Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota. Photo from KXMB / Twitter

Attorney General Eric Holder spoke to tribal leaders and Native youth during a visit to the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota, on Thursday.

Holder delivered the keynote at the annual tribal consultation conference organized by the U.S. Attorney's Office in North Dakota. He said the Obama administration has increased prosecution of violent crime on reservations, secured passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Act and has launched a task force to address Native youth issues.

"There’s no question, as we come together today, that we can all be proud of the work that’s taking place – and the steps we’re taking together – to improve public safety, to ensure tribal sovereignty, and to advance the cause of self-determination," Holder said, according a transcript of his speech. "Yet there’s also no denying that our recent progress has come in the shadow of decades of conflict and injustice – when great wrongs were committed against Indian peoples, all too often in the name of the United States government."

Holder met separately with Native teenage boys during his visit. He pressed them to protect Native girls and women, who suffer from high rates of victimization.

“At the end of the day, the solution lies with people like you,” Holder told the youth, The Washington Post reported. “There are young guys looking at you. They’re going to look at the way you treat women. It’s a problem we as men have to own.”

Get the Story:
Attorney General Holder says Obama administration making reservations safer (The Grand Forks Herald 6/6)
Attorney general visits UTTC for tribal conference (The Bismarck Tribune 6/6)
Attorney General Eric Holder talks with Native American teenage boys in North Dakota (The Washington Post 6/6)
U.S. Attorney General Speaks At Tribal Conference (KMOT 6/5)
Authorities Prepare For Attorney General's Visit (KMOT 6/5)

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