[Senate Hearing 111-263]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-263
EXAMINING THE INCREASE OF GANG ACTIVITY IN INDIAN COUNTRY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 30, 2009
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska
JON TESTER, Montana
TOM UDALL, New Mexico
AL FRANKEN, Minnesota
Allison C. Binney, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
David A. Mullon Jr., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on July 30, 2009.................................... 1
Statement of Senator Dorgan...................................... 1
Statement of Senator Franken..................................... 4
Article, dated August 6, 2009, from Native American Times.... 6
Statement of Senator Johnson..................................... 3
Witnesses
Cowboy, Sampson, Executive Director, Department of Public Safety,
Navajo Nation.................................................. 46
Prepared statement........................................... 48
Mousseau, Hon. Hermis John, Chairman, Tribal Judicial Council,
Oglala Sioux Tribe; accompanied by Paul Iron Cloud, CEO, Oglala
Sioux Housing Authority and Paul Forney, Gang Specialist,
Oglala Sioux Department of Public Safety....................... 9
Prepared statement with attachments.......................... 11
Nissen, Hon. Brian, Council Member, Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation; accompanied by Matt Haney, Chief of
Police, Colville Tribe......................................... 41
Prepared statement........................................... 42
Smith, Carmen, Chief of Police, Warm Springs Tribal Police
Department; accompanied by Bill Elliot, Detective.............. 50
Prepared statement........................................... 53
Appendix
Cantwell, Hon. Maria, U.S. Senator from Washington, prepared
statement...................................................... 65
Cook, Robert B., President, National Indian Education
Association, prepared statement................................ 68
Elliott, William V., Detective, Warm Springs Tribal Police
Department, letter to Carmen Smith............................. 84
Puyallup Tribe, prepared statement with attachments.............. 71
Ragsdale, W. Patrick, Director, Office of Justice Services,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior,
prepared statement............................................. 67
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Byron L. Dorgan
to:
Hon. Hermis John Mousseau.................................... 90
Carmen Smith................................................. 91
Shuravloff, Marty, Chairman, National American Indian Housing
Council, prepared statement.................................... 87
Wyden, Hon. Ron, U.S. Senator from Oregon, prepared statement.... 65
EXAMINING THE INCREASE OF GANG ACTIVITY IN INDIAN COUNTRY
----------
THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:15 p.m. in room
628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Byron L. Dorgan,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON L. DORGAN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
The Chairman. I will call the hearing to order. This is a
hearing of the Indian Affairs Committee in the United States
Senate.
I am pleased to welcome the newest Member of our Committee
today, Senator Al Franken from the State of Minnesota.
Senator Franken, welcome to our Committee and we look
forward to working with you.
Senator Franken. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am
honored.
The Chairman. The Committee is meeting today to discuss the
increase of gang activity in Indian Country, resulting from a
series of reports that have been released recently. I do want
to say that I believe we are going to have four votes starting
somewhere around 3:00 or 3:15 this afternoon. We have four
witnesses at this hearing, and I expect that we will probably
complete within about an hour. And we appreciate very much
having the witnesses join us.
In recent months, we have received detailed testimony about
the public safety crisis that exists on many of our
reservations across the Country. As you know, tribes face an
epidemic of domestic and sexual violence against women. Reports
indicate that more than one in three Native American woman will
be raped or sexually assaulted. Two in five will suffer from
domestic violence.
Many reservations face violent crime rates that are
multiples of the national average. In my State of North Dakota,
the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation had a violent crime
rate of 8.5 times, not double, triple or quadruple, but 8.5
times the national average in 2008.
If you are part of a population with a violent crime rate
8.5 times the rest of the Country, you don't feel very good
about your daily life. Safety is very important. And the fact
is, the Congress has not done its job. We have signed the
treaties. We have made the promises. We have a trust
responsibility to provide for law enforcement on these
reservations, and frankly, we have fallen short.
We are trying very hard to put together a piece of
legislation dealing with law enforcement. John Harte, our
Policy Director, Allison Binney, the Staff Director of our
Committee, Dave Mullon and others from our Committee have been
around the Country meeting and visiting with Indian tribes,
Indian leaders and members of tribes to talk about this crisis
and what we can do to address it.
Past reports have noted that reservation gangs, gang
activity, were relatively unorganized, and the crimes were
limited. But these crimes are escalating, and on June 30, just
weeks ago, of this year, the Department of Justice reported
that ``native gangs'' are now involved in more violent offenses
such as sexual assault, gang rapes, home invasions, drive-by
shootings, beatings, and elder abuse.
I recently held a field hearing with Senator Kyl in the
State of Arizona. At that hearing, a tribal leader testified
that 55 drive-by shootings had occurred on her reservation of
8,000 people in one year.
The Committee has also received testimony that non-Indian
gangs are exploiting the lack of police presence and complex
jurisdiction that exists in Indian Country. When you have a
reservation such as the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that I
have just described, straddling North and South Dakota, and
that reservation, the size of the State of Connecticut, has 9
or 10 police officers to do 24/7 law enforcement, it does not
work.
It means that a serious crime in progress with a call to
the police may result in law enforcement showing up in an hour,
maybe 12 hours, maybe the next day. I mean, that is the
distance, and the few number of police officers available on
many of these reservations.
The average native gang member is 15 years old and getting
younger, and police report that gangs use Indian children as
young as eight to carry drugs and be involved in gang
activities to avoid prosecutions.
The American Indian youth are at the bottom of nearly every
national indicator of well being. Indian kids commit suicide at
twice the rate of the general population, but in the Northern
Great Plains, it is much, much higher than that, in some cases,
five and ten times. The reservation I just described, the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, since January 1 of this year has had
11 suicides and 51 suicide attempts.
We are trying very hard to address these issues. As I
conclude, I want to just show two photographs. Native youths
are turning to gangs, we are told. They do that, we are told,
to fill a void in the form of protection or family or in some
cases have no other alternatives.
These are two photographs of American native teenage boys
involved in gang activity at the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Councilman Mousseau will expand on these photos, I am sure.
These are very stark images. One teen is holding an assault
weapon, the other receiving a gang-related tattoo. These are
lost boys. They have no direction, and the end result of their
path is violence.
This violence erupted on the nearby South Dakota
reservation two years ago when two 14 year old girls stabbed a
15 year old girl to death in a gang-related incident. These
senseless killings occur and this one occurred days before
three other girls had committed suicide on the same
reservation.
The problem with youth violence in Indian Country is that
it is often unpunished, and that it escalates. The offenders
are not provided mental health because adequate mental health
services don't exist.
The crimes graduate then to rape and to murder, and
frankly, we need a better response. Federal laws and lack of
funding limit the tribal juvenile justice system. And because
of this, tribes often rely on the Federal juvenile justice
system and that simply doesn't work. The Bureau of Prisons
reports that 143 juveniles in total are incarcerated in the
Federal system; 116 are Indians. That is 81 percent of the
Federal juvenile population.
We need stronger tribal and Federal juvenile systems. We
need to provide opportunities for Indian youth to deal with
gang violence, education opportunities, treatment
opportunities, and most importantly, a safe environment in
which to live. Gang activity, I might say, is just one other
symptom of a culture of violence that exists on too many
reservations.
I want to thank the witnesses who have traveled here today,
and I want to thank especially all of those law enforcement
officers who work on Indian reservations, understaffed,
overworked, and do the best job they can in a very difficult
circumstance.
It is my determination that the work on this Committee is
to try to do an Indian law enforcement bill this year. We have
introduced it. It has broad bipartisan support. The Vice
Chairman of this Committee, Senator Barrasso, Senator Kyl from
Arizona and many others, including Members of the majority
side, have worked to put together a bill. We are continuing to
perfect it, and we hope very much to pass it in this Congress.
I appreciate my colleagues being here.
Senator Johnson, did you have an opening statement?
STATEMENT OF HON. TIM JOHNSON,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Johnson. Yes, I do.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your scheduling this
important hearing.
I would also like to welcome Mr. John Mousseau, Tribal
Councilman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
Accompanying him is Paul Iron Cloud, CEO of Oglala Sioux
Housing Authority. Thank you both for being here today. Your
first-hand knowledge of the effects of gangs in Indian
communities is invaluable.
I hope this Committee works quickly and effectively to
address the roots of violence in Indian Country. When given the
tools to do so, our tribal leaders are capable of restoring
civility, justice and respect in their own communities.
Thank you and I will submit my complete statement for the
record.???
The prepared statement of Senator Johnson follows:]
The Chairman. Senator Johnson, thank you very much.
And Senator Franken?
STATEMENT OF HON. AL FRANKEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA
Senator Franken. Thank you, Chairman Dorgan, for holding
this important and timely hearing. This is my first hearing as
a Member of the Committee, and I want to take a minute to
extend my sincere gratitude to all my colleagues for their warm
welcome. I am honored to join the Indian Affairs Committee
which plays such an important role for our tribal communities
all across the Country, and for the 11 tribes that we have in
Minnesota.
And it is a special honor to serve on this Committee on the
same Committee that my good friend and predecessor, Paul
Wellstone, served on.
Chairman Dorgan, your work on this Committee and throughout
the Senate is a blueprint for sensible and bipartisan policy-
making. I have long admired your leadership on issues important
to rural communities and native communities, and I am honored
to serve alongside of you.
When I discovered that I was to become a member of this
Committee, I noticed something about its makeup. Interestingly,
I represent the most eastern State. The overwhelming majority
of the 13 States represented are distinctively western.
Minnesota is unique. The Mississippi runs through the middle of
our State, dividing the rolling hills and deep valleys of the
East from the open western prairie.
In some ways, we are a western State. Up north, we have
strong rural communities that neighbor endless miles of public
lands. But at the same time, with our dense urban populations,
we are also eastern. In fact, Minneapolis has one of the
largest urban Indian populations of any American city.
Across our State from the most rural northern corners to
the most urban southern streets, you will find vibrant tribal
communities. This is a unique perspective that I hope to bring
to this Committee. So I look forward to working with all my
colleagues to help these communities, urban or rural and on
both sides of the Mississippi.
Now, let me turn to the incredibly important issue that we
take up today. Across the Country, violence is threatening the
health of many of our tribal communities. As most of you
remember, a few years ago the Red Lake Reservation in Red Lake,
Minnesota suffered a heart-wrenching tragedy. On the morning of
March 21, 2005, a tormented 16 year old boy killed his
grandfather and his grandfather's girl friend. He later drove
his grandfather's police car to Red Lake Senior High School,
where he shot and killed seven people.
But the violence that we are witnessing is not isolated on
rural reservations or limited to an individual tormented youth.
Two of our largest problems are the trafficking of drugs and
the trafficking of young native women between urban areas and
reservation land.
The Drug Enforcement Agency reports that an increasingly
large percentage of the cocaine distributed in Minnesota is
done by Native American gangs. In a recent Native American
Times article, it was noted that ``reservations offer near-
perfect hideouts and lucrative markets. They're often remote
with few businesses and job opportunities. Selling drugs means
easy money. Doing them means escape.'' The article goes on to
highlight some of the ground-breaking work being done in
Minnesota and Wisconsin to crack down on tribal crime. In
Wisconsin, tribes have banded together to form a one of a kind
task force that could be a template for other States to follow.
I am very eager to hear from each of the witnesses about
their initiatives and their programs. And I would like to ask
unanimous consent that this article from Native American Times
be included in the record.
The Chairman. Without objection.
Senator Franken. Thank you.
[The referenced document follows:]
Senator Franken. Back in Minnesota and all across the
Country, young native women are also falling victim to sexual
crimes and increased trafficking. Sadly, women who come forward
to report sexual violence are caught in a jurisdictional maze
that Federal, State and tribal police often cannot quickly sort
out.
I am scheduled to preside over the Senate in about 20
minutes, so I apologize for not being able to stay for the
entire hearing, but I look forward to working with all my new
colleagues to find new and effective ways to protect our tribal
communities from the destructive impacts of crime.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Franken, thank you very much.
Next, we will ask the witnesses to come forward. We have
the Honorable John Mousseau, a Tribal Council Member and
Chairman of the Tribal Judicial Council at the Oglala Sioux
Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota; the
Honorable Brian Nissen, the Tribal Council of the Confederated
Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State; Mr.
Sampson Cowboy, Director, Department of Public Safety at the
Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona; and Mr. Carmen Smith,
the Chief of Police, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Warm
Springs, Oregon.
Let me thank all of you for joining us today. As I
indicated, we will begin a series of votes on the Senate Floor,
so I would ask that you would attempt to summarize your
statements. Your entire statements are a matter of the
permanent record. As is usually the case, we will ask the
witnesses to summarize in five minutes, and then we will have
questions of the Committee.
Mr. John Mousseau, thank you for being here from South
Dakota. I know Senator Johnson and I are very appreciative of
your work down there. So why don't you proceed?
STATEMENT OF HON. HERMIS JOHN MOUSSEAU, CHAIRMAN, TRIBAL
JUDICIAL COUNCIL, OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE;
ACCOMPANIED BY PAUL IRON CLOUD, CEO, OGLALA SIOUX HOUSING
AUTHORITY AND PAUL FORNEY, GANG
SPECIALIST, OGLALA SIOUX DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
Mr. Mousseau. Thank you. First I wanted to say good
afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee who have
joined us today.
In light of my testimony, a couple of days ago we did have
another gang-involved shooting where a young gentleman did lose
his life. So it is an ongoing problem.
And just to introduce myself, my name is Hermis John
Mousseau. I am a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. I
am also the Chairman of our Tribal Judiciary Committee. I am
also a former Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Officer and former
Chief of Police.
And I want to thank you for allowing my testimony on the
gang problem on our reservation, which to this day is still an
ongoing problem.
Also accompanying me here today is Mr. Paul Iron Cloud, the
Director of Housing Authority; and also Mr. Paul Forney, the
gang expert from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public
Safety.
Mr. Chairman, this issue is very important for me because
in 2003, I was wounded in the line of duty by a tribal gang
member when I was called to address a domestic disturbance.
During that incident, I was forced to shoot the individual and
memories like that live with you forever. And to this day, I
can still remember the sound of that gun.
Violent crime is increasing on our reservation every day.
Just this past weekend or a couple of weeks ago, we had a
stabbing, a shooting and person brutally attacked by a gang
member. The week before that, on July 12, one of our female
police officers was brutally attacked by a gang member when she
attempted to arrest him and she was forced to shoot the
individual in order to save her own life. Now we have blogs,
gang tags, and open talk in the gang community threatening the
lives of that officer and also other police officers who work
on our reservation. So she and her immediate family had to go
into hiding.
This same female officer had her arm broken a year ago
before when she attempted to arrest another known gang member
for another domestic disturbance, and that heroic officer has
gone through all this for a salary of $35,000 a year, with no
health benefits and no police retirement.
While our police department lacks the resources necessary
to track all gang-related activity on our reservation, we have
identified at least 39 gangs operating on our reservation in a
community of roughly 50,000 plus members. And we have logged
8,816 gang-related calls in the fiscal year 2008. This is up
from 7,721 gang-related calls that we were able to log in 2006.
These calls range from simple assaults and burglaries to life-
threatening fights and gun-related charges. Each one of these
calls endangers the officers who respond and each one of these
calls means that another member of our community has been a
victim of some type of gang-related activity.
We have now included for your information the charter of
our gang-related offense for calendar years 2006 and 2008. And
we have also included a youth survey which was done by one of
our consultants in April and May of this year. Participants in
this survey were 1,137 students on our reservation schools. The
results of that survey revealed that 55 percent of those
students surveyed reported being a victim of gang-related
activity; 72 percent reported having been threatened personally
by a gang or gang member; and only 65 percent reported that
they felt safe from gang activity at school. Only 35 percent of
those surveyed said they felt safe from gang-related activity
in their own immediate community.
So anyone that says gang activity does not impact
educational advancement is very wrong. Gang activity started on
our reservation because our young people were unhappy,
powerless and bored. The joblessness and poverty on the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation has led far too many of our people
towards alcohol and drugs.
In the past few years, we have seen more outside
lawbreakers moving onto our reservation. It is not unusual to
see a Mexican National fall in love with one of our tribal
members and later where they are now selling drugs out of this
housing development house.
Drugs are coming every day from Minneapolis, Denver and now
Omaha. Large urban-based gangs such as the Texas Syndicate,
Indian Mafia, Native Mob, MS-13, and Surenius-affiliated gangs
now have members appearing on our reservation. To add to our
fears, the Hells Angels biker gang has recently bought a bar in
Scenic, South Dakota, less than 20 miles from our reservation
border. Another biker gang affiliated with the Bandidos has
been recruiting and they now have a base of operations in Pine
Ridge, South Dakota.
