Vlad Quigley

Dedicated to the memory of Candace Rough Surface (1962-1980)

Suspect finally pleads guilty after 16 years

Candi crusade seeks national awareness

100-Year Term In Sioux's Rape And Murder



For years (and despite serious illness) Vlad Quigley ran the 1-in-3 Campaign raising awareness of the epidemic in racist rapes of Native American women ...caused by 2 racist, inhumane, deplorable US laws which deny American Indians justice.

*According to the US Department of Justice, in at least 86 per cent of reported cases of rape or sexual assault against American Indian and Alaska Native women, survivors report that the perpetrators are non-Native men.

*Justice Department figures indicate that American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the United States. In general, more than one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes.

Two US laws are the direct cause:

1. The 1978 Supreme Court ruling of "Oliphant vs. Suquamish" which prevents non-Natives from being arrested and tried by tribal courts for offences committed on tribal land.

2. The 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act which currently limits the powers of tribal courts to a fine of $5,000 or 1 years imprisonment (punishment not fitting of the types of crimes committed on Native lands).







1-IN-3 CAMPAIGN: STATISTICS ABOUT RAPES OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN



* Native American and Alaska Native women in the United States suffer disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual violence, yet the federal government has created substantial barriers to accessing justice.

* According to the US Department of Justice, in at least 86 per cent of reported cases of rape or sexual assault against American Indian and Alaska Native women, survivors report that the perpetrators are non-Native men… …The Department’s data on sexual violence against non-Native women, in contrast, shows that for non-Indigenous victims, sexual violence is usually committed within an individual’s own race. For example, in 2004, perpetrators in 65.1 per cent of rapes of white victims were white, and 89.8 per cent of perpetrators in rapes of African American victims were African American.

* Justice Department figures indicate that American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the United States in general; more than one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes.

* According to American Indians and Crime, a study by the Department of Justice released in 1999, Native Americans are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than members of any other racial group.

* A US Department of Justice study on violence against women concluded that 34.1 per cent of American Indian and Alaska Native women – or more than one in three – will be raped during their lifetime; the comparable figure for the USA as a whole is less than one in five

* The rate of violent crime experienced by Native women is nearly 50% higher than that experienced by black males.

* Amnesty International’s research suggests that there is a failure at federal level to pursue cases of sexual violence against Indigenous women. From 1 October 2002 to 30 September 2003, federal prosecutors declined to prosecute 60.3 per cent of the sexual violence cases filed. Only 27 of the 475 cases they declined were prosecuted in other courts… Significantly, between 2000 and 2003, the BIA was consistently among the investigating agencies with the highest percentage of cases declined by federal prosecutors. It is not possible to establish how many of these cases submitted by the BIA involved sexual violence.

* With well over 500 federally recognised tribes, there are barely 26 Native specific shelters in existence today with only a few more in development. Efforts must support the development and ongoing operation of shelters across Indian Country.

* According to the US Department of Justice, available data suggests that tribes have between 55 and 75 per cent of the law enforcement resources available to comparable non-Native rural communities.

* Over 80 per cent of those in Alaska who are not afforded trained and certified law enforcement protection are Alaska Native.

* At least a third of all Alaska Native villages that are not accessible by road have no law enforcement presence at all.

* Further complicating the issue is the fact that records of reported sexual violence against Native American Indian women are hard to find, because most cases are never prosecuted. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 70% of sexual assaults go unreported, the most often stated reason being that the victims fears the assailant (76%). In Indian Country particularly, it is very difficult to document the extent of sexual assault, and therefore, difficult to gather specific statistics, largely because of jurisdictional authority issues.

* Rape is always an act of violence, but there is evidence to suggest that sexual violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women involves a higher level of additional physical violence. Fifty per cent of American Indian and Alaska Native women reported that they suffered physical injuries in addition to the rape; the comparable figure for women in general in the USA is 30 per cent.

* According to US Department of Justice figures, in around a quarter of reports of sexual violence against American Indian or Alaska Native women the alleged perpetrator is an intimate partner.

* According to US Department of Justice statistics, Alaska has the highest incidence of "forcible rapes" of women of any US state. Alaska Native women experience high levels of sexual violence in both urban and rural areas. For example, between 2000 and 2003, Alaska Native people in Anchorage were 9.7 times more likely to experience sexual assault than others living in the city.

* Shocking though these statistics are, it is widely believed that they do not accurately portray the extent of sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women... …For Native American and Alaska Native women, historical relations with federal and state government agencies also affect the level of reporting of sexual violence.

* It appears that Indigenous women in the USA may be targeted for acts of violence and denied access to justice on the basis of their gender and Indigenous identity.

* Impunity for perpetrators and indifference towards survivors contribute to a climate where sexual violence is seen as normal and inescapable rather than criminal, and where women do not seek justice because they know they will be met with inaction.

* A report by the US Commission on Civil Rights in 2003 found federal spending on health services for Indigenous people via the IHS was far below spending on all other groups. It reported that national per capita health expenditure for the average person in the USA for that year would be US$5,775, while the IHS would spend a projected average of US$1,900 per person for all medical care. The study noted:
"This disparity in spending is amplified by the poorer health conditions of many in the Native American community and represents a direct affront to the legal and moral obligation the nation has to improve Indian health status."
US Commission on Civil Rights, A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country, July 2003

* According to the 2000 US Census there are an estimated 4.1 million Native American and Alaska Native individuals living in the USA today – around 1.5 per cent of the total population.

* More than 50 per cent of Native American and Alaska Native peoples in the USA live in urban areas. According to a study by the Seattle Indian Health Board’s Urban Indian Health Institute, those living in urban areas suffer from poorer health than the general US population.






"Close thine eyes and sleep secure,
Thy soul is safe, thy body sure;
He that guards thee, he that keeps,
Never slumbers, never sleeps.
A quiet conscience, in a quiet breast,
Has only peace, has only rest:
The music and the mirth of kings
Are out of tune, unless she sings.
Then close thine eyes in peace, and rest secure,
No sleep so sweet as thine, no rest so sure."
(Upon A Quiet Conscience by King Charles I)







"RESTORATION HANG THY MEDICINE ON MY LIPS"

Vlad is bed-ridden with the long term disability Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E., also known as Chronic Fatigue Immunity Disorder Syndome and Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome) and Fibromyalgia...
...so would be extremely grateful for your patience in awaiting responses to professional queries and correspondence.
Most gracious thanks.