The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) are postponing the 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation, originally scheduled for October 28-30, 2025.

NCAI thanks the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) for rescheduling the postponed 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation to January 21–23, 2026, at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. A virtual option will be available, as well. This will allow for greater participation by Tribal Leaders and stakeholders on the important issues that will be discussed.

NCAI will be rescheduling the Pre-Consultation Caucus. New dates and registration details will be shared as the event approaches.

2025 OVW Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a grant-making agency in the U.S. Department of Justice. Under §903 of Title IX of the United States Department of Justice Reauthorization and Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005), OVW is responsible for conducting annual government-to-government consultations with the leaders of all federally recognized Indian Tribal governments on behalf of the United States Attorney General.

The 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation HAS BEEN POSTPONED.

The purpose of each consultation is to solicit recommendations from Tribal government leaders on the following topics:

• Administering Tribal funds and programs;

• Enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking;

• Strengthening the federal response to such crimes, and;

• Improving access to local, regional, state, and federal crime information databases and criminal justice information systems.

Resources:

OVW NCAI Violence Against Women Task Force Caucus

The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women (VAW) will host a caucus for Tribal leaders and Tribal organizations.

The pre-consultation caucus has been POSTPONED.

The caucus will focus on the priorities for discussion at the Department of Justice’s annual government-to-government consultation among Tribal Nations and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

The caucus is a closed event intended only for Tribal leaders, Tribal proxies, and Tribal organizations. Registration is required. We ask that federal partners, press, and other third parties not attend.

Past Consultation Materials

2023 VAW Consultation

The following document is a highlight of resources provided in the 2023 Update on the Status of Tribal Consultation Recommendations provided in advance of the Department of Justice Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation. Click here to access the full resource from the Office on Violence Against women.

• Summary of Consultation: DOJ provided a written summary of high-level themes from consultations held in July and August 2022.

• Alaska Pilot Program: DOJ issued for Tribal review a paper outlining a proposed framework for implementing the Alaska Pilot Program, reflecting input already received from Tribal leaders and advocates.

• STCJ Reimbursement Program: OVW issued an interim final rule for VAWA 2022’s STCJ Reimbursement Program, as required by section 804 of the Act, which takes into consideration Tribes' stated need for a reimbursement process.

• MMIP: On May 5, 2023, DOJ issued a press release describing efforts to address the crisis of missing or murdered indigenous persons.

• MMIP: DOJ released a comprehensive federal law enforcement strategy to prevent and respond to violence against AI/AN people, including to address missing or murdered indigenous persons where the federal government has jurisdiction

• MMIP Regional Outreach Program: In June 2023, DOJ announced the creation of the MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which dedicates five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP.

• Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information: DOJ released a press release and further information on the 2023 expansion of the TAP program.

• Leveraging Funding with Tribal Affairs Division (TAD): OVW has taken steps to simplify the application process for Tribal-specific grant programs as well as increase award caps and project periods. TAD also updated and distributed the "Leveraging Funding Opportunities with TAD" video series with accompanying resource documents and worksheets.