Washington Lawyer - March/April 2021 - 32

FEATURE
federal government's failure to fund Native American law enforcement,
which it is obligated to do by treaty. Congress could grant tribal governments the same taxing authority it gives states, allowing them to secure
the funding the federal government is failing to provide, says Nagle.

Todacheene says that
the visibility of
Haaland and Davids
has helped empower
and engage the Native
American community.
" Indigenous people
have struggled to find
a place in a system
that really hasn't been
built for them, "
Todacheene says.

NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR PROGRESS
Advocates are experiencing a sense of optimism now that there are new
and powerful voices for Native American women in Congress. In 2019
Reps. Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids, both Democrats, became the first
Native American women elected to Congress. They joined two Native
American men - Tom Cole and Markwayne Mullin, Republicans from
Oklahoma - in the House of Representatives. Heidi Todacheene, who
works with legislators on Native issues, says that this bipartisan group has
been highly effective in moving legislation through the House. (If confirmed by the Senate as head of the Department of the Interior, Haaland
will become the first Native American to hold a Cabinet-level position.)

Perhaps seeing representatives give voice to
MARY KATHRYN NAGLE
the community's issues
Pipestem & Nagle, P.C.
has encouraged Native
Americans to vote and get engaged in politics. The result has been an
impact felt nationally. The Native American vote was widely considered
to be critical to President Joe Biden's electoral success, particularly in
key states such as Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. " Representation is what has really made a difference, which is why you've
seen Navajo voters and Natives in rural communities flip the vote, "
Todacheene says.

The Not Invisible Act of 2020 was the first bill introduced by four federally
recognized tribal members and, along with Savanna's Act, was passed
into law this past year. The bills empower tribal governments with the
resources and information necessary to respond to cases of missing or
murdered Native Americans, increase data collection, and coordinate
communication among federal, state, and tribal officials.
Agreeing with Nagle, Todacheene views underfunding in health, education, public safety, housing, and economic development as a critical
issue facing Native American communities. Finding solutions can
be challenging on account of the disparate situations faced by tribal
members. " There are 574 federally recognized tribes coming from
very diverse locations within the United States and different social and
economic backgrounds, " says Todacheene, an enrolled member of the
Navajo Nation. " One of the challenges of working on federal legislation
is that a one-size-fits-all solution might not help everybody. It's an incremental process. "

Despite gains in Congress and the courts, there's still the problem of
prejudice faced by Native Americans. Todacheene says that she often
thinks of the oil painting that hangs in the Capitol rotunda depicting the
baptism of Pocahontas, and another of Christopher Columbus amidst a
group of naked Indigenous women. Even within the symbolic epicenter
of the nation's capital, Todacheene says she is surrounded by depictions
of the colonization and humiliation of her people.
Nagle says that these icons reflect a deeply entrenched, ongoing disregard for Native Americans that is ultimately responsible for the creation
of laws and doctrines that strip them of their safety and sovereignty.
" You can't solve a crisis . . . that's 500 years in the making overnight, " she
says, adding that the country has historically celebrated and promoted
violence against Native American women. " It doesn't really matter what
laws you have on the books because the message to Americans is that
Native women are either just commodities on the cover of a box of
butter or a Halloween costume. Until you address that, the crisis isn't
going away. "
On November 20, Haaland appeared on a panel following the American
Bar Association's virtual performance of Nagle's play, which included the
retelling of multiple heartbreaking accounts of Native American victims
of violence. Haaland and many others in attendance wept openly as she
spoke of the challenges their community continues to face.

Clause Law

SARAH CRAWFORD
Clause Law P.L.L.C.

32 WASHINGTON LAWYER

" This issue has been happening since the Europeans got to this continent in the late 1400s. It's not an issue that just popped up over the last
couple of generations. Native women have been stolen and raped and
murdered and abused for 500 years, and us passing the Violence Against
Women Act and other laws that will help to start to untangle this really
complicated issue are just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of
things left to do, " Haaland told the crowd.
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer Jeremy Conrad at JConrad@dcbar.org.

MARCH/APRIL 2021

Washington Lawyer - March/April 2021

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