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ARTICLES AND REPORTS

There is an unfortunate lack of reliable data on the problem of sex trafficking in Indian country. This lack of reliable data is tied to the limited amount of methodologically sound research, articles, and reports on the topic. However, the limited Native-specific research that has been done, and anecdotal evidence, suggest that Native women and girls are overrepresented in the sex industry and that sex trafficking disproportionately impacts Native women and girls. 

Shattered Hearts: The Commercial Exploitation of American Indian Women and Girls in Minnesota

A report on the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian/Alaska Native women and girls in Minnesota, including sex trafficking. In 2006, the Legislature passed Minnesota Statute section 299A.79 requiring the Commissioner of Public Safety to develop a plan to address current human trafficking and prevent future sex trafficking in Minnesota.(2009)

Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota

The study provides powerful personal accounts of violence, poverty, survival, and strength by Native women themselves. The study authors stress that these women’s strengths as well as their vulnerabilities must be seen in the context of a history of systematic harm to Native people, racism, poverty, and a lack of housing, healthcare, job, and education opportunities. (2011)

Mapping the Market for Sex Trafficked Minor Girls in Minneapolis: Structures, Functions, and Patterns

Produced in partnership with St. Paul- based Othayonih Research and funded by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, it is the first-of-its-kind study to examine the overall market structure of juvenile sex trafficking as it functions within one city. The project combines interviews, analysis of police data, and a media review. (2014)

Relocation Revisited: Sex Trafficking of Native Women in the United States

This Article details the historical and legal context of sex trafficking from its origin among the colonial predecessors of the US and documents the commercial trafficking of Native women over several centuries. (2010)

Colonial Exploitation: The Canadian State and the Trafficking of Indigenous  Women and Girls

This Article argues that because of its historical and ongoing investments in settler colonialism, the Canadian state has long been complicit and continues to be complicit in the human trafficking of indigenous women and girls in Canada. This Article pays particular attention to the Canadian state’s uses of law to enable the trafficking of indigenous women and girls (and indigenous peoples, generally). (2015)

Human Trafficking and Native Peoples in Oregon: A Human Rights Report

The report--by the International Human Rights Clinic at Willamette University College of Law--focuses specifically on Native populations within Oregon. It’s focus is one of a human rights legal fact-finding report that sets out to measure whether federal, state, and local government officials are meeting their obligations under international, national and state law in prosecuting traffickers, protecting survivors, and preventing trafficking as it involves the Native population in Oregon. (2014)

Creating A Human Trafficking Strategic Plan: To Protect and Heal Native Children and Youth

Created by The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges --This worksheet walks through several questions that prompt participants to make a plan that is in alignment with the needs and abilities of the community. Some things your community will be able to work on immediately. Others will take more time and might give ideas for potential grant applications or other funding requests for the future. Still others will require coordination with non-Native communities and agencies. (2015)

Responsible Resource Development and Prevention of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women and Children on the Fort Berthold Reservation

In 2010, large deposits of oil and natural gas were found in the Bakken shale formation, much of which is encompassed by the Fort Berthold Indian reservation, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (“MHA Nation” or “Three Affiliated Tribes” or “the Tribe”). This paper begins by describing the intersection of sex trafficking and oil and gas development on the Fort Berthold reservation. Next, the paper describes the jurisdictional regime within federal Indian law and other barriers to law enforcement that have created a situation ripe for trafficking and other crime on the Fort Berthold reservation. Third, the paper will examine strategies to address this complex issue including: corporate engagement of relevant companies; tribal capacity and coalition building; and remedies contained in the Violence Against Women Act of 2014. This paper asserts that all of the stakeholders involved in oil development on the Fort Berthold reservation – federal, state, tribal, and public and private companies – must work cooperatively to decisively eliminate sex trafficking of Native women and children. (2016)

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