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The federal government says it plans to spend $15 million over the next five years to help Native American people experiencing sexual and domestic violence, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The funding will go toward funding a national hotline operated by 

, a nonprofit that works to address domestic violence in Indigenous communities.

“By creating the first National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline, the Trump administration is responding to decades of tribal leaders’ advocacy for dedicated American Indian and Alaska Native domestic violence services,” said Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families.

More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women and men have experienced violence in their lifetime, according to a 2016 National Institute of Justice study.

Data collected in 2024 by StrongHearts Native Helpline in Minnesota shows that one of the leading barriers facing survivors of intimate partner violence was accessibility to mental health services.

StrongHearts Native Helpline was first started by the National Indian Women's Resource Center and has been addressing domestic violence in Indigenous communities for eight years.

The National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-844-762-8483, will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week by offering support through phone call, text and online chat.

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Melissa Olson

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The Trump administration is creating a national hotline for Native Americans experiencing domestic and sexual violence. 

A mother and child sit on a bed, their backs to the camera.

Feds to spend $15 million on helping Native domestic violence victims

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