UPDATE: The 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation, originally scheduled for October 28 – 30, 2025 has been postponed to January 2026 due to the federal government shutdown, which has interfered with the government’s ability to ensure sufficient representation from federal agencies at the Consultation, as required by the Violence Against Women Act. We regret any difficulty this postponement causes you. Additional details will be available soon.

Please direct questions about the Consultation to OVW’s Acting Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs, Rebekah Jones, (202) 532-3287, and/or Ginger Baran Lyons, (202) 598-9445.

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Dear Tribal Leader,

We are honored to invite your participation in the 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation to be conducted, in person, October 28-30, 2025, at the Mystic Lake Center, Prior Lake, Minnesota. The Department of Justice will be joined by other federal stakeholders, including our colleagues from the United States Departments of Health and Human Services and the Interior. We will conduct the Tribal Consultation over three full days.

Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 20126, the purpose of the Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation
is to solicit recommendations from Tribal leaders on the following four topics:

• Administering Tribal funds and programs;
• Enhancing the safety oflndian 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.

A copy of the 2024 Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation Annual Report of Proceedings will be emailed to you and posted on the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) website at: www.justice.gov/ovw/tribal-consultation. OVW will also email and post any consultation framing papers and related materials along with OVW’s update report on the status of 2024 consultation recommendations. Logistical information about the Tribal Consultation and registration will be available soon at: www.ovwconsultation.org.

We look forward to seeing and hearing from you in October. If you have questions about the Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation, please contact OVW’s Acting Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs, Rebekah Jones, at: Rebekah.Jones@usdoj.gov or (202) 307-6026.