The Tribal Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act was held on Tuesday in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Miss Nikke / Twitter

U.S. Attorneys from three states hosted tribal leaders and advocates in South Dakota on Tuesday to discuss the Violence Against Women Act.

Congress recognized tribal sovereignty in Section 904 of S.47, the 2013 law that reauthorized VAWA. Tribes can arrest, prosecute and try non-Indians for certain domestic violence offenses as long as their justice systems protect the constitutional rights of defendants.

"Previously tribes did not have jurisdiction over non-Indians, even if they committed acts of domestic violence or violated protection orders in Indian Country," Randy Seiler, the acting U.S. Attorney for South Dakota said at the conference in Rapid City, KELO reported. "This act provides that under certain circumstances, where there are due-process guarantees, tribes can exercise jurisdiction over non-Indians."

The tribal jurisdiction provisions went into effect last month. But five tribes were part of an early pilot project at the Department of Justice and three of them have been prosecuting non-Indians for more than a year.

Other tribes are examining their justice systems in hopes of exercising authority under VAWA. The conference was aimed at helping them with that process.

The U.S. Attorneys from South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska, along with the University of South Dakota School of Law hosted the conference.

Get the Story:
Conference Aimed at Helping Tribes Fight Domestic Violence (KELO 4/1)
A Question of Justice: Navajo Nation Considers Violence Against Women Act (Indian Country Today 4/2)

Related Stories:
Pascua Yaqui Tribe prosecutes 19 non-Indian cases with VAWA (03/20)
LTBB News: Little Traverse Bay Bands to exercise VAWA power (3/19)
Eastern Cherokees make changes to exercise VAWA authority (3/18)
Tribes in Montana still looking at jurisdiction provisions in VAWA (3/13)
Fort Peck Tribes ready to exercise VAWA power over non-Indians (3/12)
White House Blog: Tribes make communities safer with VAWA (3/11)
Tribes in pilot project filed 26 VAWA cases against non-Indians (3/10)
Tribes reach key milestone with jurisdiction provisions of VAWA (3/9)
Updates from National Congress of American Indians winter session (2/26)
Tribes in Maine face opposition to jurisdiction over non-Indians (02/24)
Bill requires law degree to join Navajo Nation Supreme Court (02/03)
Obama signs measure to extend VAWA tribal provision to Alaska (12/19)
VAWA jurisdiction provision poses special issue for Alaska tribes (12/15)
Congress clears bill to extend VAWA tribal provisions to Alaska (12/12)
Senate backs measure to extend VAWA tribal provisions to Alaska (12/09)
Vice President Biden calls for inclusion of Alaska tribes in VAWA (12/04)
PBS: VAWA helps tribes go after non-Indian domestic offenders (11/24)
Republicans hold up action on Alaska tribal jurisdiction measure (11/19)
Eric Holder: Responding to sexual violence in Indian Country (11/18)
DOJ task force calls for tribal jurisdiction in child abuse cases (11/18)