Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso, and members of the Committee: Thank you for inviting me to testify today regarding the unprecedented support that the President’s FY 2011 Budget provides to the Department of Justice for public safety initiatives in tribal communities. As I have previously discussed with the Committee, the Department of Justice is deeply committed to working with tribal governments to improve public safety in Indian Country. And while we will continue to implement changes that do not cost American tax dollars, the reality is that resources make a difference. In order to achieve lasting results, funding for public safety must be broad and across the board.

We are working to put resources in place quickly and efficiently to help American Indian and Alaska Native communities help themselves. In total, the President’s FY 2011 Budget includes $449 million in resources to assist Indian Country. It includes funds (provided by the Department of the Interior) for 45 new FBI agents to support law enforcement efforts in Indian Country, maintains the increased number of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Indian Country that the Department will add in 2010 as a result of the support of members of this Committee, and increases grant funding in Indian Country by 54%. The President’s FY 2011 Budget provides for a 7% set-aside ‚Äì $42 million ‚Äì from the COPS Hiring Program to support the hiring of tribal law enforcement personnel, an additional 7% set-aside ‚Äì $139.5 million ‚Äì from our Office of Justice Programs (OJP) for Indian Country efforts, and statutory set-asides totaling $42.1 million for certain Office on Violence Against Women programs. These set-asides, combined with numerous Department of Justice programs designed exclusively for tribal communities result in a total request of $255.6 million for Department of Justice grant programs in Indian Country.

While the amount of funding is significant, so are our plans to distribute it. At our listening session in October, at the White House Tribal Nations Conference in November, and in subsequent meetings and discussions with tribal leaders, we have consistently heard a strong desire for more flexible grant programs to meet tribal communities’ needs more effectively. We have been engaged in a consultation process for FY2010 to streamline our grantmaking process, and the President’s FY 2011 Budget will enable the Department to implement a large, flexible, program that directly addresses the requests of many tribal leaders.

The President’s Budget also supports the Department of Justice’s extensive outreach efforts to educate tribal communities about its Radiation Exposure Compensation Program. The Department seeks additional funds for its Community Relations Service to expand efforts to resolve disputes in Indian Country arising from discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. And as part of the Department’s efforts to institutionalize its Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) and better manage its Indian Country initiative, the Department is seeking additional staffing to support OTJ’s expanding responsibilities.

As the President has made clear, these are lean budget times. However, as this Committee knows, we must invest today to improve public safety in tribal communities. The problems in tribal communities are severe: American Indian and Alaska Native communities suffer from violent crime at far higher rates than other Americans. Some tribes have experienced rates of violent crime twice, four times, and in some cases over 10 times the national average; violence against Native women and children is a particular problem, with some counties facing murder rates against Native women well over 10 times the national average; and reservationbased and clinical research show very high rates of intimate-partner violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women.

These problems will not be solved overnight, and money alone will not solve them. But money will enable FBI and other law enforcement agents to investigate crimes committed on Reservations. Money will help train prosecutors of violent crimes perpetrated against Indian women. Money will help us collect and analyze the data that will inform better public safety policies. And money will build capacity in tribal communities so that they can work with their federal partners on improving public safety.

I thank the Committee for its interest in these critical issues and its support.

Release No. 0083.10

Contact:

Office of Communications (202) 720-4623

USDA, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Sign Agreement to Increase Cooperation

Washington, Feb. 25, 2010 ‚Äì The USDA Secretary Vilsack today signed an updated Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to promote increased cooperation between USDA, tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCUs), and American Indian/Alaska Native communities. The MOA reaffirms the partnership between AIHEC and USDA to assist in fulfilling the 2002 Farm Bill’s mandate that USDA establish programs ensuring that TCUs and American Indian/Alaska Native communities participate equitably in USDA employment, programs, and activities.

“This MOA is an important step forward in our efforts to expand cooperation and consultation between USDA and tribal colleges,” said Vilsack. “The Obama administration is committed to supporting the critical role tribal colleges have played in improving the lives of Native Americans, and to ensuring that they enjoy full access to USDA programs and services.”

The parties will focus on strengthening the capacities of AIHEC member institutions and supporting their full integration into USDA programs and services, as well as the Land-Grant System and its programs. The agreement will also promote food and agricultural science careers and professional attainment among students attending AIHEC member institutions; promote employment opportunities within USDA for students attending AIHEC member institutions, and support the development of AIHEC. The first agreement was signed in 1998 and was updated in 2008.

This agreement reflects the commitment of the parties to further USDA’s outreach efforts with the 1994 Land-Grant Institutions and the communities served by these institutions. The agreement is being guided by the values outlined in the Obama Administration ‚Äì transparency, participation and cooperation.