Drug trafficking on the western side of our reservation
relates mostly to marijuana and cocaine, while meth use is
increasing every day. Because of the remoteness of our
reservation, its centralized location in the United States, its
jurisdictional complexities, and lack of police manpower, we
have become a prime target area for gang-related crime and
trafficking.
To talk more about those poster boards we showed, those are
some gang members that we deal with every day. The gentleman
getting the tattoo was a member of our Wild Boys gang and the
guy who was giving the tattoo was a second generation gang
member. And the other one is from one of our closer housing,
Madison Housing, where they call themselves the AIMster
Gangster, which is a generational gang.
To make matters worse, all of our police officers have to
work alone, and backup is generally at least 40 minutes away.
We have single officers walking alone into parties with 20 or
more intoxicated or drugged individuals, often with gang
affiliations.
Mr. Chairman, while we appreciate very much what you are
trying to do to increase the BIA enforcement budget, I
respectfully tell you that it is simply not enough. Of the
increase proposed in 2010, we at Pine Ridge are hearing that we
will only get an increase of $125,000. While we appreciate it
very much $125,000 to address 8,816 or more incidents of gang
violence, plus our 65,000 regular calls, does not go very far.
It does not even give us one more officer per shift.
Forgive me for speaking this bluntly, but the simple truth
is we need more officers and we need them now. We have 5,000
gang members, but we also have 45,000 scared law-abiding people
whose lives I have sworn to protect. Please help me in any way
you can to accomplish this goal. We need more personnel to
provide youth-based prevention activities in and after school.
We need more investigators to review and investigate cases at
the tribal level. We also need more officers to respond to
these calls and merely to prevent the burnout of our current
officers.
Finally, we need more staff in internal affairs to ensure
that our citizen complaints are handled in a timely manner.
I would like to ask our Housing Authority Director, Mr.
Paul Iron Cloud, to speak just for a little bit on the impact
the gangs are having on the daily lives of our children.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Mousseau follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Hermis John Mousseau, Chairman, Tribal
Judicial Council, Oglala Sioux Tribe
Good Afternoon Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
My name is Hermis John Mousseau and I am a member of the Oglala
Sioux Tribal Council. I am also the Chairman of our Tribal Judiciary
Committee, a former Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Officer and a former
Oglala Chief of Police. Thank you for allowing me to present testimony
on the gang problems which are today endangering lives in my tribal
community.
Mr. Chairman, this issue is very personal for me because in 2003 I
was wounded in the line of duty by a tribal gang member when I was
called to address a domestic disturbance. During that incident, I was
forced to shoot that individual and memories like that stay with you
forever.
Violent crime is increasing on our reservation every day. Just this
past weekend, we had a stabbing, a shooting, and a person brutally
attacked by a gang member. A week before that, on July 12th, one of our
female officers was brutally attacked by a gang member when she
attempted to arrest him, and she was forced to shoot that individual in
order to save her own life. Now we have blogs, gang tags and open talk
in our gang communities threatening the life of that officer and she
and her immediate family have had to go into hiding. This same female
officer had her arm broken a year before when she attempted to arrest
another known gang member for another domestic disturbance and that
heroic officer has gone through all of this for a salary of about
$35,000 a year with no health benefits and no police retirement.
While our police department lacks the resources necessary to track
all gang-related activity on our reservation, we have identified at
least 39 gangs operating in our community of 50,000, and we have logged
8,816 gang-related calls in FY 2008. That is up from the 7,721 gang-
related calls that we were able to log in FY 2006. These calls range
from simple assaults and burglaries, to life threatening fights and gun
related charges. Each one of these calls endangers the officer who
responds, and each one of these calls means that another member of our
community has been a victim of some type of gang related activity.
We have included for your information a chart of our gang related
offenses for calendar years 2006-2008. We have also included a youth
survey which was done by one of our consultants in April and May of
this year. The participants in that survey were 1137 students in our
on-reservation schools. The results of that survey revealed that 55
percent of those students surveyed reported being a victim of gang
related activity, 72 percent reported having been threatened personally
by a gang or gang member, and only 65 percent reported that they felt
safe from gang activity at school. Only 35 percent of those surveyed
said that they felt safe from gang related activity in their own
immediate community. So anyone that says that gang activity does not
impact educational advancement is very wrong.
Gang activity started on our reservation because our young people
were unhappy, powerless and bored. The joblessness and poverty on Pine
Ridge has led far too many of our people towards alcohol and drugs, and
because we have no adequately funded programs or residential treatment
facilities to address this alcoholism and drug problem, we have a large
number of minors who live in alcoholic families and simply do not want
to go home. This coupled with our lack of after school programs, youth
recreation centers and youth employment monies has left many of our
young people receptive to gang life . For young people who have never
had a $20 bill to spend, the promise of easy money for stealing a few
items and selling a few drugs has been hard for many of our teenagers
to resist. Now, we have families who have three generations of gang
members in their homes.
Over time, as drugs have become more common, our gangs have become
more brazen and fights over territory and drug sales has escalated.
Today, we have gangs being formed just to protect their members from
other gangs, and to allow their members to move freely across our
reservation without fear of attack or intimidation. We also have gangs
which were formed just to keep watch out for the police, so people
could smoke a little dope and get drunk without the threat of arrest or
attack from another gang.
In the past few years, we have seen more outside law breakers
moving on to our reservation. It is not unusual to see a male Mexican
national ``falling in love'' with one of our female tribal members and
before long he is selling drugs out of her on-reservation home. Drugs
are coming in every day from Minneapolis and Denver, and now from
Omaha. Large urban based gangs such as Texas Syndicate, Indian Mafia,
Native Mob, MS-13, and Surenios affiliated gangs now have members
appearing on our reservation. To add to our fears, the Hells Angels
biker gang has recently bought a bar in Scenic, South Dakota less than
20 miles away from our reservation border. Another biker gang
affiliated with the Bandidos has been recruiting and they now have a
base of operations in of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Drug trafficking on
the western side of our reservation relates mostly to marijuana and
cocaine, but meth use is increasing every day. Because of the
remoteness of our reservation, its centralized location in the United
States, its jurisdictional complexities, and its lack of police
manpower, we have become a prime target area for gang related crime and
drug trafficking.
But here are most telling statistics: 50,000+ people, a land base
the size of Rhode Island, 39 gangs and 12 police officers per shift--if
no one is sick or on injured reserve. At Pine Ridge, we receive
approximately 73,000 calls for police service each year. That is about
6,083 calls per month. We are forced to answer those calls with 48
police officers. Now 48 police officers divided by 4 shifts equates to
12 officers per shift. That means that each officer has to respond to
506 calls per month. That is not manageable for a police officer in an
urban area where the call is a few blocks away, but it is impossible
for us because most of our calls are 50 or 60 miles apart. As a result,
we have a sizable number of calls that simply go unanswered and when
our officers can respond, our response time generally runs around 1
hour, for even the most serious acts of violence. That means by the
time we respond, the activity is generally over and the perpetrators
have left the scene. The office responding would like to investigate
what happened and arrest the people involved, but by that time he or
she generally has another two or three calls backed up and has to leave
to try to help someone else.
To make matters worse, all of our police officers have to work
alone and backup is generally at least 40 minutes away. We have single
officers walking alone into parties with 20 or more intoxicated or
drugged out individuals, often with gang affiliations, or with a
subject banishing a deadly weapon and they know going in that they are
completely on their own.
Mr. Chairman, while we appreciate very much all that you are trying
to do to increase the BIA law enforcement budget, I must respectfully
tell you that it is simply not enough. Of the increase proposed in
2010, we at Pine Ridge are hearing that we will only get an increase of
around $125,000, and while we appreciate that very much, $125,000 to
address 8,816 or more incidents of gang violence, plus our 65,000
regular calls, does not go very far. It does not even give us one more
officer per shift. Forgive me for speaking this bluntly, but the simple
truth is we need more officers and we need them now! We have 5,000 gang
members, but we also have 45,000 scared law abiding people whose lives
I have sworn to protect. Please help me in anyway that you can to
accomplish that goal.
We need more personnel to provide youth based prevention activities
in and after school. And we need more investigators to review and
investigate cases at the tribal level. We also need more officers to
respond to these calls and merely to prevent the burnout of our current
officers. Finally, we need more staff in internal affairs to ensure
that our citizen complaints are handled in a timely manner.
Thank you again for this opportunity to speak to you about these
very serious issues. I will be happy to answer any questions that you
may have.
Attachments
The Chairman. Mr. Mousseau, let me get the other witnesses'
testimony. We will come back if we have time for some comments
from your Housing Director, if that is all right with you.
Mr. Mousseau. Yes.
The Chairman. The Honorable Brian Nissen, Tribal Council,
the Confederated Tribes in Washington State. You may proceed.
Thank you for being with us.
STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN NISSEN, TRIBAL COUNCIL,
CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE COLVILLE RESERVATION; ACCOMPANIED BY
MATT HANEY, CHIEF OF POLICE,
COLVILLE TRIBE
Mr. Nissen. Good afternoon, Chairman Dorgan, Members of the
Committee. My name is Brian Nissen, member of the Colville
Business Council, which is the governing body of the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. I appreciate
this opportunity to testify today on the increased gang
activity in Indian Country.
I will be particularly discussing Colville's challenges in
addressing gang activity, and a couple of examples of recent
incidents, and maybe a few ideas for some recommendations to
improve our current situation.
Accompanying today I have Matt Heney, our Chief of Police,
who will be able to assist answering any questions.
Before I begin, I would like to commend the Committee and
Members of the Committee and Committee staff on their efforts
and the support for continued work on the Tribal Law and Order
Act of 2009. The Colville Tribe is fully supportive of this
important legislation and very grateful for the Committee's
willingness to consider some suggestions and other
recommendations from Indian Country in order to make the bill
more effective.
The Colville Reservation is approximately 2,300 square
miles located in north central Washington State. Although we
are now considered a single tribe, the Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation is made up of a confederacy of 12
aboriginal bands spread out throughout Eastern Washington.
Currently, we have just over 9,350 enrolled members, making us
one of the larger tribes in the Pacific Northwest.
Although we are sparsely populated in this area, we still
generate high demands for police services. Tribal gangs and
predominantly Hispanic gangs are both attempting to exert
control in areas of our reservation. Recently, the conflict has
progressed from really threats to attempted murders. Much of
the violence seems to be focused on new recruitment and defense
of territories. Right now, we believe there are at least six
gangs active on the reservation, two of which are predominantly
Hispanic and based off the reservation bounds.
Two recent incidents illustrate the severity of the gang
problem on the reservation, one of which a Hispanic member of
the SUR 13 Crip gang, which originated in Southern California
in the 1960s, who was beaten so severely that he suffered
permanent brain damage. A second incident occurring in May of
this year began as a fist fight between Hispanic members of the
SUR 13 and Colville Tribal members of the Bloods gang. It
escalated, each of them gathering reinforcements and culminated
in a shooting. One person was injured, and currently the
suspect is a Colville Tribal member. He was a juvenile at the
time and now faces Federal charges for attempted murder.
Currently, the tribe has contracted law enforcement
services through the Bureau of Indian Affairs under a 638
contract, but because of funding limitations, we are only able
to have three officers on duty at any given time. And to
further illustrate this funding limitation, the tribe's
contribution to our police department exceeds the amount that
we receive from the BIA under the 638 contract. Because of this
lack of funding, as was mentioned earlier, the response times
to some of our remote areas of our reservation exceed over two
hours.
You know, apart from law enforcement, we are making
attempts to address the gang violence through education and
intervention activities. We have a BIA-funded school on the
reservation. The Paschal Sherman Indian School is a K-8 school
that incorporates tribal culture into its curriculum. As gang
activity has increased, however, we have observed tribal youth
openly rejecting our tribal culture and values such as respect
for elders and family members.
In response, we have included some cultural practices and
beliefs, and including some of our tribal elders in some of the
efforts to curtail this violence.
Despite these efforts, we still have reports of our young
women, ages 13, 14, 15 being raped by these gang members. The
worst thing about it is they have fear to come forward to have
anything done because their lives have been threatened, their
families have been threatened if they are to come forward.
I also have some personal implications. Some of my family
members, my younger brother was involved in gang activities and
he went down that path. Sorry.
Let me say that, we are pleased that the Tribal Law and
Order Act of 2009 we believe contains thoughtful provisions
that address some of these issues. We have a list of
recommendations, and I would just like to highlight a couple of
them.
First being to continue to emphasize the United States
Attorneys' trust responsibility to investigate and prosecute
violent crimes in Indian Country, particularly major crimes. We
also ask you to authorize new programs or augment existing
programs that provide grants to schools on or near Indian
communities that have demonstrated gang problems, to implement
culturally appropriate education, prevention and intervention
activities similar to what we are attempting at Paschal Sherman
Indian School.
This concludes my report at this time. I appreciate
everybody's time and am open for questions following.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nissen follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Brian Nissen, Council Member, Confederated
Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Good afternoon Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and members
of the Committee. My name is Brian Nissen and I am a member of the
Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Confederated
Tribes of the Colville Reservation (``Colville Tribe'' or ``Tribe''). I
appreciate this opportunity to testify today on the increase of gang
activity in Indian country. Specifically, I will discuss the Colville
Tribe's challenges in addressing gang activity, provide examples of
recent gang related incidents on the Colville Reservation, and provide
recommendations on how the current situation can be improved.
Accompanying me today is Matt Haney, the Chief of Police of the
Colville Tribe, who will assist me in answering questions.
Before I begin, I would like to commend the members of the
Committee and the Committee staff for their support for and continued
work on the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009. The Colville Tribe
enthusiastically supports this important legislation and is grateful
for the Committee's willingness to consider our suggestions and other
recommendations from Indian country to make the bill even more
effective.
Gang Activity on the Colville Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation encompasses approximately 2,275
square miles and is in north central Washington State. Although now
considered a single Indian tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation is, as the name states, a confederation of 12
smaller aboriginal tribes and bands from all across eastern Washington.
The Colville Tribe has nearly 9,300 enrolled members, making it one of
the largest Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest. About half of the
Tribe's members live on or near the Colville Reservation.
The Colville Reservation is divided into four districts (Omak,
Nespelem, Inchelium and Keller) that correspond to the population
centers on the Reservation. The Omak district includes approximately
half of the town of Omak, Washington, which is the largest town in
Okanogan County. Although the Nespelem, Inchelium and Keller districts
have seen an increase in gang activity, by far the highest incidence of
known gang activity occurs in the Omak district.
Tribal gangs and predominately Hispanic gangs from Mexico are both
attempting to assert control in the Omak area. The conflict between the
rival gangs has progressed from threats to attempted murder. Much of
the violence associated with gang activity on the Colville Reservation
appears to be focused on the recruitment of new members and the gangs'
defense of their prospective territory. These territories are important
to the gangs in part due to drug distribution and gang recognition. The
Tribe believes that at least six distinct gangs are active on the
Colville Reservation, two of which are predominantly Hispanic gangs
based outside the Reservation and the other four gangs predominated by
tribal members.
Two recent incidents illustrate the severity of the gang problem on
the Colville Reservation. One incident occurred on April 16, 2008, when
the Tribe's police officers responded to an assault victim in the
Moccasin Flat housing development outside the town of Omak. Moccasin
Flat is one of the older Department of Housing and Urban Development
communities in the Omak area. A Hispanic male was found lying in a
ditch and had been beaten badly. The victim was well known to the
Colville Tribal Police and to other tribal law enforcement as a member
of the SUR 13 gang. SUR 13 stands for ``Surenos 13,'' a gang affiliated
with the Crips that originated in southern California in the 1960s.
The Tribe's investigation revealed that the victim had gone to a
party in the Moccasin Flat BUD site that was mainly attended by younger
tribal members between the ages of 15 and 25. Shortly after arriving,
the victim was seen by a witness walking out of the house with several
people. The witness saw that the victim had taken off his blue bandana,
which signified that he was not seeking a confrontation. Upon going
outside, the victim was attacked by several members of the party.
Ultimately, he was left lying in a ditch with severe injuries.
Colville Tribal Police interviewed several individuals who attended
the party, all of whom denied that they were gang members even though
members of the tribal community and tribal law enforcement routinely
observed them wearing gang colors, passing gang signs, and promoting
their gang affiliation on websites such as My Space. None of these
individuals, most of whom are Colville tribal members, were willing to
identify the assailants. To date, no arrests have been made and the
case remains open. The victim suffered permanent brain damage.
