{"id":16349,"date":"2016-05-19T22:27:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T22:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/?p=16349"},"modified":"2023-09-18T22:38:05","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T22:38:05","slug":"tribal-task-force-against-sex-trafficking-mobilizes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/2016\/05\/19\/tribal-task-force-against-sex-trafficking-mobilizes\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribal task force against sex trafficking mobilizes"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY COLLEEN KEANE<\/strong>
\nSPECIAL TO THE TIMES<\/p>\n

ALBUQUERQUE<\/strong> \u2013 Remote homes, overworked police forces, border towns and open roads into other states make tribal lands fertile ground for sex trafficking, according to advocates raising awareness and reaching out to victims who need help escaping.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to take our blinders off. It is happening. It is real,\u201d said Bonnie Clairmont (Ho- Chunk Nation), a victim advocacy specialist at the Tribal Law and Policy Institute office in Saint Paul, Minn.<\/p>\n

Clairmont presented a two-day workshop on Sex Trafficking in Indian Country last week at the BIA training facilities here. With more than 30 attendees from tribal, state and federal agencies along with private citizens, the gathering was one of the first, if not the first, meetings of a statewide tribal task force to address sex trafficking.<\/p>\n

Attendees included staff from the New Mexico District Attorney\u2019s office, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, Indian Health Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women, tribal leaders, behavioral health specialists and private citizens, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first tribal task force of its kind in the country,\u201d said Clairmont adding that, \u201chearing back from tribes where I have done training, they are (now) identifying cases all of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the presentation, Loudine Wanoskia, a domestic violence client advocate for Jicarilla Apache\u2019s behavioral health department, said, \u201cI was skeptical (but it) opened my eyes. We cannot say it is not happening. We have to educate our people. A lot of this has to do with poverty, drugs and gangs on reservations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clairmont said sex trafficking on tribal lands is hard to detect because it takes many different forms and victims are afraid to speak up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be any one of us,\u201d she told the group explaining that victims can be any age. But, she added that the most vulnerable are children between the ages of 12 to 14, who are runaways, homeless, or have been in foster care, along with children who lack parental supervision. \u201cThey can be lured in by promises of money, drugs and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the reasons victims go unnoticed is because the right questions aren\u2019t being asked, Clairmont said. The questions that should be asked include: Are they free to come and go, owe money to someone, not getting paid for their work, work excessively long hours, fail to speak for themselves, along with concerns that they have a sense of lost time, look malnourished, lack personal belongings, appear anxious and fearful and have untreated illnesses or injuries.<\/p>\n

Based on information shared at the training, the answers to these questions don\u2019t stand alone; they have to be examined together and in context to the situation.<\/p>\n

For example, red flags should go up if a young woman comes into an emergency room and can\u2019t explain her bruises, while a \u201cso called\u201d boyfriend hangs around watching her every movement; a frail, young child without supervision is hoarding food; or a young person shows up all of a sudden with name brand-shoes or clothes.<\/p>\n

Social media plays a big part in it all, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now there are 200 plus ads online commoditizing and selling young Native women and men in the Albuquerque area alone,\u201d according to a notice sent out about the training.<\/p>\n

Another reason it\u2019s hard to recognize sex trafficking is because victims aren\u2019t coming forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victims fear for their lives if they identify themselves,\u201d said Clairmont, adding that they may face physical abuse, threats against their family and withdrawal of basic needs like food and a place to live. Also, often their identification is taken away from them and some are dependent on drugs.<\/p>\n

Clairmont advised that one way to combat sex trafficking is for community people to have their ears to the ground and take up the role of the \u201cnosey Auntie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need to be nosey. It\u2019s knowing who is in your community. Ask (youth), \u2018Where are you going? Who is responsible for you?\u201d\u2019 she advised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get a handle on this,\u201d said Joslin Walker, Din\u00e9 who is from the Ramah Navajo community and now lives in Albuquerque. \u201cI want to bring more awareness about the probability and prevalence of (sex trafficking) on reservations.\u201d<\/p>\n

While presenters reported that trafficking is happening within families, it\u2019s also happening on the outskirts of tribal lands within border towns, especially where there\u2019s high mineral exploration and drilling going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lots of mobility; lots of men who are not partnered, it\u2019s a bad combination,\u201d noted Clairmont.<\/p>\n

Mark Chino (Mescalero Apache), a former tribal president and a retired law enforcement officer, said he hopes tribal leaders get to trainings like this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a constant process of education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Combining their resources, task force members are reaching out to victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding this training will help our services providers, advocates and leaders to understand the indicators of trafficking and what they can do to respond and intervene,\u201d said Deleana OtherBull, CSVANW executive director.<\/p>\n

Under the Victims Rights and Reparation Assistance program, human trafficking victims are eligible for housing, medical and social service resources.<\/p>\n

Before beginning the training, Clairmont extended her respects to the Din\u00e9 Nation for the tragic loss of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike, who was sexually assaulted, kidnapped and murdered near her home near Fruitland, N.M.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the reason we are here, so that these things don\u2019t happen,\u201d added Clairmont.<\/p>\n

Victims of human trafficking or anyone who is concerned about a victim, can call the Attorney General\u2019s office at 1-866-627-3249 or text 505-GETFREE hotline.<\/p>\n

More information: getfree.org, tlpi. org, csvanw.org and tribalcoalitions.org<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SUBMITTED<\/p>\n

This diagram, which shows the cyclical nature of sex trafficking and how victims have a hard time escaping, is one of many tools available for educational purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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