Tribal Law and Order Bill Signed in to Law

The following is from an article I wrote for the Cour D'Alene's tribal newspaper.

On July 29th, President Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order bill into law after an introduction by a Sicangu Lakota woman whose attacker was never prosecuted following a 1994 rape. The bill is an effort to address what is called a crisis in law enforcement on Indian lands, especially crimes against women such as sexual assault and domestic violence.

Crime rates in Indian country are double the national average, and as much as twenty times the average on some reservations. Statistics such as these led Obama to state "all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to feel safe in their own communities. Studies have shown that one in three native women will be victims of Rape in their lifetimes. President Obama called such crime "an affront to our shared humanity".

Senate Committee Chairman on Indian Affairs Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) has long pushed to see the bill passed, calling it a top priority. He was also a co-sponsor of the bill.

The new law has several key provisions. The US Department of Justice is now required to maintain data on cases they decline to prosecute, which in some areas has been as high as 65%, and to share evidence with tribal officials. Tribal courts have been limited in passing sentences of no more than one year. This will now be expanded to three year maximum terms. Tribal police will be deputized to make federal arrests, and will have much greater access to resources such as the National Crime Information Center database.

The law will require tribal courts to provide defense counsel to any defendant facing more than a year's sentencing, as well as mandates tribal judges have sufficient courtroom training, and that they be federal, state, or tribal licensed to practice law. Tribal police will be required to receive special sexual assault training and crime scene processing. Recruiting for BIA, tribal police, and corrections officers will be increased, and BIA and tribal officers will be allowed to recieve their basic training at tribal police academies and community colleges that meet federal requirements.

All of these changes won't come without a cost, but tribes that can't afford certain provisions like providing defense counsel or housing inmates longer than the current one year maximum can opt out of these at their discretion.

Justice on Indian lands has been a long history of neglect, broken promises, and failed obligations to the people. Hopefully the Tribal Law and Order Act will be a good first step down a road to securing the peace, safety, and security so long overdue on Indian land.