OJS

###

FARGO – A number of concerns have recently been raised about public safety and criminal investigations on the Fort Berthold Reservation. In response to these concerns, Christopher Myers, the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota, and Charles Addington, the Director of the Office of Justice Services at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, met in Fargo earlier this month to discuss law enforcement resources and jurisdictional issues on the Fort Berthold Reservation. As a result of this meeting, the BIA is taking steps to enhance investigative resources and will soon increase its staffing levels from one to two investigators.

Both the BIA and Department of Justice are committed to doing their part to improve public safety and conduct effective criminal investigations on the Fort Berthold Reservation. This includes helping to drive down the high rate of violence against women and children and assisting in the active and ongoing investigation into a suspicious death case. However, the BIA and DOJ also recognize the necessary and vital role that tribal law enforcement must play in this process. To that end, the BIA is in communication with tribal law enforcement about how to improve the effectiveness of investigations on the Fort Berthold Reservation. In addition, DOJ is working with the FBI and the Department of the Interior to ensure the prompt provision of investigative resources for serious crimes such as domestic and sexual violence against women and children prevalent on North Dakota reservations.

The Departments of Justice and Interior are working together to deliver training to improve the quality of investigations and coordination among law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions in Indian Country. To provide quality training techniques to law enforcement responsible for conducting criminal investigations in Indian Country, the BIA and FBI have teamed up and developed a nine-day Indian Country Criminal Investigator Training Program. The training program is highly interactive and filled with hands-on labs specific to conducting criminal investigations in Indian Country. In addition, the Department of Justice is identifying training resources that can be brought to the field to improve the capacity of tribal and federal law enforcement to address the situation.

####

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A major law enforcement operation targeting drug trafficking in and around Indian Country in North Carolina has resulted in the arrest of more than 75 individuals on federal, state and tribal charges, announced U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke and Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Additionally, the months-long operation yielded more than 248 pounds of illegal substances including heroin, methamphetamine, and hundreds of opioid pills with an estimated street value of $2 million. Officers also seized 6 illegally-possessed firearms. This operation is the latest conducted by the Interior Department’s task force which Secretary Zinke formed in March 2018 to target the opioid crisis in Indian Country.

The undercover operation, led by the Department of Interior’s Opioid Reduction Task Force, in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Police Department and multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, began in March 2018, and aimed at disrupting and dismantling drug distribution networks operating in and around the Qualla Boundary.

“First and foremost, bravo zulu to the dozens of law enforcement professionals who are on the front lines and putting their own lives at risk to take these deadly drugs off the streets. President Trump and I could not be prouder of their work,” said Secretary Zinke. “It’s heartbreaking to see the scale of the problem, and rather than further stigmatizing victims, we are cracking down on the dealers who are selling out our children, selling out our communities, and selling out our nation. The Trump Administration is serious about ending the opioid crisis and that means both treatment of those suffering as well as eradicating the drugs from our communities. This week’s law enforcement action gets us closer to that goal.”

“I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of the Interior, the BIA and the multiple state and local agencies who helped make this operation a success," said Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Richard Sneed. "The arrest of these drug dealers is a critical step towards ensuring that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are able to provide the healthy environment our people deserve.”

In addition to the 75 arrests announced today in connection with DOI’s Opioid Reduction Task Force operation, a concurrent two-year investigation spearheaded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Division of Drug Enforcement and the DEA led to the previous arrest of 57 additional individuals responsible for trafficking opiates and methamphetamine in Indian Country, bringing the total number of those arrested as part of the Western District’s drug reduction initiative on the Cherokee Indian Reservation to 132.

WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. “Larry” Roberts today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (OJS) is once again partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which will take place on Saturday, October 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time. OJS is working with tribal law enforcement agencies to implement Take-Back Day in their jurisdictions.

“By working with the DEA and the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day initiative, we can help reduce the dangers in Indian Country from the misuse and abuse of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs,” Roberts said. “I want to thank the DEA for continuing with this important initiative and our tribal law enforcement partners for joining with us to protect lives. I encourage all members of the tribal public to bring their expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs to their nearest participating Indian Country location and help prevent the dangers of prescription drug misuse and abuse in their communities.”