A second, even more disturbing incident occurred on May 4, 2009,
within the city limits of the town of Omak on the Colville Reservation.
The incident began as a fist fight between Hispanic members of SUR 13
and Colville tribal members of the Bloods, escalated when each side
gathered reinforcements, and culminated in a shooting.
The victim, a Hispanic male, and his friends were in a car driving
in east Omak when a tribal member, dressed in red, threw a rock at
their car. As the victim exited the vehicle to confront the rock
thrower, another car arrived and one of its occupants, also wearing
red, retrieved a rifle from the car and opened fire. At least 18 rounds
were fired, with the victim being struck once. Residents corroborated
the victim's account and the suspect was later identified and arrested.
The suspect, a Colville tribal member, was a juvenile when the
incident occurred and is currently facing federal charges for attempted
murder.
Law Enforcement Challenges to Gang Activity on the Colville Reservation
As noted above, the Colville Reservation encompasses nearly 2,300
square miles. This area, while sparsely populated, generates a high
demand for police services. The Colville Tribe has contracted law
enforcement services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (``BIA'') under
a 638 contract. Because of BIA funding limitations, however, only three
tribal officers are available on any given shift to respond to calls.
To illustrate these funding limitations, this year the Colville Tribe's
contribution to the Tribe's Police Department exceeds the amount the
Tribe receives for law enforcement from the BIA under its 638 contract.
This lack of funding for law enforcement personnel translates into
response times that often exceed two hours for calls to the more remote
areas of the Reservation.
In absence of agreements with local governments, our tribal
officers are generally responsible only for calls involving tribal
members. Both the Okanogan and Ferry County Sheriffs Departments are
severely understaffed, which has, for practical purposes, required the
Colville Tribe to ensure that its officers are cross commissioned and
can also enforce state laws within the boundaries of the Colville
Reservation. To the extent that they are able, both Okanogan and Ferry
counties assist the Tribe when they are called and the Tribe has a
cooperative relationship with law enforcement from both counties.
Ideally, the Colville Tribe's officers would have sufficient
resources in the form of manpower and training to address the
burgeoning incidence of gang violence. In most cases, our officers know
the individuals involved and could make a dramatic impact on the
proliferation of gangs on the Reservation by preventing gang membership
by vulnerable tribal youth. As in many Indian communities, nearly
everyone knows each other's families. Tribal law enforcement leaders
are constantly looking for opportunities to engage tribal members in
``non-enforcement'' situations in order to build relationships that
will transcend traditional police officer stereotypes held by some in
our community. This change cannot occur, however, until additional
resources are available for tribal officers to allow for proactive, as
opposed to reactive, policing.
Education and Intervention Activities
Apart from law enforcement, the Tribe has also attempted to address
gangs through education and intervention activities. The Colville
Reservation is home to a BIA-funded school that has incorporated a
variety of strategies to deter tribal youth from gang activity. Located
just outside Omak, Washington, the Paschal Sherman Indian School
(``PSIS'' or the ``School'') is a K-8 school that incorporates tribal
culture into its curriculum. The School's mental health professionals
and teachers work with students in group settings to discuss a variety
of issues related to gangs within the tribal community. The School has
recognized that a group environment more effectively fosters open
discussion and awareness among the students of gang activity than other
classroom methods.
PSIS staff have found that many of the School's students identify
with the color red, a color associated with gangs, and tend to defend
the importance of the color and how it represents a sense of pride. In
conjunction with the group sessions, the School utilizes video programs
to challenge the students' beliefs and to communicate the reality of
gang life. An underlying theme in many of these sessions is how many
families on the Colville Reservation have multiple generations that
have been incarcerated for gang related criminal activity.
Many of the School's students feel, with these programs, they have
a safe place to explore and discuss their concerns about peer pressure,
gang violence, and the actual consequences of how their choices can and
will impact their futures. As gang activity has increased on the
Colville Reservation, the Tribe's members and law enforcement officers
have observed some tribal youth openly rejecting tribal culture and
values, such as respect for elders and family. In response, PSIS has
expanded the group discussions to include cultural beliefs and how
tribal elders would respond to the development of gangs in the
community. The increase in the number of Colville tribal youth that are
being held by the Okanogan County Juvenile Department in recent years
for gang related criminal activity has also highlighted the negative
impact of gang activity for the School's students.
Recommendations
Like many other Indian tribes, the Colville Tribe is hampered by
insufficient funding, insufficient legal authority to fully punish
offenders, and the reluctance of federal authorities to investigate and
prosecute violent crimes that occur on the Colville Reservation. As the
Committee is aware, when the United States declines to prosecute crimes
in Indian country, tribal courts are only empowered to sentence
perpetrators of any crime, regardless of its severity, to one year in
jail. The May 4 gang shooting in Omak is illustrative of this
predicament. Had the United States Attorney declined to prosecute, as
is often the case, the only option for the Tribe would have been to
prosecute the suspect for attempted murder under Colville Tribal law,
with a maximum sentence of one year. The Colville Tribe is pleased that
the tribal Law and Order Act of 2009 contains provisions that address
many of these issues.
Based on our experience with gang activity on the Colville
Reservation, we offer the Committee the following recommendations:
Continue to emphasize at any given opportunity that United
States Attorneys must perform their trust responsibility to
investigate and prosecute violent crimes in Indian country,
particularly major crimes;
Continue to impress upon the Administration and the
appropriators the need to increase funding for BIA law
enforcement services and to ensure that any increases are used
to put additional officers in Indian country;
Authorize a new program (or augment existing programs) that
would provide for grants to schools on or near Indian
communities that have demonstrated gang problems to implement
culturally appropriate education, intervention and prevention
activities similar to what the Colville Tribe is currently
doing at the PSIS;
Ensure that existing gang prevention initiatives such as
Police Activities Leagues and School Resource Officers are made
available by the BIA to those Indian tribes that wish to
implement these activities, including providing training to
tribes that request it; and
Identify and eliminate existing regulatory barriers that
prevent the most effective use of tribal law enforcement
resources. For example, the Colville Tribe has been working
with the Committee to clarify in the Tribal Law and Order Act
that Special Law Enforcement Commission Agreements should
reflect the status of certified individuals as federal law
enforcement officers for liability purposes when enforcing
tribal laws. This technical change would relieve the Colville
Tribe and other similarly situated Indian tribes from the need
to purchase expensive umbrella liability insurance policies to
cover instances where tribal officers might be sued in their
individual capacities for good faith enforcement of tribal
laws. Addressing this gap would allow tribes to use their
resources for more critical purposes, such as paying for
additional shifts or hiring new officers. This change also
makes sense because in many cases, specifically where tribes
have contracted law enforcement under P.L. 93-638, tribal
officers by default investigate and enforce violations of both
federal and tribal laws.
This concludes my statement. At this time, I would be happy to
answer any questions the Committee may have.
Supplementary Information
Thank you Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and members of
the Committee for allowing me to provide supplemental information for
the Committee's record in connection with the July 30, 2009, oversight
hearing on the increase of gang activity in Indian country. Again, I
would like to commend the members of the Committee and the Committee
staff for their support for and continued work on the Tribal Law and
Order Act of 2009. This legislation will address many of the issues
discussed during the hearing, specifically the lack of patrol officers,
jurisdictional complexities, and the reluctance of federal law
enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute crimes in Indian
country.
Chairman Dorgan mentioned in his opening statement that past
reports indicated reservation gangs have been relatively unorganized
and that gang-related crimes were limited but escalating. We are
saddened to report that on August 8, 2009, a 25 year-old man from
Lapwai, Idaho, was shot in the head shortly after midnight in Omak on
our reservation in a drive-by shooting. The shooting occurred in an
area known for drug and gang activity and the Colville Tribal Police,
together with other law enforcement agencies, are currently
investigating whether the shooting is related to gang activity. As of
this writing, no suspects have been arrested and the victim remains in
critical condition. Like Chairman Dorgan, we echo the statement ``we
need a better response'' to address this complex issue.
At the conclusion of the July 30 oversight hearing, Chairman Dorgan
requested that the witnesses supplement the record to address what
their respective tribes would do to address gang activity through means
other than law enforcement if they were provided with additional
resources. The Colville Tribes' response would be to engage with our
youth in ways that are relevant and meaningful to them. With additional
resources to invest in our youth, the Tribes would choose to develop
and implement multidisciplinary art and multimedia projects throughout
the year, either in after school programs or on weekend evenings, to
provide constructive outlets, encourage collaboration and reinforce
self-esteem and cultural identity for youth, and particularly for those
not thriving academically. Musical and theatrical performances would be
used to foster collaboration. Other elements of the curriculum would
incorporate lessons learned from providing these outlets in therapy and
in jail settings as well as those learned from use of role-play and
drama in schools to improve verbal skills and encourage creative
dispute resolution. Murals could cover graffiti. Scheduling regular
public shows would focus these sessions and engage the larger community
in this work. To the greatest extent possible, broadcast and print
media would also be used to disseminate what the youth produce.
Additional resources would also be helpful to support development and
maintenance of a community radio project we've been working on for
years.
While these projects focus on engaging youth in our community in
constructive ways and serve as a deterrent to gang activities, the
Colville Tribes are also looking to alternative sentencing and
peacemaking programs as a way to combat the erosion of tribal authority
in prosecuting major crimes. The Colville Tribes are implementing, and
would continue to implement if provided additional resources, a
Peacemaking Court. As the Committee is aware, Peacemaking courts allow
for the resolution of conflicts using tribal traditions, customs and
culture. Although not fully developed and implemented, the Colville
Tribes plan to use this process in some capacity first with youth,
introducing them to a culturally-based method that fosters respect for
all including self and acknowledging responsibility. If feasible, the
Peacemaking Court would then be expanded to include adult cases. The
Peacemaking Court that the Colville Tribes is implementing would, among
other things, (a) call on the wisdom and experience of Tribal elders;
(b) address youth in conflict as a whole person to find the root causes
of inappropriate or irresponsible behavior; (c) focus on restoration in
the community rather than punishment; (d) mentor the youth in cultural
traditions and rituals; and (e) give to the youth and invite the youth
to give back to the community. Ultimately, the Peacemaking Court seeks
to attain peace through healing by healing the causes of the behavior
and the damage to the community caused by the behavior. Additional
financial support would allow for the development, implementation and
ongoing costs of culturally-based processes like the Peacemaking Court
that hold youth accountable to their communities.
Finally, in addressing Chairman Dorgan's statement at the hearing
that the ``problem with youth violence is that it goes unpunished and
then it escalates,'' the Colville Tribes continues to be concerned
about finding the most appropriate mechanisms to encourage lawful
behavior within the Colville Reservation. The Tribes recently
disseminated a survey to our tribal citizens that sought their views
about the types of penalties that should be available for criminal
conduct. The survey included options for economic disincentives such as
withholding per capita payments, banishment and, in extreme cases,
disenrollment. The limits imposed on Tribal governments resulting from
the Indian Civil Rights Act make it difficult to always ``make the
penalty fit the crime,'' but it may also result in a consideration of
other mechanisms to address criminal behavior.
The more authority that can be returned to Indian tribes to tailor
our response to crime in our communities, the more likely our efforts
will be effective in preventing and deterring it. It is our belief that
we must tie our response to criminal behavior to our culture so that
our people see clearly the link between the laws to which they are
subject and the ways of our people.
Again, we appreciate the Committee's willingness to examine these
issues and look forward to continuing to assist the Committee in any
way we can in addressing the causes and responses to gang activity in
Indian country.
The Chairman. Mr. Nissen, thank you very much.
Next, we will hear from Mr. Sampson Cowboy, Director of the
Department of Public Safety at the Navajo Nation, Window Rock,
Arizona.
Mr. Cowboy, thank you.
STATEMENT OF SAMPSON COWBOY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY, NAVAJO NATION
Mr. Cowboy. Good afternoon. Chairman Dorgan and Members of
the Committee, thank you for allowing the Navajo Nation to
testify today regarding gang activity in Indian Country.
My name is Sampson Cowboy and I am Executive Director for
the Navajo Division of Public Safety. I am President Shirley's
designee at today's hearing. I would like to thank my staff
also.
The famous phrase that is always used, ``We do more with
little,'' and that is what is happening in Navajo Nation. I
want to make it clear that Navajo Division of Public Safety
agrees with you, Chairman Dorgan, that this issue has been
analyzed and analyzed and analyzed, and we need an appropriate
amount of funding so that Navajo Nation law enforcement has
adequate resources to address and combat these issues.
Moreover, the Navajo Division of Public Safety agrees with
the June, 2009 report from the Department of Justice that
tribal communities and Federal law enforcement must have the
flexibility to react to specific offenses and also to work
collaboratively to address proactively up and coming criminal
trends. Federal money and dedicated personnel can then leverage
and maximize assisting tribal efforts.
My testimony today is divided in three parts: the
community, with a brief introduction describing Navajo Division
of Public Safety; provide Committee with the background of
statistical information; and Navajo efforts to curtail
proliferation of gangs. Lastly, I will provide the Committee
with our recommendations on how stakeholders involved can
successfully counter gang activities.
Navajo Division of Public Safety background. The Navajo
Division of Public Safety has an annual budget of $60 million
and 700 employees. Navajo Public Safety consists of seven
police districts and six adult correctional facilities, which
are dilapidated; 14 percent of Public Safety funds are from
Navajo Nation general funds, while 86 percent are derived from
Federal sources. However, the Division of Public Safety is
staffed at a low ratio of .06 police officers per 1,000 people,
compared to the national average of 2.5 per 1,000.
The crime statistics illustrate a daunting challenge for
Navajo Nation. Navajo Nation law enforcement answers over
289,000 calls every year and make over 39,000 arrests, nearly
1,000 of which are major crimes. In 2008, the Navajo Nation
experienced 14 homicides, 230 sexual offenses, 24 robberies,
363 assaults, 958 burglaries, 1,342 cases of larceny, and 266
cases of arson. We also had 46 cases of selling or
manufacturing drugs and 471 cases of possession of drugs.
A brief history of gangs in Navajo Nation. In late 1990,
Navajo Nation report indicated that Navajo youths join gangs
for many of the same reasons that youth in urban areas join
them: poverty, unemployment, child abuse and neglect, substance
abuse within families and family breakups. The Navajo report
indicated that gang violence is related to other navajo Nation
social ills, including domestic and family violence, child
abuse and neglect, substance abuse, poverty, unemployment, and
loss of language and culture, the very things that fuel gang
activity in urban areas.
In 1999, a Navajo report also indicated that Navajo youth
gangs are not as heavily engaged in drug dealing, acquiring
weapons, and the escalation of weapons violence as gangs in
urban areas, but there is a danger of hardening and escalation
of drug trade and weapons in the Navajo Nation unless the gang
problem is effectively addressed.
Gentlemen, as we talk about this daunting issue and
challenges, we also have established some resources that have
handled some of these issues. The FBI Safe Trails Task Force in
New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, they have combined the forces
together and incarcerated several gang members, and today they
are still serving time in Federal prison.
In the mid-2000s, the Navajo Nation once again saw a rise
in gang activity partly due to the introduction of
methamphetamine.
Statistical information. The Navajo Nation developed an
information management system to track the involvement of gangs
in the commission of crimes. The definition we utilize for a
gang is an ``ongoing formal or informal association of persons
whose members or associates individually or collectively engage
in the commission, facilitation and solicitation of any felony
act, or who has at least one individual who is a criminal
street gang member.''
We currently have 225 documented gangs on the Navajo
Nation. This is a significant increase from the 75 active gang
sets that were documented in 1997. The total number of gang
members on Navajo Nation is between 1,500 and 2,000. In 2008,
our IMS tracked 71 cases of gang-related crimes were tracked.
In 2009, we have tracked 35 gang-related crimes. The primary
crimes committed by gangs on the Navajo Nation are property
damage including graffiti, burglary, assaults, theft and public
intoxication.
The recommendations for the Navajo Nation is to capable of
tracking of this new emergence of gang activity with
appropriate resources. Appropriate resources include funding
for an additional six officers in the Drug and Gang Unit,
Navajo Nation has its own gang unit; funding for an accurate
tracking system of gang members and database; and funding for
law enforcement equipment, including surveillance camera, night
vision and other undercover vehicles.