The MOA is an extension of President Obama’s prior recognition of the importance of Tribal Colleges.

The renewed USDA and AIHEC MOA acknowledges the role of 1994 TCUs to the nation’s food security and to tribal self-determination through their cultural and other science based educational programs that function to improve local economies, re-invigorate the use of ancestral foods to address nutritional issues that lead to diabetes and obesity, and to develop energy programs that have the potential to benefit all Americans. In November 2009, senior USDA officials met with tribal leaders and members from across the country to expand cooperation and consultation between the Department of Agriculture and tribal nations.

Participants in the signing ceremony will include Janie Hipp, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Office of Tribal Relations, who serves as the USDA Co-Chair on the USDA and AIHEC Leadership Group; and Carrie Billy, AIHEC President and CEO; presidents from the 1994 Land Grant Institutions across the Nation.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

WASHINGTON, D.C. ‚Äî Five years ago, construction was completed on a juvenile detention facility built on Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota. It has never housed a single young person, and remains empty to this day.

BOISE – A new informal Idaho Attorney General’s opinion, issued in response to a request from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, says there are no constitutional problems with HB 500, the cooperative law enforcement legislation proposed by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

“It’s perfectly clear,” Clark said. “I think the A.G.’s analysis is right on the mark – all the constitutional issues just go away. Now let’s talk about real issues, let’s try to get some public safety for people who are non-Indians living on Indian reservations.”

Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane found no conflicts between the bill and the Idaho Constitution on accountability for law enforcement officers, the authority of sheriffs, the granting of privileges or the right of suffrage. Clark said opponents of the bill, including Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, had raised those constitutional concerns.

“HB 500 does not attempt to displace county sheriffs’ authority to enforce state law,” Kane wrote in the opinion. “Rather, consistent with the Legislature’s authority to prescribe `peace officer’ status, it expands the methods by which tribal law enforcement officers can secure such status.” As for the right of suffrage – the right to vote – Kane wrote, “Nothing in HB 500 addresses, much less diminishes, that right.”

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe proposed the bill because it contends criminals are going free because its officers on the Benewah County portion of its reservation can’t arrest non-tribal members, and that sheriff’s officers aren’t showing up to make the arrests for them. The tribe had a cross-deputization agreement with Benewah County until Sheriff Bob Kirts revoked it in 2007. The tribe’s agreement with Kootenai County stands.

The tribe’s lobbyist, Bill Roden, says though the issue started in Benewah County, the bill would “end jurisdictional gaps in law enforcement within the boundaries of Indian reservations in the state.” It encourages Idaho tribes and county sheriffs to reach cooperative agreements for law enforcement within reservations, but if they don’t after six months of negotiations, tribal police officers could begin enforcing state laws on the reservation if they meet certain requirements.

The bill is awaiting a hearing in a House committee.

Yumiko Cambridge, 5, of Point Loma danced during the weekly American Indian Education Program gathering at the Ballard Parent Center in Old Town.

Chandler Hood, who is part of the Navajo tribe, said he remembers being asked when he attended Hearst Elementary School if he lived in a teepee.

OLD TOWN — Every week in the outskirts of Old Town, where the Kumeyaay Indians were colonized by the Spaniards more than 200 years ago, scores of urban Indians meet to dance, eat and keep their heritage alive.

Some children and their families perform traditional grass dances while others beat on drums and sing native songs.

The weekly meetings at the Ballard Parent Center are part of the San Diego Unified School District’s federally funded American Indian Education Program. In addition to the music and dance offerings, the program also helps the district’s Indian students with tutoring, counseling, career guidance and other services.

The program is designed to support American Indian children who do not have the benefit or network of services offered to those living on a reservation, said Director Vicki Gambala, who oversees the program and its annual $80,000 budget. Of the district’s 130,000 students, 680 are listed as American Indian. A little more than 400 participate in the federal program.

“We are urban Indians. Unlike reservation Indians, we don’t have big, extended families here,” Gambala said. “The biggest challenge for our children is self-esteem. Our children feel different. How many Indians attend a school? Usually one.”

Chandler Hood, a senior at High Tech High, remembers being a student at Hearst Elementary School in Del Cerro and being asked if he lived in a teepee.

“It was embarrassing, but also discouraging,” said Hood, who hopes to attend Harvard or Stanford next year. “It’s nice to have a place where I can come back to and practice my grass dancing and where I can get support.”

The program picked up where the history books left off, usually right around the fourth-grade lessons about California missions.

San Diego Unified’s American Indian students make up a fraction of the district’s population. The demographic is so small that it rarely ‚Äî if ever ‚Äî surfaces in discussions about test scores, dropout rates or attendance.

