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Coeur D'Alene Tribal Member Garners FBI Attention For Work To Combat Domestic Violence

Bernie LaSarte, of Idaho's Coeur D'Alene tribe is the only Native American to win the FBI's Community Leadership Award this year.
Emily Schwing
/
Northwest News Network
Bernie LaSarte, of Idaho's Coeur D'Alene tribe is the only Native American to win the FBI's Community Leadership Award this year.

The FBI is recognizing Coeur D’Alene tribal member Bernie LaSarte for her efforts to combat domestic violence in the Idaho Panhandle.



The FBI has named LaSarte one of 56 recipients from across the country who will formally accept a national Community Leadership Award in Washington, D.C., next month. LaSarte is also the only Native American recipient.

LaSarte started as the program manager for the Coeur D’Alene tribe’s domestic violence and sexual assault program in 2005. There were only four files on her desk. Since then, LaSarte has found enough funding to grow the program to reach hundreds of people who need help. 



“I don’t think people understand the impact of domestic violence and or sexual assault is really that great,” LaSarte said. “Indian women are beaten three and half times more than any other race. One in three women will be raped and on some reservations, that’s 100 percent.”

Eric Barnhart is the Special Agent in Charge at the Salt Lake City Field Office, which oversees operations in Utah, Idaho and Montana. He said the kinds of crimes LaSarte is trying to combat aren’t unique to Indian Country. 



“Domestic violence is probably one of the most underreported crimes we see in any demographic,” Barnhart said.



Copyright 2018 Northwest News Network

Emily Schwing
Emily Schwing comes to the Inland Northwest by way of Alaska, where she covered social and environmental issues with an Arctic spin as well as natural resource development, wildlife management and Alaska Native issues for nearly a decade. Her work has been heard on National Public Radio’s programs like “Morning Edition” and “All things Considered.” She has also filed for Public Radio International’s “The World,” American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and various programs produced by the BBC and the CBC. She has also filed stories for Scientific American, Al Jazeera America and Arctic Deeply.