[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8455-H8456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FEDERAL FUNDING SHORTFALLS CRIPPLING NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth Sandlin) is recognized for 5 
minutes.

[[Page H8456]]

  Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue 
that has reached crisis levels in many Native American communities: the 
Federal funding shortfalls crippling tribal law enforcement and justice 
systems.
  Native American families, like all families, deserve safe and secure 
communities. Tragically, there is a pervasive sense of lawlessness in 
too many areas of Indian country. As the at-large Member of Congress 
for South Dakota, I am proud to represent nine sovereign native 
nations.
  The Federal Government has a unique relationship with the 562 
federally recognized tribes. This government-to-government relationship 
is established in the U.S. Constitution, is recognized through treaties 
and is reaffirmed through executive orders, judicial decisions and 
congressional action.
  Law enforcement is one of the Federal Government's trust obligations 
to tribes. Yet, on many counts, we are failing to meet that obligation. 
Less than 3,000 law enforcement officers patrol more than 56 million 
acres of Indian country. Let me repeat: 3,000 officers for 56 million 
acres. That reflects less than one half of the law enforcement presence 
in comparable rural communities.
  A recent master plan for justice services in Indian country found 
that crime is increasing. The report notes that drug cartels 
deliberately base their operations in Indian country because of the 
lack of law enforcement. Once drug producers gain a foothold in 
reservations, they can sell drugs throughout the United States. Drug 
trafficking demonstrates that weak tribal law enforcement systems are 
not just a problem for Indian country; they affect us all.
  In addition to drug activity, the rates of crime against women are 
staggering. In June 2007, Amnesty International released their report, 
entitled ``Maze of Injustice,'' which documents what native women have 
long known before and have fought against. The figures suggest that 34 
percent of native women will be raped in their lifetimes. Even more 
women will be victims of domestic violence. When tribal law enforcement 
departments are understaffed, there are delays in responding to victims 
and to collecting evidence.
  At a 2007 Natural Resources Committee field hearing, we heard from 
Georgia Little Shield, director of the Pretty Bird Woman House on the 
Standing Rock Reservation, which was named in honor of a Lakota woman 
who was brutally raped and murdered in that community.
  Ms. Little Shield told of a woman who was beaten by her partner and 
who had called her for help in filing a police report. They called the 
police and were told, when an officer becomes available, he would take 
her statement. After 2 hours of waiting, they called again. The one 
officer on duty had been sent to the scene of a traffic accident. After 
waiting 2 more hours, they called yet again. In the end, the police 
officer never came to take her statement.
  Large land-based reservations are hit especially hard by insufficient 
funding. For example, the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal chairman has 
testified that his tribe has only three officers per shift to cover an 
area almost the size of Connecticut. These situations and statistics 
show that the extent of these problems far exceed the level of 
appropriations.
  I applaud the interior appropriations subcommittee Chairman Norman 
Dicks and the entire Appropriations Committee for increasing tribal law 
enforcement and justice funding by $28.7 million from fiscal year 2007 
to fiscal year 2008. However, we have much more to do.
  In 2004, the Interior Department Inspector General reported on the 
deteriorating conditions of tribal detention facilities. Four years 
later, not much has changed.
  Last month, the BIA jail in Pine Ridge, South Dakota was closed for 
safety reasons after years of insufficient maintenance by the Federal 
Government. It's estimated that the tribal detention system alone will 
require $8.4 billion to address our current deficiencies.
  In conclusion, fully funding tribal law enforcement will not fix 
every problem such as the lack of transparency and accountability at 
the BIA. That is why I am proud to sponsor the Tribal Law and Order 
Act. This act was written by Senator Dorgan, chairman of the Indian 
Affairs Committee in the Senate. I look forward to working with him to 
ensure the bill becomes law.
  The immediate challenge facing tribes is the insufficient Federal 
funds that leads to too few officers, to jails too unsafe for inmates 
and staff and to tribal courts nearly overwhelmed with caseloads.
  Let me say again: Native American families, like all families, 
deserve to raise their children and to live their lives with a basic 
sense of security and safety. Congress must meet our trust 
responsibilities by fully funding tribal law enforcement and justice 
systems.

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