This is the 12th year that OJS has partnered with the DEA for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The free service allows members of the public to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) In addition to being free, the service is also anonymous with no questions asked.

Members of the tribal public should bring their pills for disposal to the nearest receiving tribal entity listed on the table of participating Indian Country locations. They can also find the site nearest them by visiting the DEA Diversion Control Division’s site search web page.

Last April, Americans turned in 447 tons (over 893,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 11 previous Take-Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 6.4 million pounds – about 3,200 tons – of pills.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, the October 22 Take-Back Day event, or to find the nearest collection site, visit the DEA Diversion Control Division’s website at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html.

-DOI-

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service (IHS) and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) entered into an Interagency Agreement today that will increase access to mental and behavioral health services for students attending BIE schools and youth detained in BIA Office of Justice Services (OJS) facilities.

“The Indian Health Service is dedicated to addressing behavioral health issues across Indian Country with a special focus on Native youth,” said IHS Principal Deputy Director Mary L. Smith. “This Agreement is another major step we have taken to increase access to quality health care in tribal communities. This is a great partnership and key to caring for our Native youth.”

“In keeping with President Obama’s Generation Indigenous initiative to improve opportunities for Native youth and the BIA’s Tiwahe initiative to strengthen Native families, this interagency agreement will enable the BIA and BIE to work collaboratively with IHS to bring much-needed behavioral health resources to Native youth,” said Lawrence S. “Larry” Roberts, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior. “I want to thank IHS for working with us to bring these resources to our educational and juvenile detention facilities. The services will be of immense help to our students and youth detainees and their families.”

The Agreements allows each agency to establish local partnerships through Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) between IHS federally operated mental health programs, BIE-operated elementary and secondary schools and BIA OJS-operated juvenile detention centers to provide mental health assessment and counseling services, which includes telebehavioral health services. In the first year of this agreement, more than 25 schools could access these services.

Under this 10-year Agreement, behavioral health services will be offered at BIE schools and OJS facilities. Tribes, tribally controlled schools or detention facilities may enter into a MOA with the three agencies for these services; however, tribal participation is completely voluntary.

A similar partnership already exists with the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Since November 2015, nine schools and one detention center on the Pine Ridge Reservation initiated agreements for behavioral health services. This Agreement builds on the other interagency efforts between IHS and BIA, including a December 2015 partnership to equip BIA law enforcement officers with naloxone for responding to drug overdoses in tribal communities.

Launched by President Obama in December 2014, Generation Indigenous, also known as Gen-I, is a Native youth initiative focused on removing the barriers that stand between Native youth and their opportunities to succeed. This initiative takes a comprehensive, culturally appropriate approach to help improve the lives and opportunities for Native youth. Earlier this year, IHS announced more than $7 million in Generation Indigenous behavioral health funding for Tribes, Tribal organizations and other programs.

About the BIA and BIE:

The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is headed by a director responsible for managing day-to-day operations through four offices – Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services, and Field Operations. These offices directly administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, economic development, law enforcement and justice, social services (including child welfare), tribal governance, and trust land and natural and energy resources management programs for the nation’s federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

The PDAS also oversees the Bureau of Indian Education, whose director implements federal Indian education programs and funding for 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools (of which two-thirds are tribally operated) on 64 reservations in 23 states, as well as peripheral dormitories, serving over 40,000 students. The BIE also operates two post-secondary institutions of higher learning, administers grants for 28 tribally controlled colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges, and provides higher education scholarships for Native youth. For information about BIA programs, visit www.indianaffairs.gov. For information about BIE programs, visit www.bie.edu.

About the Indian Health Service:

The IHS, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. For more information, visit http://www.ihs.gov. Follow IHS on Facebook.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke praised today’s announcement by the Department of Justice on the progress being made in coordinated federal, state, tribal and local efforts that are reducing the incidence of violent crime across the Nation.

“I am very happy to see that the Indian Country Federal Law Enforcement Coordination Group has been an integral part of this effort and is focusing on violent crime on Tribal reservations,” Secretary Zinke said. “The Federal Government provides significant public safety resources to Indian Country, with numerous departments and agencies delivering and supporting law enforcement services.

