budget process that does not serve our military, government or the American people well.”

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of May 11

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

Boxes of sugary cereal, including those from General Mills, fill a store’s shelves on April 16, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US House Republican plan would force states to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits

State costs would increase with higher error rates — Alaska currently has the highest.

Juneau Board of Education members including Will Muldoon (foreground), whose seat is currently open after he resigned April 21, meet at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Sept. 10, 2024. Five candidates for the open seat are scheduled to be interviewed on Saturday at TMMS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Five people seeking open seat on Juneau school board set for public interviews on Saturday at TMMS

Former board member Steve Whitney, recent runner-up candidate Jenny Thomas among applicants.

Jörg Knorr, a solo travel journalist from Flensburg, Germany, smiles after taking a photo on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
German kayaker sets off to circumnavigate Admiralty Island

He made friends along the way in his mission to see Alaska.

A cruise ship docks in downtown Juneau on April 30, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
As foreign tourists stay away, US could lose $12.5 billion this year, tourism group says

Border detentions, confusion over visas deterring visitors, according to World Travel & Tourism Council.

Phase One of the HESCO barriers ends in the backyard of this residence on Rivercourt Way on Monday, May 12, 2025. The next extension, Phase One A, will install the barriers along the river adjacent to Dimond Park from the end of Rivercourt Way, interconnecting through a gap in the back fence. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau Assembly approves extending HESCO barriers

After reviewing flood-fighting inundation maps, additional short-term mitigation deemed necessary.

House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp (R-Anchorage), right, presents an overview of a bill reviving pensions for public employees during a House floor session Monday, May 12, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
House passes bill reviving pensions for public employees, Senate expected to consider it next year

Supporters say it avoids pitfalls in previous system nixed in 2006 due to multibillion-dollar shortfall.

Members of the Alaska Senate watch the votes for and against Senate Bill 26 on Monday, May 12, 2025, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska senators vote to end daylight saving time, ask feds to put state on Pacific Standard Time

Alaska would be on the same time zone as Seattle for four months of the year is bill becomes law.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Sunday, May 11, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read