“This administration is committed to building and sustaining safe and secure native communities across the country. 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. We have made solid strides in our work to improve public safety, ease and enhance tribes’ ability to receive federal support, and strengthen coordination and collaboration with our tribal law enforcement partners—but work remains, and our efforts continue daily.”
-- Attorney General Eric Holder
In June 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder launched a Department-wide initiative to enhance public safety in Indian County. Significant progress has been made since then. Here are highlights of the Department’s progress in the following areas: enhanced prosecution and training efforts; implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA); grant opportunities; general litigation; civil rights; and outreach and consultation.
Introduction of Legislation to Combat Violence Against Native Women
In July 2011, the Department of Justice proposed legislation that would significantly improve the safety of Native women and allow federal and tribal law enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes. This proposed legislation is included as tribal provisions in the current pending legislation that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and was passed by the Senate on April 26, 2012. The tribal provisions in the Act would address three legal gaps by: (1) recognizing certain tribes’ power to exercise concurrent criminal jurisdiction over domestic violence cases, regardless of whether the defendant is Indian or non-Indian; (2) clarifying that tribal courts have full civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders involving any persons, Indian or non-Indian; and (3) creating new federal crimes for serious cases of violence, like strangulation, committed against a spouse or intimate partner and providing more robust federal sentences for certain acts of domestic violence in Indian Country.
Native American Issues Subcommittee
U.S. Attorneys from 30 of 48 districts with Indian Country or one or more federally recognized tribes serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Council (AGAC) Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS). The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian Country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General regarding public safety and legal issues. In September 2010, NAIS and officials from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division conducted a field meeting in Missoula, Montana, where the subcommittee engaged tribal leaders on environmental and natural resource issues. In July 2011, the NAIS met in Rapid City, South Dakota, and on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, to hear from tribal leaders, law enforcement officials, and community members about public safety issues in Indian Country, including violence against Native American women. Attorney General Eric Holder, then-Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, Assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno, and other Department of Justice and Bureau of Indian Affairs officials participated in the meeting.
District-Level Operational Plans
In January 2010, then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden issued a memorandum to U.S. Attorneys declaring that “public safety in tribal communities is a top priority for the Department of Justice.” He directed that: (1) every U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) with Indian Country in its district, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, engage at least annually in consultation with the tribes in that district; and (2) every newly confirmed U.S. Attorney in such districts should conduct a consultation with tribes in his or her district and develop or update the district’s operational plan within eight months of assuming office, unless an extension of time is provided by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA).
Additional FBI Agents and Federal Prosecutors Assigned to Address Violent Crime in Indian Country
The Department added 28 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys dedicated to prosecuting crime in Indian Country in nearly two dozen districts. In addition, the FBI added 9 positions, including 6 agents to work on Indian Country investigations.
Additional Victim Specialists for Indian Country
In FY 2010, the FBI Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) added 12 additional Victim Specialist positions to provide victim assistance in Indian Country. The victim specialists have an invaluable role in Indian Country investigations, particularly in cases of domestic violence and child abuse, providing essential services and support.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Tribal Liaisons
Every U.S. Attorney with Indian Country jurisdiction has appointed at least one tribal liaison to serve as the USAO’s primary point of contact with tribes in the district.
Enhanced Training for Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Working in Indian Country
- In July 2010, EOUSA launched the National Indian Country Training Initiative to ensure that Department prosecutors, as well as state and tribal criminal justice personnel, receive the training and support needed to address the particular challenges relevant to Indian Country prosecutions. The training effort is led by the Department’s National Indian Country Training Coordinator. In 2011, the NICTI delivered training in 14 states and at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C. to approximately 2,500 federal, state and tribal stakeholders on a host of criminal justice issues.
- Through the Initiative, the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the Department is developing an important new training program for tribal law enforcement personnel and prosecutors that will help build tribal capacity to assume responsibility for enforcement of environmental and wildlife laws in Indian country.
Attorney General’s Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force
In 2011, the Attorney General launched a Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force composed of federal and tribal prosecutors. The Task Force was created to facilitate dialogue and coordinate efforts between the Department and tribal governments regarding the prosecution of violent crimes against women in Indian Country, and to develop best-practices recommendations for both federal and tribal prosecutors. The Task Force most recently met in May 2012 and completion of a resource manual for prosecutors responding to cases of intimate partner violence in Indian Country is planned for late summer.
Information Sharing with Tribal Governments
Since 2009, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Office has coordinated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs to increase the number of tribes that qualify for Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) eligibility. This has been accomplished primarily through liaison efforts and presentations to increase awareness at tribal law enforcement conferences.
Establishment of the Office of Tribal Justice as Separate Component within the Justice Department
On November 17, 2010, Attorney General Holder announced the establishment of the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) as a separate component within the organizational structure of the Department. OTJ has a key role in the Department’s ongoing initiative to improve public safety in Indian Country, and serves as an important resource on matters of Indian law.
Bureau of Prisons Pilot Project to House Tribal Offenders Sentenced in Tribal Courts
In November 2010, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) launched a four-year pilot program to accept certain tribal offenders sentenced in tribal courts for placement in BOP institutions. The pilot program allows any federally recognized tribe to request that BOP incarcerate a person convicted of a violent crime under the terms of the TLOA and authorizes BOP to house up to 100 tribal offenders at a time, nationwide.
