The Crisis Intervention Team International (CITI) Conference

October 14 - 16, 2013Hartford, CT

Tribal Law Enforcement and CIT:The New Frontier

Dan Abreu, MS CRC LMHCSAMHSA’s National GAINS Center

Mary Katherine, PhDPsychologist

Lemoine LaPointeSicangu Lakota Tribe

Session Goals

Raise awareness about Tribal Issues

Increase partnerships/networking

Share resources

Increase cultural awareness/competency

Lincoln Journal StarPatrol: Attacks in Whiteclay 'concerning' May 20, 2013 3:00 pm • By GRANT SCHULTE / The Associated Press

State law enforcement officers were helping patrol a small Nebraska town

Monday after the vandalism of two beer trucks earlier this month near a South

Dakota Native reservation where alcohol is banned.

Col. David Sankey, the superintendent of the Nebraska Whiteclay during beer

deliveries because of an uptick in vandalism from protesters opposing beer sales.

Whiteclay is on the border of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a

poverty-stricken area that prohibits alcohol but nonetheless is plagued by

alcoholism.

July 23, 2013Abandoned in Indian CountryBy THE EDITORIAL BOARD

It’s an old American story: malign policies hatched in Washington leading

to pain and death in Indian country. It was true in the 19th century. It is

true now, at a time when Congress, heedless of its solemn treaty

obligations to Indian tribes, is allowing the across-the-board budget cuts

known as the sequester to threaten the health, safety and education of

Indians across the nation.

Tribe says shutdown could lead to furloughs, suspension of aid, prisoner releases OCTOBER 10, 2013 6:00 PM • DANIEL SIMMONS-RITCHIE

The partial government shutdown will force the Oglala Sioux to release prisoners, furlough hundreds of tribal employees and suspend heating assistance to elderly tribal members still struggling after Friday's blizzard, the tribe warned Thursday.

The tribe's statement warned that more than half of their programs are affected by the shutdown: a USDA food distribution program would be terminated, a suicide prevention program would be cut, emergency programs for homeless veterans and homeless youths would be suspended, and a lack of funding from the Department of Corrections would force the tribe to release prisoners.

Redskins name controversy intensifies, but no immediate change afoot

By Mark Maske, Published: October 8 at 10:45am

The controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins’ name appears to have intensified in recent days, but several people familiar with the league’s inner workings said late Monday and early Tuesday they sense no immediate change in stance by either the NFL or the Redskins on the issue.

BACKGROUND

• Mortality Rates for American Indian/ Alaska Natives (AI/AN)– Diabetes 182% higher – Pneumonia/ Influenza 37% higher– Maternal Death at Childbirth 50% higher– Alcoholism 552% higher– Unintentional Injury 138% higher– Homicide 83% higher – Suicide 74% higher

• Tuberculosis rates between 2003 – 2008 for AI/AN were FIVE times higher than in the non-Hispanic white population.

• AI/AN suffer from severe psychological distress as a rate 1.5 times higher than the general population.

Health Disparities in Indian Country

• One in four AI/ AN persons live below the federal poverty line.

• On reservations, one in four live below 75% of the poverty line.

• Unemployment rate for AI/ AN is double that of the U.S. population; as high as 50% on some rural, reservations.

• AI/ AN youth are 1/2 as likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

• Reservations have overcrowding at 6 times the national rate.

• On the Navajo Nation, 1/3 of families live in homes without indoor plumbing. 20% of homes lack electricity.

Socioeconomic Conditions in Indian Country

Alcohol and Substance Abuse

• Death from Heavy Drinking for Native Americans is 6 times greater than U.S. population.

• Cirrhosis of the liver is 14 times greater for Native Americans than U.S. population.

• Native Men: 27 % of Deaths are alcohol related(variation by Tribe)

• Native Women: 13 % of Deaths are alcohol related(variation by Tribe)

• AI/AN Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard Analysis:– Native Americans serve at a high rate and have a higher concentration of

females. – AI/AN Service members are younger. – More AI/AN Service members serve in the Navy.

• AI/AN Veteran Analysis– AI/AN Veterans are younger as a cohort.– AI/AN Veterans have served in more recent conflicts.– AI/AN Veterans have lower incomes and education, higher unemployment,

and more likely to lack health insurance and to have a disability.

• More than 42,000 Native Americans served in the military in the Vietnam Era, and over 90 percent of these Service members were volunteers.

• There are currently more than 154,000 Native American Veterans.

~Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004; US Census Bureau, 2006; Fedstats~

NA/AI Veterans Characteristics

• Historical trauma is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma.

• Historical unresolved grief is the grief that accompanies the trauma.

