A memorial wreath placed on the Wounded Knee Memorial site by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on July 28, 2011 during a visit to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Photo by Eric Long Wolf.
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA –– President Barack Obama’s promise to mend the century’s long estranged relationship between the federal government and South Dakota Indian Tribes took another step forward last week. A July 27 meeting at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn in Rapid City brought together some of the most influential tribal leaders from across the Northern Plains and the nation’s top law enforcement officials including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. “We have come together at a critical moment. A year ago this week, President Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act into law. This landmark piece of legislation has enhanced our ability to prosecute crimes in Indian country, strengthened law enforcement capabilities across relevant jurisdictions,” Holder said. He told tribal leaders that the government has reestablished the Civil Rights Division’s Indian Working Group, established a permanent Office of Tribal Justice and “opened new channels for communication and cooperation between tribal law enforcement authorities and federal agencies including the Bureau of Prisons and the FBI.” His agency is working closely with the Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services he said to implement the law and is finalizing a Memorandum of Agreement with IHS and HHS to coordinate the federal response to alcohol and substance abuse issues facing American Indians and Alaska Natives. The government has also developed a long-term plan to address juvenile and adult detention, corrections, reentry, and alternatives to incarceration. Holder thanked U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, the Chairman of the Native American Issues Subcommittee for his outstanding work on behalf of the people of South Dakota. Throughout the day a panel which included members of the Native American Issues Subcommittee and the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee listened to testimony from tribal leaders, tribal law enforcement officials and victims of domestic violence and their families. Holder said the committees “were there to pave the way for deeper understanding and closer collaboration between leaders and law enforcement officials across this state.” The Department of Justice has deployed 28 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute violent crimes in Indian country, and the FBI has deployed nine new investigators and 12 new victim advocates. “I’m especially pleased that three of these AUSAs have been added right here in Brendan’s district – two of whom are enrolled members of tribes here in South Dakota,” Holder said. The two prosecutors from Rosebud were among the tribal law enforcement officials on hand to hear Holders remarks, Matt Rhapold and Mato Standing Bear. Last September, Gregg Peterman a highly skilled community prosecutor was deployed to the Pine Ridge Reservation, “to lead a new initiative aimed at strengthening ties between tribal community residents and federal law enforcement.” He said although progress has been made over the last year, he is not yet satisfied because significant challenges, and serious obstacles, remain and for him no challenge is more urgent than protecting women and girls living in tribal communities. Statistics suggest that nearly three out of five women have been assaulted and that as many as one third of all American Indian women will be raped at some point in their lives. And that murder rates for Indian women are many times the national average. “This is as shocking as it is unacceptable. This situation must, and will, be reversed,” he said. “The Justice Department recently proposed legislation that would close significant legal gaps and give Indian country law enforcement, investigators, and prosecutors the tools they need to crack down on violence against women.” Under current law, tribes lack the authority to hold criminals accountable for many domestic violence offenses. “Nationwide, more than half of all Native American married women have non-Indian husbands – yet tribal courts are unable to prosecute non-Indian defendants, even for crimes committed on tribal lands,” he said and that proposed legislation would correct these distortions give tribal courts full “civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders involving anyone – Indians and non-Indians alike.” The planned legislation would recognize the power of certain tribes to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence any defendant who commits domestic violence and lift a six-month cap on sentencing and provide one-year, five-year, and – where appropriate – ten-year offenses. He urged Congress to act upon the proposals, “so that we can provide tribal governments, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers with the tools and authorities necessary to combat today’s epidemic of violence, and to restore the long-standing promise of justice across Indian country – especially to the women who live there.” He reaffirmed the Justice Department’s commitment and his own personal commitment to build and sustain healthy and safe native communities; to renew the nation’s promise to American Indians and Alaska Natives; to respect the sovereignty and self-determination of tribal governments; and to ensure that the progress is not derailed. “I know this fight will not be easy, and that it may take longer than we would like to achieve the results we need. Despite this, we must do everything we can, as quickly as we can, to address this problem. Too much is at stake. Too many lives are at risk,” Holder said. “Mindful of an oftentimes painful history – and focused on a future that can, and must, be better – let us dedicate ourselves to the work before us. We will be judged, not only by the promises we make – but also by the results we achieve. Together, let us forge a path forward that respects age-old traditions – and reflects our faith in a future that is just, and worthy of the proud legacies you represent,” he concluded. On Thursday, July 28 a motorcade of law enforcement officials escorted Holder and other Justice Department officials to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where he addressed a crowd of tribal members at the Su Ann Big Crow Center. “It is a privilege to be here in Pine Ridge, to stand with so many extraordinary leaders, and to visit some of your sacred places – grounds that have been marked by tragedy and loss, as well as healing and hope. Nearly half a century ago, following his tenure as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy traveled to Pine Ridge to learn about the conditions here, to shine a light on the struggles so many faced, and to signal the U.S. government’s commitment to ensuring peace, security, opportunity, and – above all – justice on tribal lands.” After listening to remarks from several tribal members, the motorcade escorted him to the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre where more than 300 Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux lay buried in a mass grave. There he laid a commemorative wreath on the Wounded Knee Memorial. (Contact Ernestine Chasing Hawk at managingeditor@nsweekly.com
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