Call for Urgent Change to US Laws regarding crimes on Native Lands

To:  US Congress, Us Senate, US President, US Supreme Court, Bureau of Indian Affairs

We, the undersigned, urgently demand the following amendments to United States Laws which give non-Native individuals impunity for crimes perpetrated on Native lands:

1. Overturn 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. Amend 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).

By signing our names to this petition, we express our concern at the alarming statistics that represent violent crimes facilitated by the aforementioned laws. Failure to change these laws is an injustice and a betrayal of the ideals of our democracy.

Alarming Facts (to learn more please visit: http://www.myspace.com/1in3campaign )

*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.

By signing this petition we also recognize our own civic responsibility to be aware of our own bias and pledge to work toward casting aside prejudices toward anyone of any race, nationality, class, sex, religion & gender.

We urge the international community to become involved and urge the international media community to support our mission.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Call for Urgent Change to US Laws regarding crimes on Native Lands Petition to US Congress, Us Senate, US President, US Supreme Court, Bureau of Indian Affairs was created by and written by Vlad Quigley (happyvlad2002@yahoo.co.uk).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.