The poor condition of jails on the Navajo Nation is due to Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanagement, a tribal leader said.

Navajo Nation council delegate Hope MacDonald-Lonetree said the BIA has not provided enough funding for the tribe to operate the jails. She said the end result is that prisoners are not treated humanely.

Inmates filed a class action suit, in tribal court, against the tribe and obtained a consent decree that requires the facilities to maintained under certain conditions. The decree requires the tribe to avoid overcrowding, a difficult task for the largest tribe in the nation. According to statistics, the tribe has 104 jail beds for a reservation population of more than 100,000.

Get the Story:
BIA blamed for breaches of 'humane' jail decree (The Gallup Independent 10/4)

Inspector General Final Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Inspector General Interim Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Department of Justice Jail Reports:
Year 2002 | Year 2001 | Year 2000 | Years 1998-1999

Related Stories:
Editorial: Indian Country jails a national disgrace (10/4)
BIA investigating suicide at Yakama Nation jail (08/06)
Justice bill shifts priorities in Indian Country (8/4)
Jails on Navajo Nation among worst in BIA system (07/08)
Interim Indian Country jail report released (7/2)
Senate panel holds hearing on detention facilities (06/24)
Indian Country jails subject of Senate hearing (06/21)
BIA law enforcement official returns to South Dakota (6/9)
BIA: Law enforcement head offered to be reassigned (06/03)
Top BIA law enforcement official reassigned (6/2)
Funding levels flat in new Interior budget (02/03)
Overcrowding in Indian Country jails the norm (12/02)
Tribes lobbying against 'harmful' appropriations riders (11/10)
Indian Country jails see record growth (09/05)
Indian Country jails see increased numbers (8/13)
Behind Bars: Native incarceration rates increase (7/13)
BIA audit slams Omaha Tribe's police force (5/8)
New study focuses on jails (7/10)