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Tribal Justice

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Justice Programs Council on Native American Affairs (JPCNAA)

The Justice Programs Council on Native American Affairs is the senior-level policy body chartered in 2005 by OJP's Assistant Attorney General to enhance coordination across OJP and to develop consistent tribal justice and safety policy and strategies. The Assistant Attorney General chairs the council and the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General serves as the Vice-Chair. Council membership includes all senior-level OJP officials, who designate tribal liaisons from their respective bureaus and offices. The council meets semi-annually to address opportunities, programs and issues of concern to native communities, and to coordinate outreach and consultation on justice and safety issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Native programs nationwide. The JPCNAA also serves as an advisory body to other Department of Justice agencies, bureaus and offices.

The council meets semi-annually. The council helps to identify opportunities, programs, and address issues of concern to Indian Tribes and Native communities, coordinates, outreach and consultation on justice and safety issues affecting the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native American justice programs nationwide. The JPCNAA also serves as a liaison advisory body to other Department of Justice agencies, bureaus and offices that desire to participate on the council.

Tribal Justice and Safety Website

OJP Members

  • Bureau of Justice Assistance
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Office
  • National Institute of Justice
  • Office of Administration
  • Office of Audit and Assessment Management
  • Office of the Chief Financial Officer
  • Office of Communications
  • Office of the Chief Information officer
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
  • Office of the General Counsel
  • Office for Victims of Crime
  • Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking

Other DOJ Members

  • Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
  • Community Relations Services
  • Executive Office of United States Attorneys
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation – Indian Country Unit
  • Office of Civil Rights
  • Office of Tribal Justice
  • Office on Violence Against Women

Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS)

The Department of Justice created the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation in response to Tribal leaders’ requests to improve the grant-making process and to strengthen tribal capacity for strategic community-based justice system planning. Through CTAS, federally-recognized tribes and tribal consortia are able to submit a single application for most of the Justice Department’s tribal grant programs.

OJP Member Tribal Websites

  • BJA - Bureau of Justice Assistance
  • BJS - Bureau of Justice Statistics
  • NIJ - National Institute of Justice
  • OJJDP - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
  • OVC - Office for Victims of Crime
  • SMART - Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking

Other DOJ Members Tribal Websites

  • Civil Rights - Office of Civil Rights
  • COPS - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
  • CRS - Community Relations Services
  • ENRD - Environmental & Natural Resources Division
  • FBI - Indian Country Unit
  • OTJ - Office of Tribal Justice
  • OVW - Office on Violence Against Women

JPCNAA Workgroups

JPCNAA Tribal Public Relations, Consultation, Education and Outreach Workgroup

Purpose: Ensure a coordinated approach for all tribal press and related public relations activities; educate tribes about OJP and other DOJ components; develop internal communications strategies; and maintain the Tribal Justice and Safety Website.

JPCNAA Research, Data Collection and Information Sharing Workgroup

Purpose: Improve the coordination among OJP and other DOJ components working on Indian country issues to improve the quality, accessibility, and completeness of tribal justice statistics, research, evaluation, information technology and information sharing.

JPCNAA Youth Initiatives Coordinating Workgroup

Purpose: Improve coordination and information sharing between OJP and other DOJ components on Department initiatives and programs for youth, such as Tribal Youth program, Drug Endangered Children, AMBER Alert, Defending Childhood and others.

JPCNAA Tribal Grants Policy/Training & Technical Assistance Workgroup

Purpose: Develop an OJP tribal grants policy; coordinate OJP training and technical assistance providers serving Indian country; and develop and implement a training & technical assistance process which can serve as a model for other DOJ components.

JPCNAA Federal Employee/Workforce Native Education & Training Workgroup

Purpose: Support the Indian Affairs Executive Working Group's online training program designed for federal workforce education and training about American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and provide recommendations to tailor the same training programs to DOJ objectives.

Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information

The U.S. Department of Justice launched the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP) in August 2015 and has expanded yearly to provide Tribes access to national crime information systems for federally authorized criminal and non-criminal purposes.

The Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives

On November 26, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13898, forming the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.  The Task Force, designated Operation Lady Justice, aims to enhance the operation of the criminal justice system and address the legitimate concerns of American Indian and Alaska Native communities regarding missing and murdered people – particularly missing and murdered women and girls.

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