Justice Issues: Tribal Justice

Justice Issues

Tribal Justice

BJA is committed to preventing and controlling crime, violence, and substance abuse and improving the functioning of criminal justice systems in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. BJA works with tribes providing leadership, good management, and quality services in grant administration and policy development, and coordinates with other U.S. Department of Justice components and other agencies and organizations to ensure that limited federal funds are used to achieve the maximum possible benefit.

At BJA, we are committed to:

Working collaboratively with American Indian and Alaska Native officials to build safer, better, and more caring communities.
Partnering with tribal officials to develop, implement, and enhance justice systems that reflect community values, needs, and expectations.
Fostering communication and developing viable partnerships among tribal, federal, state, and local units of government to coordinate and resolve jurisdictional issues, which is necessary for the effective administration of justice.
Preventing and controlling crime, alcohol, and substance abuse.
Stopping the spread of methamphetamine into tribal communities.
Resolving community differences through traditional dispute resolution and alternative sanctions.
Enhancing the technological capacity of tribal information systems to share justice-related information with offices and agencies internal and external to the jurisdiction.
Providing assistance to plan and construct correctional facilities on tribal lands for the incarceration of offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction.

Programs
BJA administers three tribal justice programs. Eligible applicants under the following programs are limited to federally recognized tribal governments, including Alaska Native villages and corporations, and authorized tribal consortia.

Tribal Courts Assistance Program
Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program
Correctional Facilities on Tribal Land Program

Training
BJA provides training and technical assistance on a variety of tribal justice issues to Indian Country.

The Tribal Judicial Institute at the University of North Dakota Law School is the lead training and technical assistance provider for the Tribal Courts Assistance Program and coordinates with a consortium of organizations that include but is not limited to Fox Valley Technical College, the National Tribal Judicial Center at the National Judicial College, National Tribal Justice Resource Center, Center for Court Innovation, and the Alaska Native Justice Center. Training and Technical Assistance is provided to TCAP grantees and non-grantees to plan, develop implement, and enhance tribal justice systems (traditional courts and western-style, restorative justice, wellness courts and drug courts, ICWA, judges and clerks training, family violence, gangs, code development, etc.).

The Criminal Justice Center for Innovation at Fox Valley Technical College is the lead training and technical assistance provider for the Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program. Fox Valley coordinates with the Tribal Judicial College at the University of North Dakota Law School, the National Tribal Judicial College, the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, and the Alaska Native Justice Center. Training and technical assistance is provided to IASAP grantees and non-grantees to develop, implement, and enhance tribal justice strategies to address crime issues related to alcohol and substance abuse.

Justice Planners International provides training and technical assistance to tribes in developing strategies to cost effectively plan, renovate, and/or construct facilities associated with the incarceration of juvenile and adult offenders subject to tribal jurisdictions.

Upcoming Training:
Advance Court Clerk/Administrator Training 1st Annual Tribal Court Conference: Strengthening Tribal Courts August 5-7, Minneapolis, Minneapolis
BJA, in conjunction with the University of North Dakota Law School, Tribal Judicial Institute, is sponsoring a training for advanced court clerks and administrators. The training will provide training on a variety of issues to tribal court personnel. Immediately following this training will be the 1st Annual Tribal Court Conference. This conference will include sessions on such topics as Child Support Enforcement; Recent Developments in Domestic Violence Laws; Court Budgets, Grants Management, and Funding Opportunities; How to Develop a Strategic Plan for Tribal Courts; Recent Developments in Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction and Juvenile Delinquency; Recent Developments in Indian Child Welfare and Child Deprivation; Achieving Full Faith and Credit through the Law and through Comity; The Importance of Court Orders in Child Welfare Cases; Ethical Considerations for Tribal Courts; Developing Codes and Policies; Basic Court Administration and Personnel Management; and Learning from Traditional Dispute Resolution Methodology. For additional information, go to www.law.und.edu/tji/events.php.

Alaska Tribal Court Training, August 11- 13, 2009, Fairbanks, Alaska
BJA, in conjunction with the National Tribal Judicial College and Tanana Chiefs, is sponsoring training that will focus on juvenile, domestic violence, and children's cases; judicial code development; writing orders; and tribal state relations. Participants will explore the concepts of comity, full faith and credit, and due process as well as the important subject of code development. Other areas include understanding the role of the court clerk, handling juvenile cases, domestic violence cases, and children's cases. Along with panel discussions from tribal and state judges, participants will receive instruction on the movement of a case through the court system from start to finish. For additional information, please go to www.judges.org/ntjc.html.

Essential Skills for Tribal Appellate Court Judges, August 31- September 3, 2009, Reno, Nevada
This course, sponsored by BJA in conjunction with the National Tribal Judicial College, is designed to help tribal court judges develop and apply the skills necessary to be an effective appellate court judge. It will benefit those new to the bench and those who have experience on the bench by enhancing skills in the areas of group decision-making, logical reasoning, legal analysis and opinion writing. For additional information, please go to www.judges.org/ntjc.html.

Practical Approached to Family Issues in Tribal Court, September 14-17, 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
This BJA-sponsored training program is hosted by the National Tribal Judicial College. The training will provide participants with strategies for handling some of the most challenging cases facing tribal judges and related court personnel: family law and dependency cases. For additional information, please go to www.judges.org/ntjc.html.

Tribal State Judicial Symposium, September 24-25, 2009, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
BJA, in conjunction with the National Tribal Judicial College, is sponsoring a symposium for members of tribal, state, or federal court in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona to continue their collaboration, share knowledge and resources, and enhance tribal, state, and judicial relations. For additional information, please go to www.judges.org/ntjc.html.

Tribal Court Management of Alcohol and Drug Cases, October 12-15, 2009, Reno, NV
This training is sponsored by BJA and conducted by the National Tribal Judicial College. The training is offered to tribal court teams to learn how to effectively manage drug and alcohol cases in tribal court. Participants will learn to assess the extent of the alcohol and substance abuse problem in their tribal community; outline the physiological and pharmacological aspects of alcohol and drugs; interpret alcohol and drug test results; and select appropriate judicial strategies and tools for the treatment process. For additional information, please go to www.judges.org/ntjc.html.

Multi-Jurisdictional Training Conference November 4-6, 2009 Green Bay, WI
This BJA sponsored training event is hosted by Fox Valley Technical College. This conference focuses on developing stronger relationships between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement agencies. The conference theme, "Working Together to Serve Better" has evolved to include the improvement of working relationships with social service agencies, the court system, educators, gaming security personnel, and community leaders. For additional information, please go to www.fvtc.edu/iasap.

Related Publications
Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (IASAP) Fact Sheet
Tribal Courts Assistance Program Fact Sheet
Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Program Fact Sheet

For more links, search our Related Web Sites database.

Other Information
For related research and evaluation information, visit the National Institute of Justice web site, and for statistical information, go the Bureau of Justice Statistics web site.