Yet American Indians score among the lowest of any other ethnic group.

“We do what we can to help our students,” Gambala said. “Sometimes we feel like the forgotten group.”

Gambala and other advocates in San Diego County are encouraging American Indians to participate in the U.S. Census. They believe American Indians are vastly underrepresented, in part, because of a historical mistrust they have of the federal government. A stronger representation in the census would boost federal dollars for programs that help the small population, Gambala said.

A “Census Powwow” to promote the effort will be held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 20 at Barrio Station, 2175 Newton Ave.

Gov. David Paterson may have found his angle to begin taxing Native American cigarette sales within the state.

On Tuesday, Gov. Paterson lifted a taxation policy which bars the state from taxing Native cigarette sales. To give his political maneuver teeth, Gov. Paterson proposed a new policy which moves the collection of taxes on Native cigarette sales from the retailer to the wholesaler level.

State officials have estimated around $100 million could be generated in revenues for the state by taxing Native-sold cigarettes.

Under the terms of Gov. Paterson’s proposed policy, cigarette manufacturers would be required to sell cigarettes only to licensed stamping agents certifying they are not supplying tax-free tobacco retailers. The stamping agents would pay taxes directly to the state on cigarettes sold to retailers.

Additionally, Gov. Paterson proposed a limit on the number of tax-free cigarettes given to members of Indian tribes within the state for personal use. According to published reports, should the proposal be enacted, 167,000 packs of cigarettes would be distributed the Seneca Nation of Indians every three months.

Angered by Gov. Paterson’s proposals, Seneca leaders say the measures will infringe upon the SNI’s rights as a sovereign nation.

“The notice of proposed tax certification regulations released by the State Tax Department reflects another illegal attempt by the state to collect taxes on our commerce,” nation President Barry E. Snyder, Sr., said in a press release. “As we have before, the Seneca Nation will vigorously oppose all state efforts to interfere with our treaty rights and our economy.”

For Assemblyman Joe Giglio, R-Gowanda, the renewed interest in taxing Native-sold cigarettes is another attempt by state lawmakers to tap into what they view as a cash cow for New York.

“We are a revenue-starved state ‚Äî we spent too much money, and (Native cigarette sales) is a spot that they (state lawmakers) from New York City like to point to all the time because they thing there is some pot of gold here,” Rep. Giglio said. “This is just the state of New York imposing it’s will on someone else again.”

Rep. Giglio continued, saying many state leaders have misconceptions of the impact Native cigarette sales taxation could have.

“I think the projected numbers have always been high on the estimated sales tax revenues,” he said. “(State leaders) also neglect to realize that not all the people that work in the (Native cigarette sales) industry are Native American.

“I don’t think anyone takes into account the dollars that contribute to the economy in our part of the state.”

According to a study conducted in 2008 commissioned by Seneca leaders, Native cigarette sales contribute approximately $330 million to the SNI’s billion-dollar economy. The revenues from cigarette sales by SNI members are linked to 1,000 regional jobs and funding of Seneca health care and education programs, Nation officials report.

Still, some state leaders continue to push for the collection of the potential tax revenues and believe the taxation of Native cigarette sales will provide relief to New York’s financial woes.

In early February, Senator Jeff Klein, D-Bronx/Westchester, filed a legal brief within the New York Court of Appeals supporting the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Department in its efforts to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by members of the Cayuga Nation of Indians.

“By not enforcing these tax collection laws, we are allowing retailers across the state to flagrantly skirt the law and hold hostage vital monies desperately needed to get New York’s fiscal house in order,” Sen. Klein said.

In April, Sen. Klein released a study asserting the state has lost $270 million in taxes not collected from Native-owned businesses in New York.

Currently, Senator Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, an ardent support of taxing Native-sold cigarettes, is calling for an examination of the full extent of the cigarette sales industry within New York. The probe will target the supply chain involving the tax-free sales of tobacco products.

Regardless of any school of thought on the matter, President Snyder maintains the Native cigarette sales are not the answer to the state’s budget problems.

“State officials should realize by now that we are not a scapegoat for Albany’s budget problems,” President Snyder said. “The Seneca Nation paid its fair share when we relinquished most of our aboriginal lands to the state and its people hundreds of years ago. There is no reason the Senecas should be paying the price today, especially when the Nation has poured millions into New York State’s economy and created thousands of new jobs in Western New York.”

He suggested state leaders focus on developing a mutually-beneficial relationship with the SNI for economic growth.

In the interim, Gov. Paterson’s proposals before the state legislature will enter into a 45 day period of discussion and review. Should the measures gain enough support, Gov. Paterson’s proposals could be implemented within six months.

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