In the bigger picture, the Navajo Nation continues to
advocate for increased funding for criminal justice facilities
to prosecute and incarcerate criminal gang members.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Cowboy follows:]
Prepared Statement of Sampson Cowboy, Executive Director, Department of
Public Safety, Navajo Nation
Good afternoon Chairman Dorgan, ranking member Barrasso and members
of the Committee. Thank you for allowing the Navajo Nation to testify
today regarding gang activity in Indian Country. My name is Sampson
Cowboy and I am the Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Division of
Public Safety (DPS). I am President Shirley's designee at today's
hearing.
I want to make it clear that the Navajo Nation DPS agrees with you
Chairman Dorgan that this issue has been analyzed and analyzed and
analyzed, and we need the appropriate amount of funding so that the
Navajo Nation law enforcement has the adequate resources to address and
combat these issues. Moreover, the Navajo Nation DPS agrees with the
June, 2009, report from the Department of Justice that:
``Tribal communities and federal law enforcement must have the
flexibility to react to a specific criminal offense and also to
work collaboratively to address proactively up and coming
criminal trends. Federal money and dedicated personnel can then
leverage and maximize existing tribal efforts.''
My testimony today is divided in three parts: First, I will provide
the Committee with a brief introduction describing the Navajo Nation
Division of Public Safety. I will then provide the Committee with
background and statistical information and Navajo Nation's efforts to
curtail the proliferation of gangs. Lastly, I will provide the
Committee with our recommendations on how all stakeholders involved can
successfully counter gang activity.
Navajo Division of Public Safety Background
The Division of Public Safety is tasked with investigating crimes,
protecting the Navajo People, and the Public, and maintaining and
staffing the Nation's detention facilities. DPS has an annual budget of
nearly $60 million with 700 employees. Navajo Public Safety consists of
seven (7) Police Districts and six (6) adult correctional facilities.
Fourteen (14) percent of Public Safety funds are from Navajo Nation
General funds while eighty-six (86) percent are derived from federal
sources. However, the Division of Public Safety is staffed at a low
ratio of .06 Police Officers per 1000 people, compared to the national
average of 2.5 per 1,000.
The crime statistics illustrate a daunting challenge for the Navajo
Nation. Navajo Nation Law Enforcement answer over 289,000 calls every
year and make over 39,000 arrests, nearly 1,000 of which are major
crimes. In 2008, the Navajo Nation experienced 14 homicides, 230 sexual
offenses, 24 robberies, 363 assaults, 958 burglaries, 1,342 cases of
larceny, and 266 cases of arson. We also had 46 cases of selling or
manufacturing drugs and 471 cases of possession of drugs.
Brief History of Gangs in the Navajo Nation
A late 1990 Navajo report indicated that Navajo youths join gangs
for many of the same reasons that youths in urban areas join them--
poverty, unemployment, child abuse and neglect, substance abuse within
families and family breakup. The Navajo report indicated that gang
violence are related to other Navajo Nation social ills, including
domestic and family violence, child abuse and neglect, substance abuse,
poverty, unemployment, and the loss of language and culture--the very
things that fuel gang activity in urban areas.
The 1990 Navajo report also indicated that Navajo youth gangs are
not as heavily engaged in drug dealing, acquiring weapons, and the
escalation of weapons violence as gangs in urban areas, but there is a
danger of hardening and an escalation of drug trade and weapons in the
Navajo Nation unless the gang problem is effectively addressed.
The 1990's saw a dramatic rise in gang activity on the Navajo
Nation. The Navajo Nation established the Window Rock Gang Unit as a
result of this increase in gang activity. The Window Rock Gang Unit was
successful in curtailing the rise of gangs by creating a task force of
various governmental agencies that sought arrests and prosecutions of
violent gang members. During the same time period the FBI initiated
Operation Safe Trails in New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona to partly
address the increase in gang-related activity on the Navajo Nation.
These three task forces are still in existence and depend on federal
funding. The United States Attorney's Office work diligently to bring
criminal gang members to justice. Several of these convicted gang
members are still serving time in federal prisons.
In the mid 2000's the Navajo Nation once again saw a rise in gang
activity partly due to the introduction of methamphetamine. The Navajo
Nation established the Navajo Police Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit as
a result of this current increase in gang activity.
Statistical Information
The Navajo Nation DPS developed an Information Management System to
track the involvement of gangs in the commission of crimes. The
definition we utilize for a gang is ``an ongoing formal or informal
association of persons whose members or associates individually or
collectively engage in the commission, attempted commission,
facilitation, or solicitation of any felony act, or who has at least
one individual who is a criminal street gang member.''
We currently have 225 documented gangs on the Navajo Nation. This
is a significant increase from the 75 active gang sets that were
documented in 1997. The total number of gang members on the Navajo
Nation is between 1,500 and 2,000. In 2008 our IMS tracked 71 cases of
gang related crimes. In 2009 we have currently tracked 35 gang related
crimes. The primary crimes committed by gangs on the Navajo Nation are
property damage including graffiti, burglaries, assaults, theft and
public intoxication. The gangs within the Navajo Nation are not
currently organized on large scales nor are gangs coordinating with
other gangs.
With the recent undercover drug and bootlegging operations that the
Navajo Police Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit conducted, the Unit has
not seen a significant relationship between Navajo Nation gangs and
bootlegging. Undercover officers have encountered gangs members at some
of the residences, but the gang members did not associate themselves
with the criminal activity involved. The gang members appeared to be
children of the individual bootleggers.
However with methamphetamines, the Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit
has seen an increase in gang activity. Of the past and current sixty
(60) targets that the Unit has come across five (5) of them were gang
members. The Unit noticed that the five (5) gang members dealing with
methamphetamines were individual gang members and not the whole gang.
The Navajo Police Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit has its own Navajo
Nation Gang Database. The Unit shares its Field Interview cards with
the Arizona Gang Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GITEM) Database
and will be submitting gang information to the Rocky Mountain
Intelligence Network (RMIN).
It should be noted that the Navajo Nation's gathering of gang data
is still in its infancy. The Navajo Nation's statistical information
can be improved with appropriate funding for a tracking system and
additional law enforcement officers to accurately track gang data. The
rural aspect of the Navajo Nation creates a challenge for DPS regarding
the tracking of gangs and their activities. We are in agreement with
the Department of Justice assessment that the ``remoteness and
isolation creates obstacles to effective prevention, control, and
reduction of violent crime, drug-related criminal activity, and gang
activity.''
Navajo Nation Efforts and Recommendations
The Navajo Nation is capable of tackling this new emergence of gang
activity with the appropriate resources. Appropriate resources include
funding for an additional six (6) officers in the Drug and Gang
Enforcement Unit; funding for an accurate tracking system of gang
members and database; and funding for law enforcement equipment
including surveillance cameras; night vision and under cover vehicles.
In the bigger picture the Navajo Nation continues to advocate for
increased funding for criminal justice facilities to prosecute and
incarcerate criminal gang members.
The Navajo Nation DPS employs a multi-faceted and collaborative
approach in addressing the gang problem. The main ingredient in the
Navajo Nation's arsenal has been the working task force between the
Navajo Nation, and her federal and state counterparts and the tracking
of gang members. A prime example of this collaboration is our pilot
project in the Eastern Navajo Nation Dlo'ayazhi community located in
western New Mexico. We employ an arsenal of law enforcement resources
including our Gang unit. This pilot project will specifically address
the problems experienced in that community.
In conclusion, the Navajo Nation DPS has risen to the challenge in
combating the increase in gang activity and will be successful with
continued support. On the Navajo Nation, violence and instability are
not the norm when it comes to gangs.
The Chairman. Mr. Cowboy, thank you very much for being
with us.
And finally, Carmen Smith, the Chief of Police,
Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring, Warm Spring, Oregon.
Mr. Smith, thank you.
STATEMENT OF CARMEN SMITH, CHIEF OF POLICE, WARM SPRINGS TRIBAL
POLICE DEPARTMENT; ACCOMPANIED BY BILL ELLIOT, DETECTIVE
Mr. Smith. Good afternoon, Chairman Dorgan and Members of
the Committee. I appreciate this opportunity to appear before
the Committee on behalf of Warm Spring and the other tribal
police departments in the Pacific Northwest. I hope my
testimony will provide this Committee a perspective on criminal
gang and drug activity in Indian Country from those who have to
deal with these issues on a daily basis, the tribal police
officer.
It is the responsibility of the over 22 tribal law
enforcement organizations currently operating in this region to
provide for the health and safety of our tribal membership and
others residing, working or visiting Native American lands.
However, until now we have not had a voice in matters
related to enforcement problems in our jurisdictions such as
authority, funding, special commissions, grants, intelligence
sharing, and other issues needed in order for us to
successfully accomplish our mandates. We are the first
responders and investigators, but often cut off from the needed
tools.
There exists in Indian Country today the twin scourges of
drug abuse and criminal gang activities. These two menaces left
unchecked will undermine the very fabric of Native American
society. The gang problem is an issue which is most distressing
to our communities, as to become a gang member, you must
dismiss your family and your culture in favor of the gang. This
philosophy will create a generational loss that Indian society
can ill afford.
In addition, the gangs on the reservation have brought with
them the same violence as we are witnessing off the reservation
with drive-by shootings, drug trafficking, home invasions, the
assault of elders, the rape of minor females as initiation
rites to gangs, and murders.
As presented in our charts, you will note that the gangs to
which we refer are no longer just copycat, MTV gangsters, but
rather criminal organizations. These organizations are growing
in Indian Country at an alarming rate due to the high level of
poverty and unemployment, and the increase in foreign nationals
who have married tribal members, or simply moved onto the
reservations. These subjects have brought with them the
organizational skills and the access to guns and drugs needed
for gangs to operate, and have links to Mexican drug
trafficking cartels who are currently destabilizing that
country.
The gang problem is compounded by the interrelationship of
tribal members between reservations and the movement of tribal
members from one reservation to another during events like the
Pow Wow circuit. Yet, the tribal police departments in this
region are denied, or have restricted access to federally
funded criminal intelligence networks and funding from the High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs. There are not even
any tribal police representatives who sit on the HIDTA boards
so the needs of the reservations in this area are not heard.
However, even with these constraints, the tribal police
agencies in this region recognize the gang problem, scratched
together some funding and banded together with their off-
reservation gang task forces to attack the gang and drug
presence in the HUD housing projects on the reservation.
Operation Counting Coup received the support of the U.S.
Attorneys' Office and we even briefed the FBI.
The only issue was that of jurisdiction, as these criminal
enterprises operated on and off the reservation. This was
overcome by applying for United States Marshals Service
deputations. After reviewing the tribal and local police
applications, and the other supporting documentation, the U.S.
Marshals Service authorized these deputations.
But, as the tribal and State officers were preparing to be
sworn in, the Bureau of Indian Affairs inexplicably called the
U.S. Marshals Service and had the deputations pulled. After
this, the BIA refused to explain why, or even return calls,
behaving in a manner that only can be described as
unprofessional. The tribes were forced to seek answers from the
Department of Interior and the President's Office of National
Drug Control Policy, who could not understand why the BIA had
done this, nor believe they even had the authority to do it.
The tribes were eventually told three weeks later by the
Department of Interior that the BIA did this because they were
not properly briefed, which is false, and the BIA Area Director
who sponsored the deputations didn't have the authority.
However, we believe this action was taken out of spite because
the success of this operation would have made the BIA look
worse than they are already perceived.
The incident aside, it does illustrate the greater problem
of the bureaucracy that overwhelms any attempts by tribal law
enforcement authorities to cope with the public safety issues
in their jurisdictions. Congress seems to believe that by
providing increased funding to BIA, this will translate into
increased services in Indian Country. This has not been the
fact in the Pacific Northwest. When Congress gave the BIA
millions of dollars for drug enforcement, there was not even a
survey sent out to tribal departments in order to ascertain
problem areas or usage. Instead, they used these funds to
create some sort of BIA-type DEA which the tribes have not seen
any benefits.
The BIA law enforcement program is perceived by tribal
police departments in this region as one of the biggest
impediments to public safety issues. In their current
structure, they are non-communicative and not a good fiduciary
for federal funding to Indian Country law enforcement programs
in this area.
On the other hand, the United States Attorneys' Office and
the FBI, no matter how well-intentioned, can be an overwhelming
presence which tends to stifle tribal initiatives. We truly
appreciate their assistance, yet we need more parity in our
relationship.
When problems arise in Indian Country, Congress assumes the
tribes need or want more Federal agency assistance, when in
fact the tribes just want tools and funding to handle their own
problems. At the end of the day, the tribal police are the ones
who will make the difference in the fight against drugs and
criminal gangs.
Over the years, the tribal police agencies in this region
have brought their officers training and experience comparable
to or surpassing their off-reservation peers. If these tribal
agencies could mutually support one another like the county and
local agencies are able to do, access the same support systems
and ability to create their own task forces like Operation
Counting Coup, they will have a good chance of turning these
problems around.
The HIDTA system that has been successful in meeting the
individual needs of State and county agencies, provides for
accountability. These HIDTA funds are administered by a board
of county and State law enforcement managers, and is a very
effective program. However, because of jurisdictional issues
and the fact that there are no tribal representatives on any of
the State HIDTA boards, this program is problematic for tribal
departments.
However, we have proposed a HIDTA-type program for Indian
Country in the Pacific Northwest. This program would allow for
funding appropriated from Congress to go directly to the
affected tribes with controls for accountability and direction.
As such, we have proposed the creation of a Pacific Northwest
Inter-Tribal Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Program. This would
create the same type of system for Indian Country. This program
will also create the transparency that currently is missing in
the BIA drug and law enforcement programs.
Every time there is a law enforcement problem in Indian
Country, everyone looks to outside agencies for a solution. I
am saying that given the funding, personnel, access to
programs, the ability to submit cases directly to the U.S.
Attorneys' Office, and the ability to receive Federal
deputations for our officers and our State and local partners,
tribal police organizations would be able to handle most of the
situations we currently face.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]
Prepared Statement of Carmen Smith, Chief of Police, Warm Springs
Tribal Police Department
Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chair Barrasso and members of the Committee:
I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the committee on
behalf of the Warm Springs, and other Tribal Police Departments in the
Pacific Northwest. I hope my testimony will provide this committee with
a perspective of criminal gang and drug activity in Indian Country from
those who have to deal with this issue on a daily basis, the Tribal
Police Officer.
It is the responsibility of the over twenty-two (22) Tribal Law
Enforcement organizations currently operating in this region to provide
for the Health and Safety of our Tribal membership, and others
residing, working, or visiting Native American lands. However, until
now we have not had a voice in matters related to enforcement problems
in our jurisdictions such as authority, funding, special commissions,
grants, intelligence sharing, and other issues needed in order for us
to successfully accomplish our mandates.
Even though we have excellent working relationships with some of
the federal entities that have responsibilities in Indian Country, such
as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States
Attorney's Office (USAO), it is we who are the first responders. It is
our officers who must deal with the victims, families, and suspects. It
is also our departments who have daily contact with the children who
are most at risk of becoming gang members, like the disenfranchised and
the abused.
It is also our detectives who are responsible for identifying
problems as they are emerging, working drug deals, and having to gather
intelligence and conduct investigations in an environment which does
not provide them with the same access to the assets available to their
off reservation counterparts.
There exists in Indian Country today the twin scourge of drug abuse
and criminal gang activity. These two menaces left unchecked will
undermine the very fabric of Native American society. The gang problem
is an issue which is most distressing to our communities, as to become
a gang member you must dismiss your family, and your culture in favor
of the gang. This philosophy will create a generational loss that
Indian society can ill afford.
In addition, the gangs on the reservation have brought with them
the same violence as we are witnessing off the reservations with drive-
by shootings, drug trafficking, home invasions, the assault of elders,
the rape of minor females as initiation rights to the gang, and
murders.
As presented on our charts (See gang organizational charts) you
will note that the gangs to which we refer are no longer just copy cat,
MTV gangsters, but rather criminal organizations. These organizations
are growing in Indian Country at an alarming rate due to the high level
of poverty and unemployment, and the increase in foreign nationals
(illegal aliens) who have married tribal members, or simply moved onto
the reservations. These subjects have brought with them the
organizational skills and the access to guns and drugs needed for gangs
to operate, and have links to the Mexican drug trafficking cartels who
are currently destabilizing that country. The gang problem is
compounded by the inter-relationship of tribal members between
reservations, and the movement of tribal members from one reservation
to another during events like the Pow-Wow circuit.
