Director Rosie Hidalgo Delivers Remarks on the Third Day of the 19th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation

Note: Certain portions of the speech have been redacted to protect sensitive victim testimony.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning, and welcome to the third and final day of the 19th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation. I want to again begin by offering my deepest gratitude to our hosts, the Pueblo of Pojoaque, and to Governor Roybal, for their generosity in allowing us to gather on their sacred lands. We are truly honored to be here with you all.

Yesterday was memorable for many reasons — for the insightful and compelling testimony we heard, for the gift of sharing this space with you, for the friendships and relationships being nurtured and created. I know I speak on behalf of Allison and me when I tell you how truly moved and humbled we both were when the Tribal coalitions presented us with those beautiful quilts, and also honored us with your song. Our strength to do this work is fueled by you, the people in this room, those who are joining us online and by the voices and leadership of survivors, as well as the thousands of advocates who work each and every day to support survivors and strengthen our communities. Thank you so much for the privilege of working with you and walking on this journey with you.

It is my honor this morning to introduce a video message from Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer, who oversees the department’s civil-litigating and grant-making components, including the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

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Thank you. Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Mizer's commitment has been vital in ensuring that our funding reaches all communities, particularly those that have been historically marginalized or underserved. With his support, the department has worked tirelessly to expand our programs and initiatives, and implement new programs authorized through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2022 and our congressional appropriations. As he shared, OVW has been actively making meaningful changes to our grant application process and rolling out new opportunities. The valuable feedback we’ve received through Tribal consultations are very important to help guide our efforts. We are particularly excited about the upcoming release of the new Tribal Financial Assistance grant awards in the coming month. Thanks to the work of advocates and the Administration in highlighting the critical need for flexible financial assistance to support survivors on their journey to safety and healing, Congress appropriated some funding for this new initiative. This is a special initiative on which we consulted with Tribes and which we have been working carefully to structure in a way that best addresses gaps in meeting the needs of survivors. Hopefully as we continue to track the progress and impact of providing these resources, we can continue to expand that grant program in the future.

I want to thank once again all Tribal leaders and representatives who shared testimony yesterday. Your stories, observations on what is working and what is not working are important for us to hear as OVW, the Justice Department and our federal partners continue to advance this work, honoring the Government-to-Government partnership between the United States and Tribal nations.

There were many important recommendations, and so I want to take a moment to highlight just a few:

We heard that public safety and public health are both important as part of a broader holistic response. The problems are interconnected and the solutions must also be interconnected.

We heard there is a major need to support funding for capital projects, such as building courts, holding facilities and shelters.

We heard about the unique challenges of rural, and particularly Alaskan Tribes, which sometimes must wait for days before getting assistance from law enforcement, or whose Tribal law enforcement is understaffed and must travel for hours via boat or plane or on dangerous (or nonexistent) roads to respond.

We also heard that any proposals to help streamline access to funding for Tribes, must nonetheless protect critical resources intended to support victim services that Tribal advocates and Tribal leaders have worked hard to establish.

These past couple days have been heavy, as we collectively hold the stories of lived experience: the history as well as the impact of historical and inter-generational trauma; and the challenging truths about current realities that have been shared. Please remember what Allison shared on Tuesday about the importance of caring for yourself, not just during this consultation but throughout your ongoing journey advocating for justice, safety and healing for yourselves and your communities.

As we move into the final day of this Consultation, we continue to listen with an open heart and open mind so that together we can continue to advance a shared vision of supporting survivors, ending gender-based violence, and fostering communities that can thrive free from violence.

I mentioned earlier that the strength of the bipartisan VAWA is rooted in its commitment to a coordinated community response. This approach lies at the core of our work, and we are fortunate to partner with other department components and agencies that share these same guiding values. Today, we will hear from additional grant-making components of the Justice Department, including the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). I want to especially thank Eileen Garry from OJP and Corey Randolph from the COPS Office for being here today and for their continued partnership.

As a reminder, QR codes are on your tables. These codes lead to the Tribal Affairs Division webpage on our website, where we are posting updates about this week's Consultation. They also go to our Tribal Consultation Update report, which outlines how OVW has responded to the recommendations you shared with us at last year’s Consultation in Muscogee Creek Nation. We hope this provides a clearer picture of how your voices are shaping our work.

And now, it is my pleasure to turn the floor over to Sherriann Moore as we begin the final day of this 19th Annual Tribal Consultation.