Marty J. Jackley, U.S. Attorney
for the District of South Dakota. |
Nowhere are the effects of violent crime and drug offenses more devastating than on American Indian reservations. Individuals who commit these crimes jeopardize public safety in Indian communities, often targeting victims who are among the most vulnerable members of our society. They also threaten the rich indigenous culture of a proud native population. The price these crimes exact is most certainly high, but a failure to make Indian communities safer now and in the future represents an even higher cost.
The District of South Dakota includes nine Indian reservations, and stemming the spread of violent crime and drug offenses in Indian communities is an urgent priority of the U.S. Attorney's Office. We have developed a strategy designed to obtain appropriate criminal liability for offenders and to make our reservations safer places to live. The effort involves many distinct components and depends on the invaluable contributions of tribal leaders and governments together with federal, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
South Dakota's Project Safe Neighborhoods program includes a plan specifically tailored to take the antigun message to South Dakota's nine reservations. The plan features two goals: educate state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers about federal firearms laws, and educate Native American youth about the dangers and consequences of gun violence. We are fortunate to have had great success on both fronts. Through research conducted alongside our training efforts, we have seen a dramatic increase in the familiarity with federal firearms laws among all officers. We used Indian youth focus groups to tell young people on the reservations about gun violence and created effective classroom presentations for middle and high school students across the district. Educating youth has also included the creation of the North Star Leadership Course, which is directed at youth who are at high risk of committing violent crimes in the future. The course teaches 10–12 students at a time—half of whom must be Native American—about the long-term consequences of violent criminal behavior and the benefit of establishing positive goals for their future.
One of the best examples of the ongoing effort to improve the lives of people who live on Indian reservations is our work with the Public Housing Safety Initiative (PHSI). In 2004, South Dakota received a $600,000 PHSI grant which is currently being used on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation to increase law enforcement efforts and to prevent violent crime and drug offenses by enhancing the lives of young people.
The Rosebud Reservation generally encompasses Todd County, which represents the fifth poorest county in the nation. However, the Rosebud Tribal Police Department has a reputation for making the most of its scarce resources, and most of the grant's $400,000 allotment for increased law enforcement is being used to fund additional law enforcement resources aimed at investigating violent crime and drug offenses in the individual communities of the reservation.
The remaining $200,000 is being spent to help ensure the continued success of the Boys & Girls Club in Mission, one of the reservation's larger communities. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe deserves a great deal of credit for starting the club. Prior to the availability of grant money, the tribe purchased an old bowling alley and converted it into a Boys & Girls Club complete with a national charter. The PHSI money pays for key staffing, including a director, and programming aimed at drug-free living, wellness, and fun. The Boys & Girls Club has become a success, and we hope the tribal community will continue to support and embrace it. It is a place where young people can go to spend time, play games, do their homework, and relax in a safe environment. I have personally visited the Boys &Girls Club and experienced firsthand the community's enthusiasm as well as the potential for continued success.
Our law enforcement community coordinator heads up the grant's administration and frequently travels to Mission. He described a winter evening visit to the Boys & Girls Club when the furnace stopped working. Despite the falling temperature, young people continued to crowd into the building. One little girl told him that she wanted to stay at the Boys & Girls Club as long as possible because of the difficult environment she faced at home. The comment is haunting, but it confirms the efficacy of our combined efforts. It also reminds us of the urgent need to provide the young people living on South Dakota's Indian reservations with fair opportunities to grow up in safe, healthy communities in order to help them realize their enormous potential.
In addition, for each of the nine reservations, our office has designated one Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) to serve as the primary prosecutor for offenses that occur there. This AUSA quickly becomes the primary point of contact for law enforcement officials and tribal leaders as well as a key member of the reservation's multidisciplinary team (MDT). Each reservation's MDT features a cross-section of professionals that generally includes tribal law enforcement officials, victim assistance specialists, South Dakota Department of Social Services representatives, mental health professionals, and federal law enforcement agents. The MDTs meet monthly and discuss ongoing criminal investigations, often focusing on offenses involving sexual abuse. The MDTs foster critical relationships among their members and provide a single forum for sharing information and ideas—all directed at combating violent crime in Indian Country and producing successful prosecutions.
Victims of violent crime occurring on Indian reservations, in many instances, have a particularly keen need for effective victim support services. Their assailants are often family members or friends from their small, close reservation communities. Their needs range from the practical logistics of travel and meals during a trial to the need for medical and emotional assistance or, sometimes, physical safety. Our office's victim assistance professionals are among the best in the country, and our efforts to impose criminal liability upon those who harm victims would not be successful without their help.
I am, of course, proud of our office's efforts to make South Dakota's Indian reservations safer places to live, but we have much more to do. I am heartened by the dedication and commitment of our federal, state, and tribal partners, and I believe that our concerted efforts will continue to make a real difference in improving people's lives by providing them with the essential conditions of safety and security.
Marty J. Jackley
U.S. Attorney
District of South Dakota
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