Yet, the Tribal Police Departments in this region are denied, or
have restricted access to federally funded criminal intelligence
networks, funding from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
programs, and have even been denied funding from the Drug Enforcement
Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication Program (DCEP),
which every other state and local agency can receive funding. There are
not even any Tribal Police representatives who sit on the HIDTA boards,
so the needs of the reservations in this area are not heard.
However, even with these constraints the tribal police agencies in
this region recognized the gang problem, scratched together some
funding, and banded together with their off reservation gang task
forces to attack the gang and drug presence in the U.S. Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) housing projects on the reservation. Operation
``Counting Coup'' received the support of the USAO in 3 judicial
districts, and we even briefed the FBI. The only issue was that of
jurisdiction as these criminal enterprises operated on, and off the
reservation. This was overcome by applying for United States Marshal
Service (USMS) deputations. After reviewing the tribal and local police
applications, and the other supporting documentation the U.S. Marshal's
Service authorized these deputations.
But, as the tribal and state officers were preparing to be sworn
in, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) inexplicably called the USMS and
had the deputations pulled. After this the BIA refused to explain why,
or even return calls, behaving in a manner which can only be described
as ``childish,'' or at best unprofessional. The tribes were forced to
seek answers from the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the
President's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), who could
not understand why the BIA had done this, nor believed they even had
the authority to do it. The tribes were eventually (3 weeks later) told
by the DOI that the BIA did this because they were not properly briefed
(which is false), and the BIA Area Director who sponsored the
deputations didn't have the authority. However, we believe this action
was taken out of spite because the success of this operation would have
made the BIA look worse than they are already perceived.
This incident aside, it does illustrate the greater problem of the
bureaucracy that smothers any attempts of Tribal Law Enforcement
authorities to cope with the public safety issues in their
jurisdictions, no matter how benevolent, or capricious these federal or
state entities may be. Congress seems to believe that by providing
increased funding to the BIA, will translate into increased services in
Indian Country. This has not been the fact in the Pacific Northwest.
When congress gave the BIA millions of dollars for drug enforcement
there was not even a survey sent out to Tribal Departments in order to
ascertain problem areas or ideas for this funding usage, instead they
used these funds to create some sort of BIA type DEA which the tribes
have not seen any benefits. The BIA law enforcement program is
perceived by tribal police departments in this region as one of the
biggest impediments to public safety issues. In their current structure
they are non communicative, arrogant, and not a good fiduciary for
federal funding to Indian Country law enforcement programs in this
area.
On the other hand, the USAO and the FBI, no matter how well
intentioned, can be an overwhelming presence which tends to stifle
tribal initiatives. We truly appreciate their assistance, yet we need
more parity in our relationship, more reminiscent of their
relationships with off reservation police departments.
When problems arise in Indian Country, Congress assumes the tribes
need, or want more federal agency assistance, when in fact the tribes
just want the tools and funding to handle their own problems. At the
end of the day, the tribal police are the ones who will make the
difference in the fight against drugs and criminal gangs. Over the
years, the Tribal Police agencies in this region have brought their
officers training, and experience comparable to, or surpassing their
off reservation peers. If these Tribal agencies are given the
opportunity to mutually support one another (much like the county and
local agencies are able to do), access the same support systems
available to state and local officers, and the ability to create their
own task forces like Operation ``Counting Coup,'' they will have a good
chance of turning these problems around.
The state and county agencies have the HIDTA system that has been
successful in providing for the individual needs of each department,
and accountability for the government agencies providing the funding.
These HIDTA funds are administered by a board of county and state law
enforcement managers and is a very effective program. However, because
of jurisdictional issues, and the fact that there are no tribal
representatives on any of the state HIDTA boards, this program is
problematic for tribal departments. However, we have proposed a HIDTA
type program for Indian Country in the Pacific Northwest. This program
would allow for funding appropriated form Congress to go directly to
the affected tribes with controls that provide for accountability and
direction. As such, we have proposed the creation of a Pacific
Northwest Inter-Tribal Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Program (ITLEMAP)
would create the same type of system for Indian Country. This program
will also create the transparency of operation that is currently
missing in the current BIA drug enforcement and law enforcement
programs.
Every time there is a law enforcement problem in Indian Country,
everyone looks to outside agencies for a solution. I am saying that
given the funding, personnel, access to programs, the ability to submit
cases directly to the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the ability to
receive federal deputations for our officers and our state and local
partners, Tribal Police organizations would be able to handle most of
the situations we currently face.
The Chairman. Mr. Smith, thank you very much.
Mr. Mousseau, we are trying to determine now when the votes
will start on the Floor of the Senate. I want to have
opportunities to question. I know Senator Johnson will as well.
Is the Chairman of your Housing Agency here that you wished
to have say a few words?
Mr. Mousseau. Yes, he is here and I would like for him to
say a few words.
The Chairman. Let's do that. If he would pull up to the
table. He can pull a chair up to the table with you, if you
like.
And would you identify yourself for the record?
Mr. Iron Cloud. My name is Paul Iron Cloud. I am the Chief
Executive Officer of the Oglala Sioux Housing Authority.
And I want to say thank you to you, Senator Dorgan, for
having this most important oversight hearing.
And I also want to greet Senator Johnson, who is a Senator
for the State of South Dakota.
Things that were said here by these four gentlemen is very
true. The Oglala Sioux Housing Authority has 1,150 units, and
we are 60 miles wide and 100 miles long. We have 40 police
officers, and it seems that every day we are getting more
violence.
You know, being a Housing Director, you hear all of the
things that's going on on the reservation. Tenants calling in
saying, Paul, I am scared. What can you do? You know, that
touches my heart very deeply to have our people live in an
unsafe environment.
We have some very good families living there, but this gang
violence is taking over our reservation. There has got to be
consequences for these lawbreakers. We have bootlegging that is
there.
But I just want to mention something briefly here. When we
had the drug elimination grant back in 2000, we curbed a lot of
this violence because of tenant patrols, tenant organizations.
Youth, they had things for the youth to do. And I felt it had a
big impact on our Indian Housing Authority. And that, I want to
thank Senator Tim Johnson for introducing the reauthorization
of the drug elimination grant. That is going to help us curb
some of this.
But I think our most important issue now is to get more
police officers to get a control on our communities, because
the way it is now, you know, they are having to travel 20 to 30
miles to answer a call. They don't have the backup that they
need.
You know, everybody is living a real tough life at Pine
Ridge, and I am pretty sure it is everyplace else. The sister
tribe, Rosebud, is here today, Amos Prue. He had some things to
say when we made our rounds with the Senate. And he, too, has
the same problem areas.
But I feel that when we are an unsafe community, the
decisions that are made with our people are not good. I think
if we really put our environment back together where we have a
safe house, you know, the mentality of our people is going to
change, I would guarantee you that. The mentality of our people
will change.
So we need police officers. We need a court system that is
going to prosecute these perpetrators. There are just so many
things that I would like to say, but again, Senator Dorgan, I
just want to thank you for holding these hearings. I know you
had one at Standing Rock. I didn't have the opportunity to go,
but I am looking that you have some oversight hearings maybe in
South Dakota to hear, to tell what is going on on our
reservations because it is pretty much the same at the Oglala
Sioux Tribe has 40,000 plus members, and if we don't get enough
police officers, you know, there is going to be a disaster.
And one other thing I want to say is that in one community,
they were going to start packing guns if something wasn't done.
So you know, you could really see a total disaster if we don't
get anything done.
So I want to thank you for your time.
The Chairman. Well, let me thank you for your testimony and
thank all of you for your work.
Let me mention to you that we are working, so far
unsuccessfully, but we will be successful on questioning what
has happened to FBI agents. In 1998, Attorney General Reno
testified there are 102 FBI agents that are dedicated to Indian
Country, 102. In 2000 and 2005, Congress appropriated 52
additional officers, FBI officers for Indian Country. That adds
up to me to be 154 FBI agents dedicated to Indian Country. In
fact, there are only 114.
So somewhere we have 40 FBI agents that disappeared from
the requirements to participate on Indian Country criminal
justice issues. And we are trying to determine why. We know why
we appropriated the money in the Congress. We dedicated these
positions to Indian law enforcement, and somehow they got
appropriated to other duties.
So we are trying to work very hard with the Justice
Department and FBI to reconcile what happened to the number of
FBI folks that are supposed to be dedicated to Indian Country
and to law enforcement in Indian Country.
Mr. Nissen, I know you were emotional about your brother,
speaking about your brother being involved in gang activities.
You did not provide a conclusion for that. Is there a hopeful
conclusion, I hope, in your family for that?
Mr. Nissen. Yes, there is actually. It is a sensitive
subject. I could say, I mean, it could have been a lot worse,
but he was down that path a while, and it ends up successful.
He actually just graduated college recently, and he was really
deep in gang activity five, ten years ago. And you know, it is
just real emotional because I see it happening to other parts
of my family, other cousins and everything else. With efforts
of our family and more grassroots efforts, we were able to
intervene and he, like I said, just graduated college, so it
does end good.
It touches our family and I am more emotional over what is
happening to our young girls on the reservation and the fact
that we can't do anything about it because there has been
threats of their lives, their families' lives. And ultimately,
like these other gentlemen said, we need more resources, and we
have 1.4 million acres and three officers covering that area at
any given time.
I am hopeful that with some of our efforts and our cultural
restoration that we are seeing, especially with the younger
kids, we are seeing that they are realizing who they are. I
know a lot of the gang incidents are for a sense of identity
and family. And so we are trying to bring that back into the
community and help them realize they don't need that in their
lives.
But, my brother, he is doing well now.
The Chairman. Well, thank you very much.
I assume all of you have seen circumstances like Mr.
Nissen's brother, who perhaps could have tipped in either
direction, beginning the activities of a gang and so on, and
could have tipped in the direction of perhaps losing their
lives or now being incarcerated in prison for the long term, or
tipped in the other direction of all of a sudden straightening
out and graduating from college and having some hope for the
future.
I guess I would ask all of you, as you have seen these
young people, what do you think represents the approach that
leans over in the right direction for them? What are the things
on your reservation that can best help them?
Some people say to me, the most important thing we need at
the moment, we need youth clubs; we need facilities where they
have someplace to go and something to do and supervised
opportunities. Some say that is the most important.
But as you have watched children on your reservations, some
move in the wrong directions, some move in the right direction.
What are the elements that you think best describes success?
Mr. Smith?
Mr. Smith. I believe it is the family. Also, what you said
about the having things for the kids. On our reservation, they
are trying to get things for kids, but it doesn't pan out.
There is nothing for the kids to do. But family support,
support from the social services programs, even police officers
have talked to some of these gang members, and they have turned
some of them around. Some have come back. Some got out of it,
and they have come to me, this aid, this detective or this
officer had talked with them, gave them some support, got them
in the right direction, and next thing I know, they are off of
that. They are going to school. They are working. Their proud
before the family now.
So I think it is the support from the community and the
family that does it.
The Chairman. Mr. Nissen just described something that
sounded to me like Mr. Mousseau described, and that is violence
against women, particularly young girls, by gang members
apparently almost impervious to any sanctions or worry of being
caught because there are so few police officers that violent
crime, beatings and rape will occur with very few arrests.
Is that what you see, Mr. Mousseau? Was I accurate in
hearing what you were saying?
Mr. Mousseau. Yes. We do have a lot of our gang members who
know how the court system. They know that the law enforcement
sometimes may take, based on priorities, sometimes an hour for
the call to be answered, so we have a lot of unreported sexual
assaults, regular assaults on females, domestic violence is up.
And if we had something for kids like more for cultural and
educational programs, I think that is the way to go. In my
incident where the shooting I was involved in, I used to be a
teacher prior to being a police officer, and this gang member
was a student of mine at one time as a young kid. And my next
dealing with him was that fateful night of the shooting. And it
went from a nice kid to this.
So I think we need to all sit back and take a realistic
look and see what we can do realistically.
The Chairman. Mr. Cowboy, your assessment of what we can do
and your assessment of seeing kids fall over on the right side
of the path, I assume everyone in this panel agrees that we are
woefully inadequate in the number of law enforcement resources
that we commit. But it is probably also the case that
committing more resources, more so-called ``cops on the beat,''
more Indian law enforcement, is not by itself going to resolve
the issue.
Is that correct, Mr. Cowboy?
Mr. Cowboy. Thank you, sir.
I think the two areas is idling. Our kids are idling out
there and they start to sway in a different direction. The
other is family. Some of them don't have family support. And in
order to combat that, even from a law enforcement perspective,
we have tried student youth academy, but with the lack of
police personnel, that kind of hinders our effort in providing
prevention. Even attacking graffiti, you know, the community,
if there is a lack of police officers, then we really can't get
in there and start handling some of these issues.
The Chairman. Let me ask you, is there a strong
relationship between drugs and gangs, with drugs being a method
of financing the gangs?
Mr. Cowboy. I think that is correct, sir. You know, money
is always the driving force behind all evil. So I think that is
where, especially with the economic condition on a lot of these
reservations. I think that is why kids are drawn to that.
The Chairman. And the supply of drugs is in most cases
coming from outside the reservation, so law enforcement I am
sure is trying to track the supply of drugs that comes in to
the formation of a gang or an existing gang on the reservation.
What can you tell me about that, any of you, in terms of the
source of, the supply of drugs? We know, for example, that
Mexican drug suppliers, particularly in methamphetamine and so
on, were targeting Indian reservations.
But Mr. Mousseau?
Mr. Mousseau. If I can, I would like to ask our gang
expert, Mr. Forney, to answer that on the basis of what our
public safety has been.
Mr. Forney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
To answer your question, one of the things we have is, you
notice the high number of gang members that we mentioned and
those are what is fluctuating in and out of the reservation at
any given time, because most of the drugs that we come across
do come mainly out of Denver, Omaha and Minneapolis. So we
don't have a lot of production there.
We did have some incidents of production of
methamphetamines on the eastern side of our reservation, but
most of it is coming out and the drug of choice right now is
cocaine, which, you know, it's coming in mainly out of Denver
and Minneapolis and Omaha.
The Chairman. And are the suppliers of that targeting gang
activities especially?
Mr. Forney. Yes, they are coming in, doing a lot of
recruitment. Like we mentioned in our testimony, I think that a
lot of it is because of the rural-ness, the jurisdictional
complexities, the lack of manpower. They want to use it sort of
like a hub. They can come in and centralize. It is central
United States, just like we said, the rural-ness of it.
We don't know if they have a lot of hiding places. With the
lack of patrol, a lot of drug transactions are taking place. I
know local law enforcement, like Rapid City, has interacted
with some large transports. We don't know where that was going
or where they were coming from.
The Chairman. Mr. Mousseau, you indicated that you were
shot by a gang member. Is that correct?
Mr. Mousseau. Yes.
The Chairman. And that recently, a female officer on your
reservation had her arm broken and now she and her family are
in hiding or at least threatened by gangs on the reservation?
Mr. Mousseau. Yes, that was over a year ago she had her arm
broken by a gang member, and up until July 12, where she was in
a fight for her life when a gang member knocked her down and
was choking her. So she had to use deadly force on that one,
and that is where all the death threats do come from.
And the gang members know by threatening not only our
police officers, but other reservations as well, because our
police department lacks commission cards, so we don't fall
under the protection of a Federal officer.
The Chairman. Right.
Mr. Mousseau. So it is non-prosecuted on a Federal level
and also sometimes on the tribal level, so there is no
repercussions for them.
The Chairman. Well, you know, the law enforcement bill that
we have created, bipartisan and now introduced in the Congress,
would treat tribal officers as Federal officers, which means
that in addition to authorizing tribal police to enforce
Federal laws, the commissions would make it a Federal crime to
assault or to threaten a tribal police officer, which I think
would go a long way in trying to begin to address this, so you
would have the same protections as other law enforcement
officials.
Mr. Mousseau. Yes, I want to personally thank you for that
aspect because I think in Indian Country, this has been 15, 20
years coming, because we have not had the same protection
afforded as every other national program.
Being a officer in Indian Country is a lot different
because we have to enforce our own tribal laws, as well as
Federal laws. So we have two sets of laws that we need to
enforce, as opposed to just city laws.
The Chairman. Let me ask any of you whether you have had
success in some alternatives to incarceration. I know that, I
would guess, having visited a number of detention facilities,
that if your reservation is like some I have visited, your
detention facilities are full. Very often, you don't have
separate facilities for juvenile offenders. And so have you
achieved success with alternatives, I should say, to
incarceration? If so, what are those successes?
Mr. Smith?
Mr. Smith. We don't have very many successes because there
aren't very many programs that take these offenders in. There
is a lot of, you know, gang activity in our reservation, too.
