The #IndigenousRising hashtag is projected onto the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2017. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Law | National | Politics

Anti-Indian hate crimes rose dramatically in first year of Trump presidency

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

By Acee Agoyo

Hate crimes against Native Americans increased a whopping 63 percent in the first year of Donald Trump's presidency, according to new data released by the FBI.

Law enforcement agencies across the nation reported 251 hate crime incidents against American Indians and Alaska Natives in 2017. That represents a significant jump from the 154 incidents seen as the Barack Obama era came to a close.

The incidents involved 321 victims, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s annual Hate Crime Statistics report. That figure represents a nearly 90 percent increase in victims from the year prior, the data shows.

The report does not fully explore the reasons the dramatic rise in hate crimes against the first Americans. It's possible that law enforcement agencies are doing a better job at disclosing such incidents or that Native people have been more willing to come forward when they feel victimized.

But data from prior years show these scenarios are not likely to explain why the Trump era has fostered an era of bias. The number of anti-Indian hate crimes remained relatively steady in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, according to those reports, before rising last year.

Leaders who do not help the people must be replaced by the people.

Under our illegitimately elected president, hate crimes have risen, our enemies have been empowered, our international standing has fallen...

it's time to remove the madman who thinks himself king.
— Dr. DaShanne Stokes (@DaShanneStokes) November 12, 2018

And Native Americans aren't alone in being targeted in larger numbers. Overall, hate crimes rose 17 percent in Trump's first year in office, the FBI reported.

"Law enforcement reported 7,175 hate crimes to UCR in 2017, up from 6,121 in 2016," the FBI said on Tuesday.

The FBI, though, did offer one possible reason for an increase in hate crimes nationwide. The 2017 report contains data from 16,149 law enforcement agencies, up from 15,254 agencies in 2016.

Whatever the explanation, Democrats are looking for answers after a historic mid-term election that saw voters nationwide support the party's diverse group of candidates, including the first Native women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), whose state was home to a deadly racial attack in August 2017, is among those alarmed.

"A year later, we’re still waiting for answers from this administration about what’s being done to combat hate crimes," Warner, who was instrumental in securing federal recognition for six tribes in Virginia last year, wrote on Twitter following the release of the FBI data.

Last year, Warner led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in seeking more resources to address hate crimes. The FBI, with its new report, said it will be working to help law enforcement report such incidents.

"Next year, FBI personnel will provide training for law enforcement officers on how to identify bias-motivated incidents and report that data to the FBI’s UCR Program," the agency said.

Relevant Documents

FBI Releases 2017 Hate Crime Statistics | 2017 Hate Crime Statistics Released