Washington: American Indian tribal leaders and advocates have pressed the Congress for more police officers and stronger prevention programs, warning that thin law enforcement coverage and gaps in social services are putting Native children and families at risk.
Testifying before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, witnesses backed a draft Native Children’s Commission Implementation Act, which would expand justice and safety programs for Native youth, make prevention funding more flexible and permanently authorize key victim services.
Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski said lawmakers were examining Title II of the draft bill, which focuses on justice and safety for Native children, youth and families. She said the committee’s work has shown persistent public safety gaps in Indian Country, especially in law enforcement and coordinated services.
“If families do not have access to coordinated community based services, they are far more likely to cycle deeper into the justice system,” Murkowski said. She said the draft aims to strengthen coordination, increase flexibility and funding, and invest in prevention, including juvenile justice, domestic violence and cases involving missing children.
A central feature of the bill is Tiwahe, a coordinated service model that allows tribes to design locally tailored programs. Murkowski said the legislation would codify Tiwahe and expand it nationwide. It would also create a Tribal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, direct a study on missing Native children, and provide permanent funding for tribal domestic violence coalitions, resource centers and the Native Domestic Violence Hotline.
Spirit Lake Tribal Council Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street said her North Dakota tribe faces severe public safety challenges. “Our homicide rate is four times higher than the non-Hispanic whites,” she said, adding that five murders occurred on the reservation this year alone.
She said Spirit Lake’s Tiwahe program uses a community-based approach to support youth and families before they enter the justice system and after contact with it occurs.
Jackson-Street also described ongoing cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people and said rapid coordination is critical. She called for major increases in law enforcement funding, saying current resources are far below what tribes need.
Fort Belknap Indian Community Council member Joan Johnson said Tiwahe has transformed services for her remote Montana reservation, located just 35 miles from the Canadian border.
StrongHearts Native Helpline executive director Lori Jump told senators that Native communities face the highest rates of violence but have the least access to services. She said there are 575 federally recognized tribes but fewer than half have funding for domestic violence programs.
Former Native Children’s Commission member Anita Fineday highlighted barriers that prevent tribes from accessing federal child welfare funding. She said complex reporting requirements limit access to IV-E funding, which all states receive but only a small number of tribes can use. She urged Congress to allow tribes to access these funds through consolidated “477” agreements to reduce administrative burdens.
The Native Children’s Commission, created by Congress, documented disparities facing Native children and issued recommendations on juvenile justice, child welfare and public safety.
(IANS)