The same thing that happens over there, happens in Warm
Springs.
You know, he talked about deputizations, the BIA
deputizations that we have been trying to get, too.
There is a case out of the Umatilla Reservation. The had a
couple of rapes and a series of assaults over there, and they
have been trying to get these commissions so that the State
District Attorney said he would take these cases, but without
that deputization, he wouldn't do that. So these cases that
would have went into State court would have been prosecuted,
but now they are not prosecuted because they don't have the
deputization.
So you know, that is kind of a hang-up for all of us here
and the other tribes. Without that, we can't prosecute them on
our own. We don't have jurisdiction to go help another tribe
because of that. So these are the jurisdictional issues that we
talk about. And if we don't have that, then we can't pursue
them like we normally would, like in tribal court or in Federal
court.
So that is an issue.
The Chairman. Let me, Mr. Smith, let me ask you a couple of
questions about the operation called Counting Coup which you
described. My understanding is that a number of tribal police
agencies in a region put together some joint funding and banded
together with their off-reservation gang task forces so that
you had Indian and non-Indian folks involved in the task force
to attack gang and drug presence in HUD housing projects on the
reservation.
You stated in your testimony here that you received support
from three judicial districts of the U.S. Attorneys' Office. Is
that correct?
Mr. Smith. Yes.
The Chairman. And you briefed the FBI on what you were
doing. Because the jurisdiction was operated on and off the
reservation, you applied to the U.S. Marshals Service for
deputizations for the officers involved. Correct?
Mr. Smith. Yes.
The Chairman. After they reviewed the tribal and local
police applications and other supporting documents, the U.S.
Marshals Service authorized the deputizations. So at that
point, you had a task force that had been deputized by the U.S.
Marshals Service, approved by the U.S. Attorneys' Office, and
had been acknowledged by the FBI at least through briefings. Is
that correct?
Mr. Smith. Yes, but they weren't approved.
The Chairman. I understand. I am going to get to that.
Mr. Smith. Yes.
The Chairman. And at that point, the tribal and State
officers were apparently going to be sworn in and they were
going to be sworn in by whom for what?
Mr. Smith. For the U.S. Marshals----
The Chairman. Was that the deputization?
Mr. Smith. Deputization for U.S. Marshals.
The Chairman. Okay. So they had been approved, but not yet
deputized, and now they are about to be deputized. What
happened?
Mr. Smith. Well, I received a call saying that----
The Chairman. From whom?
Mr. Smith. From my colleague here, Bill Elliot, who works
with me. He got a call from the U.S. Marshals Service in
Portland, who called him and said, we came in on a Thursday. We
sent everybody letters saying, hey, we are going to be sworn in
on Friday morning. Everybody got there Thursday night. So that
Friday morning, we were going in to be sworn in. I get a call
just before five o'clock saying that, hey, the BIA called the
U.S. Marshals in Portland, said that we didn't have the
authority to do that, to hold onto the deputizations until they
worked something out.
So at that time, the Marshals just held onto them. I called
the Regional Director, who is Stan Speaks, because he was in
D.C. at the time. He just met with the BIA. He was on his
flight going back to Portland when I called him, and I said,
hey, have you heard this, what I have just explained to you.
And he said, no. I said here's what happened.
So he tried to call the BIA and says, hey, what is going
on? He said we just met no more than 30 minutes ago. Everything
is going to be fine. Now, there is an issue. And couldn't get
any response.
So we kept trying to get a response on why this was
stopped. We haven't gotten one. We were asked to come up to
present some gang activity on Indian Country to ONDCP. We did
that. In that meeting, we brought up what had happened, and
they were concerned because they said they felt that they
didn't have the right to pull those deputizations or the
authority to do so.
And I said, well, what can we do? I said, we had this task
force going. We are ready to go. We have operations going, but
now it is on hold now because we didn't get that.
And later on again we got a, we finally got a response
saying that they weren't informed. That is why it wasn't done.
The Chairman. And were they informed?
Mr. Smith. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. And who informed whom about this?
Mr. Smith. Me and Detective Elliot did.
The Chairman. Who did you inform?
Mr. Smith. Pat Ragsdale and Mario Redlegs. Pat Ragsdale is
the Director of Law Enforcement Services and Mario Redlegs is a
Supervisor Special Agent in charge of drug enforcement.
The Chairman. And you informed them personally?
Mr. Smith. Yes.
The Chairman. And so they told you then later that you had
not informed them, and therefore they stopped the deputization?
Mr. Smith. Yes. We also presented this program that I
mentioned here, the task force, with all these tribes.
Everything that we have done in this program we sent copies and
met with the BIA on it, the deputizations, the task force. We
did a threat assessment. We presented that to them. Everything
that we had, we presented, all the tribes that sponsored this
task force, we gave them all that information of all the
tribes; a proposal on what the program is about; what we are
trying to do.
So everything was reported to them. I felt everything was a
go.
The Chairman. Tell me the time frame on this. When was the
deputization supposed to have occurred?
Mr. Smith. Let's see, just trying to think.
The Chairman. This year, last year?
Mr. Smith. This year.
The Chairman. This year. Within the last six months?
Mr. Smith. Yes.
The Chairman. All right. You have put a portion of this in
your testimony. Would you complete that with dates and contacts
so that I can have all the details and resubmit that to the
Committee? And we will then proceed to ask the BIA what has
happened here.
My own view is the BIA is unbelievably bureaucratic. Things
happen that are never quite explained. And I would like to
understand what happened here. It just seems to me on its face
that you were trying to advance law enforcement by connecting
with off-reservation, reaching an agreement on how to do joint
operations, getting deputization from the U.S. Marshals
Service.
It appears to me that this is exactly the kind of thing
that should happen and I don't have any idea why it would not
have been allowed to continue. So I will inquire about it, but
I will need to have you put dates, places and so on in an
expanded memorandum.
Yes, sir?
Mr. Smith. We have a chart here that I would like to go
over, to let you see, and have Detective Elliot just brief you
on it briefly, on the operations that we have going in the gang
area and drug trafficking.
The Chairman. All right.
I will have to ask that--Detective?
Mr. Elliot. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. I will ask you to be brief. I understand now
we are going to start a vote in about five minutes. But I
appreciate having the opportunity to see this.
Mr. Elliot. I'll be brief. Actually, in building up our
justification for this operation Counting Coup, we started
working up who the drug traffickers are operating on the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation and the organizational structure. It
shows the whole criminal structure that was present in that
they had a chain of command, and this is just one of the ways
to identify that hierarchy and they had captains, lieutenants,
street soldiers, and associates carry drugs. And then we also
developed a connection with a Mexican cartel.
The Chairman. So is this is the work preparatory to doing
this joint operation? You actually did the matrix and mapped
out through investigative work, I assume, what this gang was,
what the structure was?
Mr. Elliot. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. This was just on Warm
Springs. We also did this for the off-reservation Tribes. We
were working with Colville Reservation that also did similar
workups of their gang structure and who was in charge, who was
the target, who can make Federal cases in HUD housing areas and
identify our top 10 gang members and drug traffickers on the
reservations to break out the organization chart and identify
the head of its cartel who now lives in Mexico, and trafficks
methamphetamine down there who has his Warm Springs address.
These two women right here are Warm Springs members.
According to the Border Patrol, we have over 400 plus
crossings between Mexico and Warm Springs. And then also we
also discovered a lot of imported methamphetamine from
intelligence briefings with the other tribal police departments
on names that popped up on traffickers and gang members living
on Nez Perce and on the reservations all around with tribal or
interstate connection. That is about it.
The Chairman. All right. Well, Detective, thank you very
much. You have obviously done a lot of work. This is not just
some notion someone has of going after some gang that is
amorphous. You have actually identified and described the
structure, and when gangs have structure, that is not just some
loose association in most cases.
So I appreciate the work you have done.
We will be inquiring of the BIA to find out what has
happened here, but we would like to encourage, in fact, the law
enforcement bill that we have created actually moves towards
encouraging the very kinds of things, Mr. Smith, that you were
engaged in. We want to try to create harmony between on-
reservation and off-reservation activities because it will
enhance law enforcement on the reservation if we can do that.
We understand the tribal justice system is not the same as
the criminal justice system off the reservation, but that
should not prohibit us from finding ways to cooperate. And the
legislation that John Harte has worked, along with our staff,
to put together attempts to try to see if we can find areas of
cooperation and harmonization, so that is very much in line
with what we are trying to do.
I think what you have described here is something of great
urgency. It is not as if we haven't known that there is
urgency. I held a hearing just in recent weeks on the Standing
Rock Indian Reservation once again, and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs had a surge of additional law enforcement activity
there. It was very successful. It reduced the violent crime
rates substantially.
Now, that surge is over and we are back to a lower level of
law enforcement activity, which is troublesome, and we will see
now. I would expect another spike in criminal activity on that
reservation.
First and foremost, we have to find a way to reconcile the
responsibilities of the Federal Government with the actions of
the Federal Government. As I said when I started, we actually
have signed the bottom line on treaties and said we promised.
We actually have created trust responsibilities and said we
commit ourselves. The fact is, over decades, many decades, the
Federal Government has not met those promises and not kept its
trust responsibility.
And so we are trying very hard on this Committee to find
ways to improve law enforcement, to begin to push this
Congress, push the Presidents to meet our trust responsibility
and meet our obligations.
The gang activity is a bit of a different subject for us
because we have had discussions about methamphetamine. We have
had hearings about teen suicide. We have had hearings about
violent crime. And in many ways, I assume that gang activity
threads the needle on all of these same subjects.
So I appreciate those of you who work in law enforcement
every day, that you came here to tell us your experience. What
I would like to do is this. I would like to ask you as you go
back to your reservations and continue your work, if you would
take a look at your testimony that you have submitted today and
add that which you might think would be helpful to us, and what
would you do if you had additional resources to invest,
particularly in youth on your reservation?
How would you best invest those resources into the lives of
young people on the reservation that you believe would move
them in a direction that is counter towards gang activity? That
would be very helpful to us, and frankly, you do this all day
every day. It is what you have committed your lives to do, and
I think you could be very, very helpful to this Committee in
trying to evaluate the investment in youth that might be most
productive.
I am going to end the hearing at that point, and I will
tell those who are in the audience and others that we will keep
the hearing record open for two weeks, and those who wish to
submit written testimony are welcome to do so, to add to the
permanent record of this Committee.
I thank the witnesses for the hearing. This hearing is
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Prepared Statement of Hon. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator from Washington
Mr. Chairman, thank you for your continued leadership of this
Committee and your dedication to finding ways to help Native America
fight reservation crime and in particular the growing influence of
gangs.
I would like to begin by welcoming Brian Nissan, a member of the
Colville Tribal Council. Brian traveled 3,000 miles discuss his, and
the Colville tribes' efforts to combat the influence of gangs on their
reservation.
Over the last five years, the Colville tribal police have seen a
large increase in gang activity on the reservation and have document
the presence of at least six distinct gangs. More recently the tribe
has had to deal with shocking incidences of violence between rival
gangs with limited resources.
At any given time there are only three Bureau of Indian Affairs
officers available to cover the tribes nearly 2,300 square mile
reservation.
I know that the Colville tribe has implemented culturally
appropriate programs in their schools to help keep their youth from
becoming involved with gangs, but I also look forward to receiving the
tribe's recommendations for combating gang violence.
I would also like to welcome Chief Carmen Smith from the Warm
Springs Tribe of Oregon. Carmen has been working cooperatively with
several tribes in my state to combat the drugs and gangs that are
infesting reservations across the Northwest.
It is my hope that the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009, when
passed, will encourage these kinds of collaborative task forces and
coalitions.
In the mean time I will continue to encourage the BIA too support
tribal initiatives to fight crime on their reservations.
We are here today to receive testimony on the increased challenges
tribes face in dealing with gangs, both homegrown and foreign. I
believe that the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009, which I co-
sponsored, will play an important role in assisting tribes in combating
the problem of gangs.
I am encouraged by all of the efforts these two tribes have taken
to keep their reservations safe; however, I am concerned that we won't
be hearing from any witnesses representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs
or the Department of Justice.
These two agencies play a hugely significant role in law
enforcement on reservations yet they are absent today.
Their absence combined with their recent admission that no
verifiable data on the rate of violent crimes on Indian reservations
exists further solidifies my belief that the Tribal Law and Order Act
of the 2009 needs to be passed into law as soon as possible.
Once again, my thanks to Chairman Dorgan for his dedication to
these issues, and I look forward to working with you to enact into law
the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009.
______
Prepared Statement of Hon. Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from Oregon
I want to thank Chairman Dorgan and the Indian Affairs Committee
for holding this hearing to examine the increase in gang activity in
Indian Country. My home state of Oregon has certainly been impacted by
this problem, and I am especially pleased that the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs are represented here by Police Chief Carmen Smith and
Detective Bill Elliott. I share with Chief Smith and Detective Elliott
very serious concerns about activities of organized gangs on Indian
reservations.
I am pleased not only that the Committee is devoting attention to
this issue, but also that other federal agencies are focusing on this
problem. The Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are all studying
this issue and working to address it. I applaud the efforts of
Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli to hold a series of regional
meetings and to organize a national meeting to study the problem and
formulate a response.
Already there is a great deal of evidence of that gang activity in
Indian Country is a serious and increasing problem. The crime rate in
Indian Country is higher per capita than for any other racial group. In
Oregon, at least three Tribes have reported experiencing drug-related
gang activity, including manufacturing, distributing, and selling meth,
marijuana, and cocaine. The FBI and federal prosecutors report that
gangs are also responsible for an increase in violent crime on Indian
reservations, such as beatings, gang rapes, elder abuse, home
invasions, and drive-by shootings. Gangs use these violent tactics to
assert authority and terrorize Tribe members.
There is no doubt that this growing gang problem presents grave
issues for both Native Americans as well as society beyond Indian
Country. Gang activity disrupts and endangers the lives of those
residing in Tribal Housing Authority residences. Gangs are also able to
use Indian reservations as bases of operation to facilitate drug
manufacturing and trafficking. It is clear that entrepreneurial drug
gangs are able to exploit Indian Country due to a lack of tribal law
enforcement resources, jurisdictional barriers, and other challenges
that have prevented stronger coordination between local, state,
federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
As the Native American population has become more centralized, an
increasing number of tribal members reside in Tribal Housing Authority
property managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). Drug gangs have infiltrated many of these housing developments
by moving in with residents or by recruiting residents into the gang.
These public housing communities are now experiencing the same problems
that affect similar neighborhoods off reservations in urban areas.
For example, the Warm Springs Tribal Gang Unit has documented 86
gang members who are currently active on their reservation. Two-thirds
of the gangs that are active on the Warm Springs reservation have
members who are residents or live with residents of HUD districts. In
the West Hills, the Warm Springs HUD district with the highest level of
violence, gangs have been responsible for assaults, property damage,
and drive by shootings.
The dramatic upsurge in the proliferation of street gangs on Indian
reservations has generated a parallel increase in drug-related violence
for the Northwest Tribes. Once established, it is very difficult to
eliminate the gang presence and to end the commission of violent crime
in these housing developments.
In addition to using violence to intimidate the community, gangs
rely upon drug revenues and drug dependency to further control Indian
reservation residents. Gangs understand that Indian reservations
provide a vulnerable population that is prone to substance abuse. They
also realize that Indian reservations present an opportunity to expand
drug sales without infringing on established turf. The gangs have
focused their expansion on communities with little or no law
enforcement presence. They have also targeted youth on reservations,
often directing activity towards schools, social centers, and
residential areas where youth are prevalent.
A growing dynamic associated with gangs and drug trafficking in
Indian Country in the involvement of Mexican Drug Trafficking
Organizations (DTOs). A number of Mexican DTOs are using Indian
reservations to stage their operations. Members of DTOs have taken
control of residences in tribal housing developments. Most Tribal
police departments simply lack the resources and capacity to handle the
problems presented by these DTOs. In addition to being heavily armed
and very violent, Mexican DTOs pose cultural and language challenges,
as well as jurisdictional problems, for tribal law enforcement
agencies. Further, the DTOs move their activities from reservation to
reservation in order to avoid detection and apprehension, and to
exploit the inability of local, state, and federal law enforcement
authorities to operate on Tribal lands.
To help combat this growing problem, I support the establishment of
an Inter-Tribal Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Program (ITLEMAP) patterned
on the HIDTA model, but tailored to meet the challenges confronting
Indian tribes. This program would enable tribal law enforcement
agencies to pool resources and information, and would allow gang and
drug issues in Indian Country to be addressed at a regional level. Just
as HIDTA has proven to be a successful tool for non-tribal law
enforcement, I believe ITLEMAP would help tribes tackle these
challenges that are not isolated, but span reservations across the
Northwest.