Memorandum of Agreement on Alcohol and Substance Abuse
The Departments of Justice, the Interior and Health and Human Services entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that the agencies would collectively, among other things: determine the scope of the alcohol and substance abuse problems faced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, identify the resources each agency can bring to bear on the problem, and set minimum standards for applying those resources. This multi-agency collaboration has produced quarterly “Prevention and Recovery” newsletters with information about grant programs, tribal programs, and policy initiatives designed to address alcohol and substance abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The newsletters and more information about this evolving collaboration are available at www.samhsa.gov/tloa/.
Long Term Plan for Building and Sustaining Tribal Justice Systems
The Departments of Justice and the Interior, working in close coordination with other federal agency partners, developed a long term plan to build and sustain tribal justice systems. Formal consultation sessions and focus groups were held to develop the plan.
Rule on Assumption of Concurrent Federal Criminal Jurisdiction
The Department published its final rule in December 2011 to implement Section 221 of the TLOA, which authorizes the Attorney General to assume concurrent jurisdiction over crimes committed on certain tribal lands. Through this rule, an Indian tribe that is subject to Public Law 280 may request that the federal government accept concurrent jurisdiction within the tribe’s Indian Country and, if the Attorney General consents, federal authorities can investigate and prosecute criminal offenses. Several tribes have submitted requests for assumption by the Attorney General of concurrent federal criminal jurisdiction, which the Department currently is reviewing.
Native American Issues Coordinator Designated in EOUSA
The Department has created the position of Native American Issues Coordinator, designated in EOUSA. The Coordinator provides advice and assistance to USAOs on legal and policy issues pertaining to Native Americans and Indian Country, and serves as a liaison between the USAOs, the NAIS, and other Department components and law enforcement agencies.
Additional Resources to Combat Sexual Assault in Indian Country
In accordance with Section 265 of the TLOA, FBI’s Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) is partnering with the Indian Health Service to expand and support Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) programs in Indian Country.
Compendium of Crime Data for Indian Country
In June 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) issued a Compendium of Crime Date for Indian Country, which focuses on existing data on criminal justice issues in Indian Country.
Streamlined Grant Solicitation Process for Tribal Communities
- In February 2010, the Department announced a streamlined approach for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to apply for funding opportunities. The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single application for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The creation of this streamlined process comes in response to tribes’ concerns that the Department’s grants were not flexible enough, and that a single application would significantly improve the ability to apply for and receive funding.
- In September 2010, in the first set of CTAS grants, the Department awarded $127 million to more than 130 American Indian and Alaska Native communities to enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, prevent youth substance abuse, serve sexual assault and elder abuse victims, and support other efforts to combat crime.
- In September 2011, the Department awarded $118.4 million in CTAS grants to more than 150 American Indian and Alaskan Native nations to enhance law enforcement practices and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in eight purpose areas: public safety and community policing; methamphetamine enforcement; justice systems and alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; violence against women; elder abuse; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.
- The 2012 CTAS application season closed on April 18, 2012. Awards are expected to be announced in September 2012.
Historic Settlement of Trust Litigation
- In 2010, the Departments of Justice and the Interior reached a historic $3.4 billion settlement resolving the litigation in Cobell v. Salazar, an Indian trust class-action lawsuit that had been pending for 15 years. The settlement, approved by the court and by Congress, provides for payments to over 400,000 individual Indians who had Individual Indian Money accounts or an interest in trust or restricted land managed by the Department of the Interior.
- On October 21, 2011, the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and Treasury announced a final settlement to the long-running lawsuit by the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma regarding the United States’ accounting and management of the tribe’s trust funds and non-monetary trust assets. The U.S. will pay the tribe $380 million to compensate for claims of historical losses to trust funds and interest income as a result of the government’s management of trust assets.
- On April 12, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the settlement of lawsuits filed by 41 federally-recognized tribes against the United States, in which the tribes alleged that the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury had mismanaged monetary assets and natural resources held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribes. The announcement followed a 22-month-long negotiation between the tribes and the United States that has culminated in settlements between the government and tribes totaling more than $1 billion.
- The parties to the tribal settlements also will implement measures that will lead to strengthened management of the tribe’s trust assets and improved communications between the Department of the Interior and the tribe.
Securing Tribal Lands
- The Department helped the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe secure the existence and boundaries of its reservation through a settlement between the Tribe, the United States, the State of Michigan, and local governments, which included a series of landmark intergovernmental agreements that provide much-needed clarity regarding authority over law enforcement, child welfare, taxation, and land use matters. In addition, the Department successfully supported the existence of the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota by defeating claims that the reservation had been disestablished.
- The Department also successfully defended the Secretary of the Interior’s decisions to take land into trust for various tribes, which expanded their land bases and authority.
Preserving Tribal Culture through Access to Eagle Feathers
- In an important victory, the Tenth Circuit held in United States v. Wilgus that the government could provide tribal members with exclusive access to eagle feathers for religious purposes, under exceptions to federal laws prohibiting possession of these wildlife resources.
