Savanna’s Act and VAWA: Two Laws Changing the Future for Indigenous Women

When we talk about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, we are talking about a crisis that has existed in the shadows for generations — a crisis that, for too long, has been buried under red tape, jurisdictional confusion, and systemic neglect.
But slowly, laws are changing. And those changes are worth understanding, because behind every piece of legislation are families who have suffered, communities who have fought for visibility, and advocates who refused to let silence win.

Two federal reforms — Savanna’s Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) — represent major steps toward accountability and justice. They are not perfect, but they are progress. They are proof that when we speak the names of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten, change follows.

Savanna’s Act (2020)

Savanna’s Act is named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old member of the Spirit Lake Nation who was murdered in 2017 while eight months pregnant. Her death shook the country — not only because of its brutality, but because of what it revealed: the absence of any consistent system to track, investigate, or respond when Indigenous women go missing.

In 2020, Savanna’s Act became federal law — Public Law No. 116-165 — with the goal of closing the data and communication gaps that have left so many Indigenous cases uncounted and unresolved.

It requires the U.S. Department of Justice to create national guidelines for handling missing-person cases involving American Indian and Alaska Native individuals. It directs the FBI, along with Tribal, state, and local law enforcement, to enter all missing Indigenous persons into federal databases like NCIC and NamUs. It mandates training, improved data collection, and accurate reporting — especially of gender and Tribal affiliation — so that cases are no longer lost in bureaucratic limbo.

Most importantly, Savanna’s Act offers a framework for accountability. It gives families, advocates, and journalists the leverage to ask hard questions: Was this case entered into the system? Was it investigated properly? Did the agencies follow the law?
It’s a law born out of tragedy, but it carries a message of hope — that every Indigenous woman and girl deserves to be counted, searched for, and brought home.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – Tribal Jurisdiction

The Violence Against Women Act, first passed in 1994, has long been a cornerstone in protecting women from violence in the United States. But for Indigenous women, the law was incomplete. For decades, Tribal Nations were legally barred from prosecuting non-Indians who committed violent crimes on their lands — a loophole that became known as the “jurisdictional black hole.”

That meant non-Native offenders could — and often did — harm Native women with impunity, knowing that neither federal nor state prosecutors were likely to take the case.

In 2013, that began to change. A new provision of VAWA restored limited Tribal authority — called Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction — allowing Tribes to prosecute non-Indians for domestic violence, dating violence, and protection-order violations.

Then, in 2022, that authority expanded again. Tribes were given broader power under what is now called Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction, covering crimes such as sexual violence, stalking, sex trafficking, child violence, obstruction of justice, and assaults on Tribal officers. It also opened the door for more Tribes — including those in Alaska and Maine — to exercise jurisdiction and strengthened funding and due-process protections.

VAWA’s Tribal provisions are a recognition of sovereignty. They say to Indigenous Nations: You have the right to protect your own women. You have the right to pursue justice on your own land.

For many, this change is about more than legal authority — it’s about dignity, equality, and survival.

The numbers are staggering.

• More than 84% of Indigenous women report experiencing violence in their lifetimes.
• Homicide ranks among the top causes of death for Native women under 44.
• And still, hundreds of cases remain unsolved — some never even entered into official databases.

Savanna’s Act and VAWA’s expanded Tribal jurisdiction are not the final answers, but they are pieces of a much larger puzzle — one that we, as advocates, must help complete.

At All the Lost Girls, we believe that awareness and action must work together. We’re here to bridge the gaps — between families and law enforcement, between local efforts and national policy, between silence and truth.

• Speak names. Visibility drives accountability.
• Verify listings. Make sure every missing Indigenous woman is entered into NamUs and NCIC.
• Support sovereignty. Advocate for full funding and implementation of VAWA across Tribal Nations.
• Educate and collaborate. Share verified information, connect families to resources, and build partnerships that lead to justice.

Savanna’s Act and VAWA Tribal Jurisdiction are reminders that policy can be powerful when it’s driven by love — the love of a mother searching for her daughter, a sister refusing to give up, a community determined to be heard.

As I’ve said before, visibility is a form of justice.
We keep names in the light until answers come.