Women's advocates in Montana say violence against Native women is an everyday occurrence on the state's reservations.

The Blackfeet Reservation sees about 500 cases of domestic violence a year, said Francis Onstad a tribal member. But there is no shelter for battered women and there are few resources to address the problem, she said.

Dianna L.K. Main, a domestic violence supervisor and probation officer on the Fort Belknap Reservation, said violence against women is common. "There's not one day that goes by without domestic violence happening here," she told The Great Falls Tribune.

The Flathead Reservation is home to the Safe Harbour shelters, one of the few shelters on Montana's reservations, said manager Aide Talamantes. Some women come from the Blackfeet Reservation, nearly 150 miles away, for help.

Get the Story:
Groups seek protections for women (The Great Falls Tribune 9/8)

Get the Bill:
S.1197: Violence Against Women Act of 2005

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