The grants to indian tribal governments program assists tribal governments, and authorized designees of tribal governments, to 1) decrease the incidence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual…

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation $700,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Violence Against Women Discretionary Grants for Indian Tribal Governments program (CFDA 16.587). This is a continuation award.

The Yakama Nation will deliver services through its Yakama Nation Awtni Shixwit Iniit (Victims Resource Program), an agency of the tribal government, to address violence against Indian women in Toppenish, Washington. The program will provide transitional housing, support a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) liaison and victim advocate, conduct community outreach to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence and available victim services, and provide services to youth victims of dating, sexual, and domestic violence. The Lighthouse Survivor Service Organization has partnered with the Yakama Nation to plan this project.

The period of performance runs through September 30, 2028. The award supports the program's statutory purpose to increase tribal capacity to respond to violent crimes against Indian women and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving such crimes.

The grants to indian tribal governments program assists tribal governments, and authorized designees of tribal governments, to 1) decrease the incidence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, SEX trafficking, and stalking in tribal communities; 2) strengthen the capacity of tribes to exercise their sovereign authority to respond to these violent crimes; and 3) ensure that perpetrators of these violent crimes are held accountable for their criminal behavior. The confederated tribes and bands of the yakama nation is a federally recognized tribe located in washington. The yakama nation awtni shixwit iniit (victims resource program), an agency of the confederated tribes and bands of the yakama nation tribal government, works to address violence against indian women by providing social and support services for victims of domestic and dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault. With this funding, the yakama nation awtni shixwit iniit will: 1) provide transitional housing; 2) support an mmip liaison and victim advocate; 3) conduct outreach to the community to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence and the services available for victims; and 4) provide services to youth victims of dating, sexual and domestic violence. The confederated tribes and bands of the yakama nation have partnered with the lighthouse survivor service organization to plan this project. This is a continuation award.