I want to commend the exceptional effort put forward by more than
20 tribes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to design ITLEMAP. I
especially want to recognize Chief Smith and Detective Elliot for their
leadership, without which this proposal would not have been possible.
Reaching agreement on the vexing problems that had to be resolved in
order to formulate this proposal was a daunting challenge. ITLEMAP
demonstrates that tribal law enforcement agencies not only have the
capacity to cooperate across multiple Indian reservation and state
boundaries but also understand the multi-faceted approach needed to
address serious gang and drug issues.
If implemented, ITLEMAP would provide organization, funding, and
personnel to tribal law enforcement efforts across the Pacific
Northwest. It would allow tribes to address the pressing criminal
challenges discussed at this hearing: gangs, drug manufacturing and
trafficking, violent crime, and the general lack of manpower in Indian
Country. ITLEMAP would give tribal law enforcement agencies expanded
capacities such as specially-trained tactical units, temporary force
enhancement, targeted investigations, and dedicated analytical
assistance.
ITLEMAP would provide trained regional tactical response units
capable of handling critical incident events, border security, and
counter-drug operations such as marijuana surveillance and eradication
efforts. This program would allow tribal police agencies to assist one
another on large, complex violent crime or narcotics investigations,
and to share information with each other in a way that facilitates
investigations and enhances officer safety.
As stated, ITLEMAP is patterned on HIDTA, which provides states
with an analytical division designed to support drug based
investigation, and disseminate intelligence to agencies that may be
affected by organized DTOs. Under the HIDTA model, the program provides
specific funding for initiatives submitted by participating agencies.
Each initiative receives the assistance of the HIDTA analytical
division to build the funding justification and track the spending and
results. The analytical division consolidates all of the data and
intelligence to assess necessary funding levels and determine where
increased funds are justified.
While based on HIDTA, ITLEMAP is tailored to meet tribal law
enforcement needs. It would provide tribal officers with the authority
to work in all Tribal jurisdictions in the region. They would be able
to assist at the request and consent of the affected reservation,
provide short-term manpower support, technical support, and criminal
analysis support. Already tribal officers have begun to work together
on projects including grants, aviation, equipment, and training.
Officers are working to establish teams that could locate gang members,
conduct surveillance and arrests, and carry out eradication operations.
The collaborative effort of all participating Tribal enforcement
agencies will build on the strength of the regional law enforcement
community. This program, if funded, could be easily replicated in other
regions and would contribute to the overall strength of Indian Country.
However, establishing this program will be expensive. Implementing
ITLEMAP would costs tribes well over $100,000 a year. I believe serious
nature of the gang and drug problems that exist in Indian Country
justify federal expenditures to help fund ITLEMAP. I encourage the
committee, BIA, and DOJ to work together to help facilitate this effort
and fund the project.
Again I want to commend the Chairman for holding this very
important hearing, and I look forward to working with him and the
members of the Indian Affairs Committee to address the criminal
problems posed by gangs and drugs in Indian Country.
______
Prepared Statement of W. Patrick Ragsdale, Director, Office of Justice
Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso, and Members of the
Committee, I am pleased to provide this statement for the record on
behalf of the Department of the Interior regarding youth gangs in
Indian country.
Law enforcement and judicial jurisdiction over criminal activity
related to gang activity in Indian Country usually overlap with other
jurisdictions. For example, numerous tribal jurisdictions border towns
and cities that in many cases are home to significant Indian
populations.
The 2007 National Youth Gang Survey, sponsored by the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice
Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, reported that there are about
27,000 youth gangs and about 788,000 identified gang members in
America. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently
conducting a study specifically focused on Indian country that will
provide more detailed information. However, it is evident that Indian
country communities face many of the same challenges that other rural
and urban communities face, and require the same suite of law
enforcement and community services in order to successfully counter the
threats posed by increasing gang activity. Law enforcement, the courts,
social and education services are critical to working with families and
parents to provide resources to address problems associated with gang
activity.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) believes there is a direct
influence between local drug distribution activity in Indian country
and traffic involving larger drug distribution cartels. These cartels
play an ancillary and sometimes direct role in the gang activity in
Indian country.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), working with our federal,
tribal and state/local partners, is developing an intelligence program
to improve our ability to address and eliminate gangs and drug cartels
in Indian country. The Department proposed in the FY 2010 budget to add
six additional intelligence analysts to improve information gathering
and the ability to process data to determine proactive measures. The
proposed analyst positions may be placed at critical locations to work
in conjunction with other intelligence agencies. The two analyst
positions currently are located at El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC)
in Texas. The two analyst positions at EPIC work in conjunction with
all of the various federal intelligence agencies to track gang and drug
activity in the southwest as well as other locations where there is
known drug cartel activity.
An effective strategy for dealing with gangs that promote illegal
activities must be holistic. This means the strategy must encompass
community involvement through joint efforts by the police, courts,
schools, and social services. Most importantly, this means developing
programs that work with the families of youth to afford them more
constructive activities and alternatives to gangs.
We must be more aggressive in policing to effectively enforce laws
that prohibit crime. At the same time, police should be working with
educators, community service providers and community leaders to address
the issues that cause increased gang activity and related public safety
concerns. There is a wealth of information, activities and programs
that foster this end. The BIA recently advertised and hired a number of
school resource officers that are or will be specially trained to teach
and work in schools. We have also placed officers at strategic
locations throughout the United States to work with other law
enforcement agencies to combat and interdict criminal drug trafficking.
We have engaged community policing resources to work with the
communities to prevent and combat crime.
Cooperative policing by the various jurisdictions is essential in
dealing with gangs because gang members seek to exploit perceived gaps
in law enforcement capacity across jurisdictions. For example,
communication, coordination and collaboration is vital with other
jurisdictions that have gang units to share intelligence, develop
strategies, and work cooperatively to enforce laws. The FBI safe trails
task forces, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Marshals
Service Investigative Operations task forces are prime examples of
effective inter-jurisdictional policing. Police working with Boys and
Girls Clubs, schools, child welfare and probation services are other
mechanisms of a total community holistic approach.
Gang violence and influence as a conduit to other criminal activity
is a problem. Better policing requires focused attention on all aspects
of the community. The ability to respond to all types of calls for help
in the community is critical. Gang activity thrives in situations where
resources are limited and community support is lacking. A successful
effort to thwart gang activity will require determined action by
everyone involved, including law enforcement, parents of youth,
communities, schools, courts, and federal, tribal, and state/local
officials.
______
Prepared Statement of Robert B. Cook, President, National Indian
Education Association
Chairman Dorgan, and Members of the Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs, thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony on behalf
of the National Indian Education Association with regard to the
increase of gang activity in Indian country and its impact in
education.
Founded in 1970, the National Indian Education Association is the
largest organization in the nation dedicated to Native education
advocacy issues and embraces a membership of nearly 4,000 American
Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian educators, tribal leaders,
school administrators, teachers, elders, parents, and students.
NIEA makes every effort to advocate for the unique educational and
culturally related academic needs of Native students. NIEA works to
ensure that the federal government upholds its responsibility for the
education of Native students through the provision of direct
educational services and facilities that are safe and structurally
sound. This is incumbent upon the trust relationship of the United
States government and includes the responsibility of ensuring
educational quality and access. The environment in which instruction
and educational services are provided is critical to the achievement of
our students to attain the same academic standards as students nation-
wide.
The health, well-being, and success of Native children are central
to tribal sovereignty. Tribal governments are responsible for raising,
teaching, and caring for children, and Native children in turn form the
backbone of future tribal success. The National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), the National
Indian Education Association (NIEA), the National Indian Child Welfare
Association (NICWA), and the National Council of Urban Indian Health
(NCUIH) brought together their knowledge and expertise to create a
joint policy agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native children's
issues. The goal of this initiative is to set forth specific
recommendations to improve the social, emotional, mental, physical, and
economic health of children and to improve their learning capacity and
developmental potential, which in turn will lead to increased self
esteem and decreased negative lifestyle choices for Native youth.
This agenda is intended as a tool to assist tribal leaders and
other policy-makers in creating and implementing a vision for a healthy
community. It is also intended to guide stakeholders in identifying
legislation and policy issues that may affect Native children. We
identify four overarching themes that we believe must be guiding
principles for improving children's lives and outcomes. Within each
theme, the agenda sets forth tribal strategies and policy objectives to
implement these principles. The themes are:
Healthy Lifestyles. Our children must have the resources
they need to develop strong self esteem and the life skills
needed to usher them into adulthood. One of these resources is
good health. Children who are physically and emotionally
healthy are more able to play, learn, and work.
Safe and Supportive Environments. Children who have their
basic needs met, including love, shelter, food, clothing, and
play, are children who are more likely to go on to thrive,
explore, learn, and dream. Our children must be protected from
unsafe environments and supported by our communities.
Successful Students. Children who are healthy, safe, and
nurtured achieve to the best of their abilities. Our children
need skilled teachers, sound curricula, and family involvement
so they can gain the abilities they need for present and future
fulfillment.
Stable Communities. In order to invest in children and the
community structures that support them, tribal governments must
have options for economic development and flexibility to
channel tribal and federal funds into programs that best
support their members. The objective is to foster economically
self-sufficient communities which can support community
programs that provide basic support for children and families.
In 2004, 22 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native high
school students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on
school grounds in the previous twelve months, compared to 11 percent of
black, 9 percent of Hispanic, and 8 percent of white students. \1\ As
reported in A Tangled Web of Justice: American Indian and Alaska Native
Youth in Federal, State, and Tribal Justice Systems a survey conducted
in 2000 found that 23 percent of Indian country respondents had active
youth gangs in their communities. A field study on gangs in the Navajo
Nation found the spread of youth gangs was facilitated by specific
structural factors in the community including: frequency with which
families move off and onto the reservation, poverty, substance abuse,
family dysfunction, housing, and a declining connection to traditional
cultures. \2\
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\1\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics. 2005b. Status and trends in the education of American
Indians and Alaska Natives (NCES 2005-108). Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office.
\2\ Arya, Neelum & Rolnick, Addie C. (2008). A Tangled Web of
Justice: American Indian and Alaska Native Youth in Federal, State, and
Tribal Justice Systems, 6. Campaign for Youth Justice.
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NIEA, NCAI, NIHB, NICWA, and NCUIH have formulated the following
recommendations as strategies to comprehensively meet the needs of
Native children and serve as preventative measures to address and
reduce gang activity. NIEA supports increased resources for the
following preventative policies and programs as a means to reduce
destructive lifestyle choices for Native youth.
Engage in tribally initiated partnerships with community
members and nonprofit organizations to offer organized
activities for at-risk or delinquent youth, such as Boys and
Girls Clubs or elders as mentors.
Invest in alternatives to detention and work to reduce over-
reliance on secure detention in cases where it is not
absolutely necessary. For the majority of delinquent youth,
non-detention programs are more effective and economical.
Construct and staff places for youth to spend time after
school and during the summer months.
Provide cultural activities and life skills programs that
promotes leadership among Native youth.
Create tribal reentry programs which are critical to
ensuring that youth coming out of detention can transition back
into work or school, rather than falling again into delinquent
behavior or crime.
In the vein of the Native Children's Agenda, NIEA supports
provisions that make tribes directly eligible for federal juvenile
justice program funding, including funding for diversion, intervention,
and rehabilitation services. This includes sufficient funding at the
Department of Justice and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) available to
tribes through combined flexible tribal grant programs that combine
education, preventative, and rehabilitative services. NIEA believes
that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools at the Department of
Interior offer the greatest promise for school based partnerships with
the tribe and community for addressing gang activity through positive
Native youth development, prevention and intervention programs. These
potential programs for partnership include, but are not be limited, to
the following: Tribal Courts (probation programs for juveniles), child
protective services, and BIA/Tribal Social Services, BIA/tribal law and
order, Boys and Girls Clubs, Indian Health Services, and BIA education
programs such as the Johnson O'Malley program.
Additionally, NIEA recommends the establishment of an
Interdepartmental Task Force on Native Youth with a focus similar to
the Native Children's Agenda that will focus on comprehensively meeting
the needs of Native youth. In addition to education issues, a priority
focus of the Task Force should include gang prevention and intervention
programs. The Departments of Education, Interior, Health and Human
Service Justice, and Housing and Urban Development would comprise the
Interdepartmental Task Force, and would be charged with identifying and
establishing the levels of need, recommendations to meet the needs, and
an implementation plan based on the recommendations.
Finally, intermediate sanctions and alternatives to detention are
not widely available in tribal communities \3\ and current policies
result in Native youth over-representation among those youth in
detention and among youth waived into the adult criminal system,
despite that these acts are mostly low-level offenses. \4\ As a result,
Native youth are often forced to leave their communities in order to
receive rehabilitative services, a practice that is reminiscent of the
era when Native youth were sent away to federal boarding schools.
Programs that rehabilitate, treat, and redirect delinquent youth in
their communities are critical to ensuring that youthful misbehavior
does not lead to dysfunction and criminality in adulthood.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Arya, Neelum & Rolnick, Addie C. at 14.
\4\ Id. at 8, 20-24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, NIEA thanks the Committee for their attention to
this increasing problem in Indian country and encourages the Committee
to support legislation that provides for increased federal resources in
preventative programs and policies.
______
Prepared Statement of the Puyallup Tribe
Attachments
______
______
Prepared Statement of Marty Shuravloff, Chairman, National American
Indian Housing Council
Introduction
On behalf of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC),
I am pleased to submit the following statement to the Committee on
Indian Affairs for the hearing record regarding its July 30, 2009,
Oversight Hearing on Increased Gang Activity in Indian Country.
As the Committee knows, I serve as the Executive Director of the
Kodiak Island Housing Authority in Kodiak, Alaska. I am an enrolled
member of the Lesnoi Village, Kodiak Island, Alaska. I am also the
Chairman of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC).
The National American Indian Housing Council was founded in 1974 to
support and advocate for tribes and tribally designated housing
entities (TDHEs), and for 35 years, the NAIHC has worked to assist
Indian tribes achieve their objectives of providing housing, housing-
related infrastructure, and community development for their members.
The NAIHC is the only national Indian organization whose sole
mission is to represent Native American housing interests throughout
the Nation. The NAIHC consists of 267 members representing 460 Indian
tribes in the lower 48 states and the State of Alaska. I am pleased to
report to the Committee that in 2008, the Department of Hawaiian
Homelands (DHHL) became an active and voting member of the NAIHC and we
continue to work with the DHHL on issues of concern to their members.
At the outset, I would like to thank the Chairman, Vice Chairman
and the Committee for holding this Oversight Hearing to Examine the
Increase of Gang Activity in Indian Country. It is a sad but well-known
fact that even before the collapse of the American housing and
financial sectors in the fall of 2008, most American Indian and Alaska
Native communities were plagued by extraordinarily high unemployment
and poverty rates. These conditions, combined with geographical
remoteness and scarce law enforcement resources, have made Native
American communities ripe for crime and drug-related activity. A
parallel development in our communities is the proliferation of gang
activity and other criminal behavior.
I would also like to thank Chairman Dorgan for his leadership on
tribal housing issues, which he has consistently recognized as the key
to improved health and broad economic development in Native America.
The year 2008 was a landmark year for Indian Country and Indian
Housing, in particular, as the Native American Housing Assistance and
Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) was reauthorized and updated to
provide tribes and Native American communities with new and creative
tools necessary to develop culturally relevant, safe, decent and
affordable housing for Native people.
While we celebrate the hope that NAHASDA presents us for improving
the quality of life and living conditions for Native Americans, we must
not lose sight of the stark conditions that still exist on most Indian
reservations, in most Alaska Native communities, and on Hawaiian Home
Lands. Housing conditions in Native communities compare very
unfavorably with those of other Americans. An estimated 200,000 housing
units are needed immediately just to meet current demand, and we
estimate that there are approximately 90,000 Native families that are
either homeless or under-housed and living in overcrowded situations. A
large percentage of existing homes are in great need of rehabilitation,
repair and weatherization. Economic conditions are even worse:
unemployment rates on Indian reservations, even before the current
recessionary period, were typically well over 50 percent and in some
places as high as 80 percent.
Against this backdrop, NAIHC presents the following perspectives
and recommendations to improve housing and living conditions for Native
Americans by taking proactive and creative approaches to crime and drug
activity in Native communities.
