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Brainerd High senior urges legal changes to address violence against Indigenous women in capstone presentation
Summary
A Brainerd High School senior presented research on violence against Indigenous women, outlining historical causes, current legal limits on tribal jurisdiction and proposed federal changes to expand tribal prosecution authority and restrict industrial sites near reservations.
Reese Glenn, a senior at Brainerd High School, presented a capstone project to the county board focused on violence against Indigenous women and legal pathways she says could improve safety and justice.
Using historical and legal analysis, Glenn summarized federal statutes that affect prosecution in Indian country, including the Major Crimes Act, the 1978 Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe decision that limited tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians, and later measures such as the Tribal Law and Order Act (2010) and the 2013 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) tribal provisions. Glenn said those later laws extended tribal sentencing and, in specific circumstances, tribal jurisdiction over certain non-Indian offenders, but she told the board that gaps remain when offenders have no relationship to the victim or the tribe.
Glenn proposed three policy changes in her presentation: prohibit industrial sites near tribal areas to reduce the presence of non-tribal workers she argued are overrepresented among offenders in some studies; amend VAWA to allow tribes to prosecute all sexual-violence cases occurring on or near tribal lands regardless of the offender’s relationship to the victim; and provide federal grants to help tribes operate courts and detention consistent with federal requirements. She acknowledged limitations, including underreporting and the persistence of colonial and patriarchal attitudes that law changes alone cannot cure.
Board members thanked Glenn for the research and noted the presentation was educational. One commissioner asked whether she sought direct action from the county; Glenn said her goal was primarily to educate the board and community, not to seek a specific county ordinance. Several commissioners praised the student’s work and said the issues raised are relevant in a tourist region with documented trafficking and domestic-violence concerns. No board action followed the presentation.
