Michelle Rivard-Parks, Heeding her ‘call to action’

By: Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald, February 27, 2011 - original article

From reservation to Washington, D.C., UND prof works to reduce violence against women and children

As a tribal prosecutor on the Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation, Michelle Parks regularly came face to face with people affected by one of the most vexing problems challenging Indian Country.

As a tribal prosecutor on the Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation, Michelle Parks regularly came face to face with people affected by one of the most vexing problems challenging Indian Country.

“I saw domestic violence on a regular basis,” she said. “I saw systemic problems in how we were responding to it, including breaks in communication between service providers, law enforcement and the courts.

“And I saw how domestic violence is not something that just happens ‘in the moment’ but has far-reaching consequences, and it affects not just the immediate victim but children, the extended family and society as a whole.”

Parks, now tribal attorney at Spirit Lake and an adjunct member of the UND Law School faculty, was appointed recently to a new U.S. Justice Department task force on violence against women in Indian Country .

Attorney General Eric Holder announced formation of the task force on Jan. 21.

“We know too well that tribal communities face unique law enforcement challenges and are struggling to reverse unacceptable rates of violence against women and children,” Holder said.

The task force is to produce a manual to guide federal prosecutions of violence against women in Indian Country. It also is to recommend prosecution strategies involving domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Violence against American Indian women occurs at epidemic rates, according to the Justice Department. In a 2005 study, Congress determined that nearly a third of all American Indian women are raped during their lifetimes, and American Indian women are almost three times more likely than Caucasian women to be battered in their lifetimes.

“It’s a big problem.” Parks said. “But I have to be optimistic for the women and children. If we aren’t optimistic, how can we expect them to hope for a day when this all changes.

“And something is always reminding me that change is happening. I see it each time I see someone who was victimized but now is healing and is out advocating for others, working to change what doesn’t work in the system.

“We have to credit the many, many strong Native women who have dedicated their lives to this. It’s a national movement, and it’s a powerful thing.”

‘A huge honor’

The 13-member prosecution task force includes the U.S. attorney for Nebraska and assistant U.S. attorneys from five other Western states, as well as judges, prosecutors and attorneys from several Indian nations.

Kathryn Rand, interim dean of the UND Law School, said Parks — a 1999 graduate of the school — “has become an increasingly respected advocate for tribal government and tribal law and order, and this appointment is a huge honor for her.”

In addition to serving as tribal attorney for the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe and as a special judge for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, she teaches Law School courses on tribal economic development and tribal law.

“She also serves as associate director of our Tribal Judicial Institute, the nation’s premier provider of technical assistance and service to tribes in developing and enhancing tribal justice systems,” Rand said.

“She’s very talented and has no lack of energy, and she is committed to improving tribal-state relations, not just in North Dakota but across the nation.”

Parks was born and raised in a small town in northern Saskatchewan and claims Scot, French, Danish and Cree Indian roots.

She came to the United States to attend the University of Mary in Bismarck, where she had a volleyball scholarship. She studied law at UND, graduating in 1999.

“I always knew I wanted to go into law,” she said. “My father often said I was a talker, someone who would argue frequently.”

As a law student, she had participated in a clinical courtroom program at Spirit Lake, and the tribal council offered her a job upon graduation as a prosecutor. Three years later, she became tribal attorney, working with the council on contracts and other legal matters. She also worked with Spirit Lake’s “wellness court,” designed to help at-risk Indian youth navigate through legal problems.

“I was a little surprised by the passion of the people I met, how much they cared,” she said. “It was inspiring, how they dedicated themselves to the kids.

“And it was surprising how much I identified with the community and its values, values that reflected my own upbringing: respecting your elders, treating others with kindness and respect, honoring the opinions of others, and all the family connections and how important they are.”

‘Historical trauma’

Why, then, the pervasive problem of domestic violence?

Part of the answer must be “historical trauma,” Parks said, a breakdown of social norms and values that many American Indians attribute to national Indian policies of the past, including the removal of so many children to boarding schools.

“That loss of connection to culture and values — that loss of identity — was targeted federal policy and had an effect,” she said. “That healthy American Indian family unit is still alive and well throughout Indian County, though. It’s just not the one we hear or read about.”

The tribal justice system on many reservations is hampered by large caseloads, limited resources and burnout, Parks said, hampering the struggle against domestic violence. Victim advocates, law enforcement agencies, judges and others may lack training, especially in how to work together.

She has been working with others at Spirit Lake to improve responses to violence against women and children, including developing a sex offender registry.

“I’ve always cared about the issue,” she said, but she felt a “call to action” when a woman, beaten and threatened, fled directly to Parks’ office when she was a prosecutor.

“It was a profound thing to me, that a victim of such a crime would think the prosecutor’s office was the first place she should go,” as opposed to friends’ homes, a hospital, the victim’s assistance office or the police.

“The victim assistance program out there is wonderful,” Parks said. “They’ve been blazing a trail in community education,” and that work has led to formation of a statewide coalition of American Indian women, “all the tribes coming together to work on issues they have in common.”

Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com.

Michelle Rivard Parks. Herald photo by John Stennes.