- The Department of Justice has also been working closely with the Department of the Interior and with tribes to facilitate tribal members’ access to eagle feathers for religious and cultural purposes. The Department has solicited tribal input on a proposed policy that would memorialize its practice, consistent with that of the Department of the Interior, of enforcing federal wildlife laws in a manner that respects the ability of federally recognized tribes and their members to use eagle feathers and other bird feathers and parts for cultural and religious purposes.
Supporting Tribal Courts and Tribal Sovereignty
- In Water Wheel Camp Recreation Area, Inc. v. Gary LaRance, the Department successfully supported tribal court jurisdiction to exclude non-Indians from tribal land. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling will help address long-standing problems with non-Indians encroaching on tribal lands and provides strong precedent in support of tribal courts.
- In the Supreme Court case of Hogan v. Kaltag Tribal Council and the Ninth Circuit case of Parks v. Native Village of Minto, the Department helped successfully support the inherent sovereignty of Alaska Native village tribal courts to adjudicate child custody matters.
Ensuring Tribal Access to Water
The Indian Resources Section of the Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) brought water rights claims for the benefit of tribes in order to secure safe and reliable drinking water for tribes, as well as water for sanitation, economic development, and other purposes. In particular, ENRD contributed to five landmark Indian water rights settlements which, when fully implemented, will resolve complex and contentious water rights issues in New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana.
Landmark Settlement Reached with Native American Farmers Claiming Discrimination by USDA
On October 19, 2010, Attorney General Holder and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a landmark settlement of the Keepseagle class-action lawsuit filed against the Department of Agriculture (USDA) by Native American farmers and ranchers. The settlement ends more than a decade of litigation concerning discrimination complaints from Native Americans generally covering the period from 1981 to 1999.
Prosecution of Hate Crimes and Human Trafficking
Since January 2009, the Department’s Civil Rights Division, working with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, has prosecuted civil rights crimes victimizing Native Americans through sex trafficking, hate crimes, and police brutality, including prosecuting:
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Defendants for sex trafficking Native American children and adults in South Dakota;
- Police officers for beating Native American victims in Arizona and Montana;
- Corrections officers for beating a Native American detainee in North Carolina;
- Defendants who committed hate crimes against Native Americans, including three defendants in New Mexico for using force to cause bodily injury to a Native American man under the Shepard Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 and two defendants who assaulted and threatened an Alaska Native in Anchorage.
Increased Cooperation and Consultation with Tribes
- In October 2009, the Attorney General convened the Department’s Tribal Nations Listening Session on Public Safety and Law Enforcement in St. Paul, Minn. Nearly 300 tribal leaders representing approximately 100 tribes attended the session. In addition to representatives from nearly all of the Department’s components, representatives of the Departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Homeland Security also participated.
- In July 2011, Attorney General Holder visited South Dakota to meet with tribal leaders in Rapid City and visited the Pine Ridge Reservation.
- In April 2012, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole attended the District of North Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Tribal Consultation Conference in Bismarck, and visited with high school students, tribal leaders and criminal justice personnel at the Standing Rock Reservation.
- The Department has engaged in dozens of consultations with tribes on issues important to public safety, justice and law enforcement, including violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women, implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, and the TLOA. The Department has also engaged in significant outreach on environmental and natural resource issues.
Tribal Nations Leadership Council
The Department established a Tribal Nations Leadership Council (TNLC), composed of tribal leaders selected by the tribes themselves and charged with advising the Attorney General on issues critical to tribal governments and communities. The TNLC has met several times with Attorney General Holder, most recently in December 2011, and is scheduled to meet again in July 2012.
The 12th National Indian Nations Conference
In December 2010, more than 900 persons attended the 12th National Indian Nations Conference on the Agua Caliente Reservation in California. Featured speakers included Attorney General Eric Holder and then-Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk. The event provided training for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges, health and mental health professionals, social workers, and victim advocates from tribal, federal, state, and local levels.
Consultation with Native Youth at the National Intertribal Youth Summit
In July 2011, 150 young men and women from tribes across the country attended the week-long National Intertribal Youth Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, featuring Administration officials from the White House and the Departments of Justice, the Interior, Health and Human Services, and Education. The Summit provided an opportunity for Administration officials to hear directly from youth in Indian Country on critical issues such as healthy relationships and lifestyles, education, substance and alcohol abuse, cultural preservation, community development, and protecting the environment. The 2012 National Intertribal Youth Summit is scheduled for July 28 – August 2 in Washington, D.C.
In October 2011, in accordance with the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the Attorney General submitted a report on the issue of prescription drug monitoring to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources. The report describes the capacity of Federal and tribal agencies to carry out data collection and analysis and information exchanges as described in the Act; training conducted for Indian health care providers, tribal leaders, law enforcement officers, and school officials regarding awareness and prevention of prescription drug abuse and strategies for improving agency resources for addressing prescription drug abuse in Indian communities; infrastructure enhancements required to carry out the activities described in the Act; and statutory or administrative barriers to carrying out the activities required by the Act. Read the full report at www.justice.gov/tribal/publications.html
