The legislation builds on Heitkamp’s years-long efforts to improve public safety in Indian Country following her introduction of Savanna’s Act last year to address the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, and passage of her bipartisan bill to expand AMBER Alerts in Indian Country, which was signed into law earlier this year. The new bill also follows Heitkamp’s Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which was signed into law earlier this year and her work since 2013 to combat human trafficking, including in Indian Country.
Heitkamp joined U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) to introduce the bipartisan End Trafficking of Native Americans Act to address the gaps between tribal communities and the federal government in combating human trafficking of Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
The National Institute of Justice reports that more than 56% of American Indian and Alaska Native women experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. Despite this high rate of sexual violence and the known correlation between high rates of sexual violence and trafficking, there were only 14 federal investigations and two federal prosecutions of human trafficking offenses in Indian Country from 2013 through 2016.
Their bill would establish an advisory committee on human trafficking comprised of law enforcement, tribal leaders, and service providers to make recommendations to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) on combating human trafficking of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The bill would also create a Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinator within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to coordinate human trafficking prevention efforts across federal agencies.
“No community is immune to the horrific crime of human trafficking, and Indian Country faces unique challenges that leave too many crimes unsolved and too many victims without justice,” Heitkamp said. “Since joining the U.S. Senate, I’ve worked to shine a spotlight on human trafficking around the country and in North Dakota – and especially in Indian Country where it has been particularly prevalent. This important bill continues those efforts to keep all of our communities strong and safe. Our bipartisan bill builds on efforts to boost law enforcement in Indian Country and address underlying issues like poverty, drug addiction, and exposure to trauma that can lead to increased rates of trafficking. After victories getting two of my bipartisan bills signed into law – resulting in more resources for notice and awareness of missing children in Indian Country by creating an Amber Alert system and cracking down on sites like Backpage that knowingly facilitate human trafficking– we must continue to keep the heat on traffickers to prevent these disgusting crimes.”