(Brave Heart, 1995,1998, 1999, 2000)

What is Historical Trauma?

• The historical trauma response is a constellation of features in reaction to massive group trauma.

• This response is observed among Lakota and other Native populations, Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants, Japanese American internment camp survivors and descendants.

(Brave Heart, 1998, 1999, 2000)

What is Historical Trauma? (cont.)

Historical Trauma

– 1500-1750 Disease• Small pox, Bubonic plaque, Measles, Yellow fever,

Cholera,

– 1800 Decimation• Influenza - the great death• Wars & Assimilation• “If the savage resists, civilization, with the ten

commandments in one hand and the sword in the other, demands his immediate extermination.” Andrew Jackson The Indian Killer 1867 to Congress

Tribal Nations and Trauma

...and Within our Lifetime

• 1900’s – 1960: Boarding Schools • Forcible removal of children “kill the Indian, save the child.”

• 1950’s – 80’s: Federal Termination Policy• Terminated Federal Tribal Recognition with 100+ tribes• Recognition restored through Supreme Court rulings and congressional

action in the 70’s and 80’s.

• 1960’s: Federal Relocation Policy• Relocation to urban areas

• 2013: Sequestration and Government Shutdown• Cuts to Indian Health Service, Tribal Justice• Layoffs and service cut backs• Seen by tribes as treaty violations.

TribalCriminal Justice

Tribal Criminal Justice Facts

• 564 federally-recognized tribes in the US (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2007).

• 158 operate a criminal court on their reservation (Bureau of Justice Statistics Census, 2002). Of those,– 43% ran their own jails– 20% used Bureau of Indian Affairs jails– 33% relied upon county jails– 4% had no access to jail facilities

• 22% of Indian country jails are operating above 150% capacity, including 7% that are operating above 300% capacity.

• The number of inmates held in Indian country jails between 2004 and 2009 increased by 25% (Jails in Indian Country, 2009).

Collectively, tribes operated law enforcement agencies in 28 states.

• Washington (24)• Arizona (22)• Oklahoma (19)• New Mexico (17)

Tribal Law Enforcement x State (2008)(Tribal Law Enforcement, 2008, BJS)

Tribal LE Staffing x Land Area(Tribal Law Enforcement 2008, BJS.)

• Multiple jurisdictions:

- Tribal law enforcement / Police Departments

- BIA Law Enforcement

- Federal Bureau of Investigation

- State Law Enforcement agencies

- Local Law Enforcement agencies: municipal and

Sheriff Departments

Tribal Law Enforcement

• Large rural areas

• Close community ties

• High rates of Alcoholism

• High rates of Domestic Calls

• High rates of MV deaths

LE Challenges

Tribal Jail Profile Over CapacityJails in Indian Country, 2011. BJS

• 90% decline in suicide since 2002.

• Attempted suicides declined from 215 to 28 in

the same period.

“Jails in Indian Country”, BJS, 2012

Tribal Jail Suicides - 2011

General Scope of Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian CountryType of Crime

“Major" Crime (as defined by Major Crime Acts)

All Other Crimes

Indian perpetrator,Indian victim

Federal (under Major Crimes Act) & Tribal jurisdiction

Tribal jurisdiction

Indian perpetrator,Non-Indian victim

Federal (under Major Crimes Act) & Tribal jurisdiction

Federal (under General Crimes Act) & Tribal jurisdiction

Non-Indian perpetrator,Indian victim

Federal (under General Crimes Act) jurisdiction

Federal (under General Crimes Act) jurisdiction

Non-Indian perpetrator,Non-Indian victim

State jurisdiction State jurisdiction

Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts

“Incarceration is not necessarily a cultural value among many tribal cultures; therefore, community supervision is a desirable alternative for misdemeanor-level offenders. For tribes with these services in place, tribal probation officers are the backbone of the tribal criminal justice process where rehabilitation, treatment services, and ultimately success is measured in reduced recidivism rates and successful reentry back into the community.”

Judge Eugene White-Fish President, National American Indian Court Judges Assn.

Importance of Probation

Take Home

Screening for Native Americans

Tribal component to CIT training

Sharing Training Resources

Sharing Community Resources

Integration of Services

Reach out to NA representatives to participate on local task forces and committees

SAMHSA Resource

Resources

• Tribal Court Clearinghousehttp://www.tribal-institute.org

• National Criminal Justice Training Center-Tribal Traininghttps://www.ncjtc.org/NTR/TribalTraining/Pages/default.aspx

• National Tribal Court Resource Centerhttp://www.ntjrc.org

• Bureau of Justice Assistancewww.ojp.usdoj.gov