The Indian Housing Block Grant
The Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) is the central feature of the
NAHASDA and is the single largest Federal source of capital for housing
development, housing-related infrastructure, and home repair and
maintenance in Indian Country. Current funding levels do not meet all
tribal housing needs and have not kept pace with increasing costs of
construction materials, energy costs, and other inflationary factors
since 1997. In fact, Federal funding for the IHBG has been relatively
flat since Fiscal Year 2002 and with increasing housing demands and the
erosion in purchasing power caused by inflation, Native communities
have been hard hit by this failure of Congress to appropriate
sufficient funding.
The NAHASDA statute contains a definition of the term ``eligible
affordable housing activities'' and lists those activities that may be
undertaken with NAHASDA assistance including new construction,
rehabilitation, acquisition, infrastructure, and various support
services. Housing assisted with these funds may be either for rental
units or for homeownership. NAHASDA funds can also be used for certain
types of community facilities if the facilities serve eligible, low-
income residents.
Housing development in Native American communities involves more
than simply building dwelling units. Some of these affordable eligible
activities can be designed to fight crime and drugs in tribal housing.
The IHBG can also be steered towards crime prevention activities such
as safety, security and law enforcement measures and activities that
protect residents of affordable housing from crime. Certain activities,
with HUD approval, can also be carried out as model activities.
The Use of ``Drug Dogs'' in Native Communities
One Indian tribe, the Bay Mills Indian Community in Brimley,
Michigan, identified the growing prevalence of drugs as such a threat
to their community that it devoted precious housing resources to
partner with the tribal police. The Bay Mills Housing Authority
contributed of a portion its IHBG to purchase, train and house a canine
(K-9) unit and a squad car for the department. Maintaining a drug free
community as a top priority, the Housing Authority determined that a K-
9 unit is essential in their fight to keep the community safe and drug
free by patrolling their properties and searching their buildings. The
community experienced a drop in criminal activities almost immediately.
In 2005, the officer and his K-9 partner were recognized with an
``officer of the year'' award.
Law Enforcement Exemption
Recognizing the value of community policing and the very physical
presence of law enforcement personnel, the NAHASDA statute authorizes
waivers of the low-income requirement in cases where the law
enforcement officer and his or her family would reside in the tribe's
service area. This provision, contained at 25 U.S.C. Sec. 4131(4), is
meant to provide housing to such officers and incentivize living in the
community to deter criminal behavior.
Simple Maintenance and the ``Broken Window Phenomenon''
One practice that has resulted in deterrence of criminal behavior
in residential communities is to provide general timely maintenance to
existing housing structures and undertake such activities as fixing
broken windows in those units. These maintenance activities demonstrate
the will of the community to not tolerate eyesores and other failed
infrastructure and go a long way in preventing vandalism which, once
begun, can escalate to include more serious property damage and related
crime.
Tribal housing authorities are no stranger to the phenomenon and
devote resources to maintaining housing units from ordinary wear and
tear which becomes exacerbated by other activities. More resources
spent on broken windows means less for new home development and other
tenant services.
Methamphetamine
Crime and drugs are together fueling increasing disorder and pain
in Native communities. Perhaps the starkest example of this unholy
synergy is the proliferation of methamphetamine ``labs'' on Indian
reservations. Because most American Indian reservations and Alaska
Native communities are in geographically remote and rural areas,
methamphetamine producers have built ``meth labs'' in tribal housing
units. These purveyors of pain are also targeting Indian populations--
especially those tribes that regularly issue per capita payments to
tribal members--which they view as a solid source of demand for their
products. In the process, tribal housing resources get diverted into
training housing personnel to identify meth labs. Scarce resources are
further diverted to the abatement, clean up and remediation of tribal
housing contaminated by the toxic chemical stew created by meth labs.
To help address this growing problem, the NAIHC has offered
Methamphetamine Awareness and Abatement training to tribal housing
staff since 2005. The overall goal of that training is to increase
awareness of the impact that meth has on tribal housing employees,
tenants, and community quality of life. The abatement section provides
practical means to help tribal housing staff recognize use and
trafficking patterns while strengthening proactive response through
ordinances, inspections, codes and policy. In 2009, meth trainings
accounted for about 6 percent of our total training sessions, however,
in 2006, meth trainings were as high as 20 percent of our total
training sessions and attendance exceeded all other training sessions
combined that NAIHC offered. While targeted at tribal housing, the
sessions where often attended by tribal police officers, tribal health
department staff and other community organizations concerned with the
meth problem and how to recognize its impacts on their community.
Indian Development Involves Multiple Programs and Agencies
Since its enactment, NAHASDA has enhanced tribal capacity to
address the substandard housing and infrastructure conditions by
encouraging greater self-management of housing programs, greater
leveraging of scarce IHBG dollars, and greater use of private capital
through Federal loan guarantee mechanisms. A related program to the
IHBG is the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG), which can
be used to construct law enforcement and justice facilities under
certain conditions.
The ICDBG can be used for the development of community facilities
such as a recreational center, shelter for the homeless or halfway
house for drug offenders. It cannot be used for buildings for the
``general conduct of government'' which means offices where
legislative, judicial or administrative activities take place. In other
words, ICDBG can be used for the development of a police station or a
jail or prison, but not a police headquarters or courthouse.
Although a great program, few tribes have capacity to apply for the
grant. Not only is the ICDBG highly competitive, it has a rigorous
application process. If a tribe decides to apply, Native communities
that experience higher rates of criminal and drug activity will have to
decide whether to prioritize addressing the criminal justice needs in
the community at the expense of other community needs such as a
hospital, a domestic violence shelter or a convalescent home for
eldercare.
Department of Justice Programs
As with many local and state governments, tribes have to
prioritize, plan and pay for their community development through a
variety of funding sources including Federal resources. As housing and
community development go hand in hand, governmental services for Native
Americans are often associated with tribal housing programs.
The U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) joined together to assist in the investigation,
prosecution, and prevention of violent crimes and drug offenses in
public and federally assisted housing, including Indian housing. This
crime prevention effort, known as the Public Housing Safety Initiative
(PHSI) is executed directly through U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Weed and
Seed sites and local public housing authorities.
The PHSI sites develop strategic plans for federal state and local
law enforcement. Advisory committees comprised law enforcement and
community-based organizations to provide guidance and leadership in
developing the plans. The PHSI plans, which may target anything from
homicide to drugs to guns to gang crime, combine strong enforcement
with vigorous prosecution efforts. Some crime prevention strategies may
include programs such as Safe Haven, after-school enrichment
activities, treatment options, and offender reentry initiatives. Other
activities include inviting affordable housing developers, public
housing authorities, and other partners to participate in planning and
enhancing long-term solutions for the community. The strategic plans
also include outcome-based performance measures to guide the
implementation and documentation of these efforts.
The Drug Elimination Program and Indian Housing
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Public
and Indian Housing Drug Elimination Program (PIHDEP) was enacted to
reduce crime and drug use in public housing communities. PIHDEP was
created by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, and provided funds for
activities that would reduce or eliminate drug related crime in public
housing communities. These activities included employing security
personnel, developing programs to reduce/eliminate the use of drugs,
funding resident organizations to develop security and drug-abuse
prevention programs, making physical changes to improve security, and
reimbursing local police for additional security services.
Specifically, PIHDEP provided resources for Housing Authorities to work
with law enforcement, citizens groups, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other
community-based organizations to develop anti-crime initiatives.
The total available funding for PIHDEP was $8.2 million in 1988 and
had risen to $310 million in 2001. The PIHDEP program has been without
authorization since 2002, but on June 23, 2009 Senator Tim Johnson (D-
SD) introduced the ``Public and Indian Housing Crime and Drug
Elimination Program Reauthorization Act of 2009'' (S. 1327). The
legislation would authorize grants and direct payments to Public
Housing Authorities, Tribally Designated Housing Entities, and Indian
Housing Authorities for the prevention and elimination of crime and
drug use in public housing.
Senator Johnson's bill would reauthorize the PIHDEP through 2014.
The legislation also sets aside no less than two percent of the funding
for HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research and requires HUD to
conduct an effectiveness study on strategies that reduce and prevent
violent and drug related crime in public and Indian low-income housing.
Conclusion
In very practical ways, community development in Native American
communities suffers at the expense of fighting criminal and gang
activity. Basic physical infrastructure and amenities such as water and
wastewater infrastructure, electricity, heat and cooling systems, are
extremely costly endeavors and one reason for the high cost of housing
development in Native communities. While there are tools available for
TDHEs to fight crime, devotion of these resources to combat drug and
criminal activity decreases resources to build homes, community centers
and housing related infrastructure.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the perspectives of the
NAIHC. Your continued support of Native American communities is truly
appreciated and the NAIHC is eager to work with the Committee on
initiatives to improve the Indian housing programs and living
conditions for America's indigenous people.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Byron L. Dorgan to
Hon. Hermis John Mousseau
Question 1. What role, if any, does [the] tribal housing authority
play in providing programs for at-risk Indian youth?
Answer. Oglala Sioux (Lakota) Housing (OSLH) provides financial
support for youth programs and sports on the Reservation. OSLH has
committed $600,000 in Recovery Act funds to build nine new playground
areas, one for each district on the reservation.
Question 2. How much does it cost the housing authority to repair
or replace property that has been damaged by gang activity on your
reservation?
Answer. OSLH estimates that it has spent $500,000 during the past
twenty-four months to repair damage from criminal and gang-related
activities in and around its housing units.
Question 3. Does your tribal housing authority provide security
personnel to guard against property damage done by gang activity?
Answer. OSLH would like to provide more security patrols if it had
the resources to do so. OSLH has applied for a Community Development
Block Grant in the amount of $900,000 all of which would be used to
provide security patrols at its housing developments. In some
districts, OSLH tenants have taken the initiate to organize volunteer
safe patrols.
Question 4. What resources are needed for your housing authority to
assist tribal law enforcement in curtailing gang activity in HUD
housing projects?
Answer. Restoration of the HUD Drug Elimination grants would
provide OSLH with resources to better support activities for children
on the Reservation. In addition to funding specific recreational
activities, such funding might be used to support transportation to and
from the recently constructed Boys and Girls Club center.
Other funds would be used to provide more security patrols in the
outlying communities to assist Tribal law enforcement officers, who are
often farther away and attempting to patrol much larger areas.
I feel very strongly that this is an issue that affects the quality
of life on every reservation in the country. Unless we can do something
to change the trends of gang activity, too many of our communities will
be lost to violence and gang-related crimes.
If I can provide further information or be of other assistance to
you and the Committee on this most important issue, please let me know.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Byron L. Dorgan to
Carmen Smith
Question 1. Please describe your tribal juvenile justice system.
Answer. Our juvenile system consist of (2) Associate Judges who
preside over all juvenile matters that come before the Warm Springs
Tribal Court and (1) Juvenile Prosecutor who prosecutes all juvenile
cases that are submitted to the tribal prosecution office.
We have a Children's Protective Services department, which provides
for the safety and welfare of the children who have been victims of
child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse, who have been awarded custody
through the tribal court. The department has Case Workers who are
assigned to each individual child's case and works with the Juvenile
Prosecutor to file petitions in the tribal court. The Case Worker
advocates for the child as the child goes through the juvenile justice
system.
We have a Victims of Crimes department, which provides services to
families and children who have been victims of adult and juvenile
crimes. The department has advocates that are assigned to each family
and helps them with processing paper work for obtaining shelter, food,
clothing and counseling services. The advocates prepare petitions for
restraining orders and protective orders through the tribal court. The
advocates are with the families every step of the way as the families
go through tribal court system.
We have the police department who provides for the safety and
welfare of the children who become victims of child abuse, neglect,
sexual abuse. The police department has the authority to take children
out of the home for protective custody and place the children into
child protective services. The police department investigates all cases
involving children who have been abused. The officers and detectives
testify before the juvenile court on all juvenile cases. The police
department also has a juvenile officer who is assigned to help the
Juvenile Prosecutor and be a resource officer in the schools. In
addition, there is one detective under a Children's Justice Act Grant
to investigate crimes against children.
The Tribal Court has a Tribal Youth Program Grant from Department
of Justice which funds one (1) Tribal Youth Coordinator and focuses on
prevention and intervention of juvenile delinquency and status
offenses. The Tribes funds a second full time Tribal Youth Coordinator.
These Coordinators work with the Tribal Juvenile Judges, the Prosecutor
and the schools to provide one-on-one counseling, tutoring, and group
activities aimed at educating our youth on cultural traditions to help
them build strong identities and self-esteem.
Question 2. Please describe any interaction that your tribe or
tribal police department has had with the federal juvenile justice
system.
Answer. We had a homicide, which the suspect was a 16 year old. The
case was taken federally. In federal court we were able to have the
juvenile transferred as an adult for trial. The juvenile was convicted
of First Degree murder.
The U.S. Attorney's Office serves on a multidisciplinary team with
the Tribal Prosecutor and Children's Protective Services to assist with
protecting children and ensuring that child sex offenders are held
accountable for their crimes against Warm Springs children.
Question 3. Please inform the Committee of any recommendations you
have to improve these systems.
Answer. The Warm Springs Tribes considers its children to be its
most important asset and resource, and of course, they hold the keys to
the Tribes future. Funding at appropriate levels to effective deal with
the Tribes juvenile issues is very important.
Prevention services are extremely important to ensure that fewer
children have to be subjected to the court and juvenile protective
services and will have the most permanent and long term impacts. Drug
and alcohol use on the reservation is involved in at least 90 percent
of the crimes at Warm Springs and effectively reducing this number
requires that the services to juveniles be expanded and better funded.
The next level, intervention, is also important as the children who are
now in the system, and/or are at risk for coming into the system need
assistance to help them turn their lives around and learn to make
choices that will have positive impacts on their lives now and in the
future.
Unfortunately there are a number of children who are now in the
system and have been for a number of years. These children are the
result of long-term neglect and many need strict and close supervision
to help them overcome the behaviors they have developed as a result of
neglect and abuse. These children could greatly benefit from a secure
facility in or near the community that not only provides a good
education but also provides cultural education so these kids will be
able to be successful in both the Native and non-Native worlds.
Funding to help with all of the above is crucial to successfully
combat juvenile neglect, abuse and delinquency issues. The Warm Springs
Tribes is experiencing a drastic decline in revenues and has been for
at least the last ten (10) years. This year the decline is even sharper
as the fall in hydropower prices took a sudden and unexpected fall. As
well timber prices have been falling considerably over the past decade.
Forest products and hydro-power have been the mainstay of tribal
revenues and of the tribal budget for many years. Although the Tribes
are working hard to develop other revenue streams, these will not
positively impact tribal revenues for a number of years.
Question 4. What alternatives were available to the tribal housing
entities to address the gang and drug presence in tribal housing
projects?
Answer. There were no alternatives for housing other than turning
to the police for help to address the gang and drug issue.
Question 5. What role, if any does tribal housing authority play in
providing programs for at-risk Indian youth?
Answer. Currently none, funding has been devoted to refurbish
current units, material costs and other needed programs. Although,
housing has put in playgrounds for kids to use in several housing areas
at the cost of $100,000 dollars.
Question 6. How much does it cost the housing authority to repair
or replace property that has been damaged by gang activity on your
reservation?
Answer. Housing has put about 15,000 to 25,000 dollars for houses
to repair walls, fixtures, appliances, paint, carpet, etc. Housing has
spent $20,000 to $25,000 dollars on houses that had heavy meth use in
the home for Hazmat materials such as heat pumps, duct work to clean
and sanitize the homes.
Question 7. Does your tribal housing authority provide security
personnel to guard against property damage done by gang activity?
Answer. No. The police provide security through routine patrols.
Question 8. What resources are needed for your housing authority to
assist tribal law enforcement in curtailing gang activity in HUD
housing projects?
Answer. The resources needed, is to provide funding for the
``Counting Coup'' project which addresses the gang issues in the HUD
housing projects. The project can be funded from funds appropriated
through HUD for the tribal housing authority.
Question 9. Can you elaborate on how that might be accomplished?
FBI issue.
Answer. Yes, right now the Bend Resident Office of the FBI has
designated crimes in Indian country as a priority. However, has limited
resources to assign an agent to every major crime that occurs on the
reservation. We have requested and the FBI has agreed to add more Warm
Springs detectives to FBI Safe Trails Task Force which designate them
as federal officers.
The only other option that would add further assistance in these
investigations is if the FBI were able to increase their Agent
compliment in the Bend Resident Office.