WASHINGTON \u2013 Witnesses testifying Wednesday on juvenile justice before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs had a common message: Defer to tribes.<\/p>\n
The committee heard appeals for legislative fixes and funding to clarify tribal authority.<\/p>\n
Darren Cruzan, head of the Office of Justice Services for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Addie C. Rolnick, an associate professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, who challenges federal jurisdiction in prosecuting tribal juveniles, were both adamant that incarceration of Native American juveniles does more harm than good.<\/p>\n
Cruzan pointed to the success of pilot programs that involve the federal government in a facilitator role.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s working is having the feds at the table and the tribe pointing to what they need, and the feds saying, \u2018OK, we can help with that,\u2019\u201d Cruzan said.<\/p>\n
But Rolnick said that doesn\u2019t quite get at the issue of tangled or duplicative prosecution between tribal, state and federal jurisdictions. She stressed the importance of amending the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act and similar laws that subject tribes to state jurisdiction. The law should require prosecutors to defer to tribes, she said.<\/p>\n
Robert Listenbee, administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the Department of Justice, said his office is trying to increase the use of memorandums of understanding between states and tribes. He also asked for a restoration of funds meant to incentivize states\u2019 cooperation with tribes.<\/p>\n
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., challenged Rolnick\u2019s recommendations, saying that if tribes are given more responsibility, they are going to need more funding.<\/p>\n
Rolnick said that while there is a \u201cblack hole of information\u201d on tribal detention facilities, tribes have reported the success of preventive-intervention activities such as running groups \u2013 or whatever would be culturally relevant for any particular tribe \u2013 that are outside official tribal justice programs.<\/p>\n
Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo, praised witness Carla Knapp for her work as national director of Native Services for the Boys & Girls Club in America.<\/p>\n
Knapp testified that in an outside survey of the group\u2019s former members, 57 percent said the clubs \u201csaved their life,\u201d and that on further probing, many said they meant it literally.<\/p>\n
The Boys & Girls Club has 171 sites established across the country, including one that serves the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.<\/p>\n
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who wrote the 2016 budget bill for the Department of Interior, which includes the BIA, also supported community efforts. She said native communities in Alaska were devastated when funding was cut for the Boys and Girls Club in her state.<\/p>\n