“Law enforcement in Indian Country is especially complex, and it is heart-breaking that crimes against Native American women and girls occur at exponentially higher rates than non-Native populations. It’s a subject that I have been especially passionate about since my time representing Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives. With many unique challenges that include sovereignty, jurisdiction, cross deputation, geographically disbursed areas, and cultural awareness among other items. I congratulate the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, which has co-led the Indian Country Federal Law Enforcement Coordination Group with the Department of Justice Office of Tribal Justice. Under my leadership the Bureau and Department will remain committed to the health and safety of all of Indian Country.”

The Indian Country Federal Law Enforcement Coordination Group, an assembly of sworn federal law enforcement officers and other stakeholders who have responsibilities in Indian Country, was created in response to suggestions by federal law enforcement officials who sought to enhance coordination and provide improved federal law enforcement services to Tribal communities.

“For the past two years, we have leveraged tribal, federal, state and local criminal justice partnerships to make a sustained effort to increase the number of reporting agencies using the FBI's Uniform Crime Report,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Michael S. Black. “This tool allows us to make more accurate comparisons of Indian Country crime to other non-Indian country communities.”

The Group enhances communication and fosters the free exchange of ideas and information between sworn federal law enforcement officers, agents, and other stakeholders who are based in Washington, D.C. and have oversight and/or operational responsibilities in Indian Country. Through better coordination, the goal of this group is to provide improved federal law enforcement services and support to Indian Country, ultimately helping to make Tribal communities safer.

###

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued the following statement today which was read during the 26th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service at the United States Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The ceremony formally announced the names of three fallen law enforcement officers from the Navajo and Chickasaw Nations as new inscriptions to the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument.

“Like the famous and humble actions of the WWII Code Talkers who valiantly stepped out of Indian Country to defend the United States from foreign threats, these three brave officers courageously rose up within Indian Country to protect tribal communities from unexpected dangers. Today, I pay their families and their memories the utmost respect for their ultimate sacrifices as we permanently add their names to this distinguished memorial. May this memorial continue to serve as a testament that those who answer the call of duty will never be forgotten.

"In a tradition from my Navy service, I respectfully bid 'fair winds and following seas' to the spirits of these brave men and women.”

The officers recognized at this year’s ceremony brought the total number of names listed on the monument to 114:

• Navajo Nation Police Officer Leander Frank who, on August 30, 2016, was killed in a traffic accident while responding to a disturbance call in the Chinle District of the Navajo Nation Reservation. Office Frank served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
• Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Agent Robert Patrick Flickinger who, on March 7, 2008, was killed in a traffic accident within the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma while serving in an undercover narcotics investigation of an outlaw motorcycle organization. Before joining the force, Agent Flickinger served two years in the U.S. Navy.
• Navajo Nation Chief of Police Hoska “Hoskie” Thompson who, on October 21, 1949, succumbed to freezing temperatures while trying to serve civil papers at a remote canyon area on the Navajo Reservation near the Arizona-New Mexico border.

The event is hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and is held in conjunction with the International Chiefs of Police’s (ICAP) Indian Country Law Enforcement Section and other law enforcement organizations and agencies, including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers at the U.S. Indian Police Academy in Artesia. The formal ceremony consists of full law enforcement honors with flag presentation, 21-gun salute, honor guard, traditional drum song and prayer, officer roll call, and family recognition. Each year, invited dignitaries provide keynote remarks at the ceremony.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was first dedicated on May 7, 1992, at the Indian Police Academy then located in Marana, Ariz. The academy and memorial were later moved to their present site, where the latter was re-dedicated on May 6, 1993. The memorial’s design is based upon indigenous design concepts. Comprised of three granite markers sited within a circular walkway lined with sage, a plant of spiritual significance to many tribes, the memorial includes four planters filled with foliage in colors representing people of all nations. The planters represent the four directions and are located near the walkway’s entrance.

The earliest inscribed name dates back to 1852. In addition to those from BIA and tribal law enforcement, officers listed represent numerous law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Customs Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A list of the names inscribed on the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial is available at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers’ website.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke applauded the efforts of a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Justice Services (OJS) K-9 Police Officer who recently took more than 17 pounds of deadly drugs off the streets. The BIA officer was monitoring vehicle traffic on Interstate 25 on the San Felipe Pueblo Indian Reservation when he conducted a traffic stop resulting in the arrest of an individual, and the seizure of approximately 15.9 pounds of methamphetamine and 1.25 pounds of heroin.

