Troy Eid, the chairman of the Indian Law and Order Commission, and Michael Geraghty, Alaska's Attorney General, appeared on Alaska Public Radio Network last week to discuss law enforcement issues in Alaska Native villages.

The commission is calling on Congress to treat former reservation lands that are placed in trust as Indian Country in order to address gaps in state law enforcement. Alaska tribes are currently excluded from the land-into-trust process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs but ongoing litigation might change that.

Alaska Natives are also excluded from the tribal jurisdiction provisions of S.47, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The commission is calling on Congress to repeal the exclusion.

"A simple fix is the removal of the one section relating to Alaska, which puts Alaska Native communities on par with Native communities throughout the nation," the report states. "Allowing Tribal courts to issue protective orders, to enforce them, and provide the local, immediate deterrence effect of these judicial actions may be the single-most effective tool in fighting domestic violence and sexual assault in Native communities in Alaska."

Get the Story:
Tribal Law and Order in Alaska (Alaska Public Radio Network 11/15)

Indian Law and Order Commission Report:
A Roadmap For Making Native America Safer (November 2013)

Related Stories:
Indian Law and Order Commission sets timeline for reform (11/13)
Indian Law and Order Commission supports tribal authority (11/12)
Indian Law and Order Commission releases public safety report (11/6)