A field test of the substances was conducted and returned positive results for the presence of methamphetamine from one of the fifteen packages and heroin from the one of packages. One package did test positive for heroin and had an approximate weight of 1.25 pounds (567.67 grams). On Thursday, August 30, 2018, a Criminal Complaint was filed in the District of New Mexico and the suspect was held for further court proceedings.

"Our Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers are the front line in America’s ongoing fight against opioids," said Secretary Zinke. "I applaud their fine efforts today and every day. Opioids have had a disproportionately negative effect on American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and as Secretary of the Interior, I understand how imperative our efforts are on this urgent issue. The DOI Opioid Task Force is doing a great job. I thank President Trump for his great leadership in helping us find creative ways to solve this crisis, and I look forward to a day when opioids no longer claim the lives of so many of our citizens."

"Thank you, Secretary Zinke and the hard working BIA-OJS officers on the ground, for helping to keep Indian Country safe," said Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney. "The President's Initiative is directly impacting the families within our tribal communities."

The Department of the Interior is committed to making available resources required to fight drug abuse, and earlier this year Secretary Zinke established the Department of the Interior’s drug fighting Joint Task Force to help achieve President Donald Trump's mission to end the opioid epidemic and make America safe. So far, the task force has made 155 arrests and confiscated approximately 1,155 pounds of illegal drugs. Secretary Zinke has continually worked with tribes to carry out President Trump’s directive to stop the drug and opioid crisis, conducting dozens of tribal visits to see the affected communities, while listening and learning about how to fight the crisis on the ground.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today thanked President Trump for signing a Presidential Emergency Declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which was hard hit by Hurricane Irma last week. The tribe made its request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as soon as it was able to do so. This is the first such declaration ever approved for a tribal nation according to FEMA.

“I want to thank President Trump for quickly responding to the Seminole Tribe’s request for a Presidential Emergency Declaration to help it address the severe damage it suffered from Hurricane Irma,” Secretary Zinke said. “The Interior Department and, specifically, the Bureau of Indian Affairs are actively working to provide the tribe with law enforcement and emergency services that will help fill in gaps in its own resources and supplement the assistance it receives from FEMA.”

The declaration came with a surge of 75 volunteer officers from the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, various other Interior bureaus, and other Tribal Nations. Two dozen BIA and tribal officers remain this week to provide law enforcement and emergency services.

The Seminole Tribe is headquartered in the city of Hollywood, and is one of two federally recognized tribes in the state of Florida. The Tribe has tribal members on the Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Fort Pierce, Lakeland and Tampa Reservations as well as communities in Naples, Tamiami Trail, and around the central Florida area.

“To be able to have the relationship with the federal government to ensure the support and safety of all Seminole Tribe of Florida Reservations and our members is a testament to the relationship of two sovereign governments,” said Seminole Chairman Marcellus Osceola. “I would like to thank President Donald Trump for his commitment to deploy all necessary resources to assist the Seminole Tribe of Florida during this difficult time.”

“The President’s fast response to the Seminole Tribe’s request for an emergency declaration was critical for the tribe to receive the assistance it needs to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs John Tahsuda III. “By specifically asking for BIA law enforcement personnel to help relieve the Seminole tribal police officers, who have been on duty for over a week straight, the declaration allows us to move forward quickly to render such assistance and protect lives and property.”

With the President’s action, the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (OJS) will be able to provide law enforcement officers to support the Tribe under a Direct Federal Assistance (DFA) mission. The mission is being staffed by the BIA and supplemented by tribal and DOI law enforcement officers. The Bureau sent radio technicians to the site along with staff who delivered mobile sleeping quarters for mission personnel. BIA and other DOI Bureaus deployed 75 of the 125 personnel approved under the mission to support the Seminole Tribe at the Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee and Hollywood Reservations

The BIA’s Emergency Management office is leading a Tribal Assistance Coordination Group (TAC-G), which is responsible for coordinating emergency management actions of federal and state agencies, as well as volunteer organizations and other TAC-G partners, in support of tribes in Texas and Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey and those impacted by Hurricane Irma.

###