Jurisdiction Changes Affect Tribal Victims of Domestic Violence

A change made on the Fort Peck Reservation will help enable tribal officers and county officers to be cross deputized in instances of domestic violence that are committed by non-Indians on the reservation.

Prior to the changes, it was difficult for tribal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute domestic violence crimes by non-tribal citizens that lived or worked on the Fort Peck Reservation. Rene Martell, a tribal attorney on the reservation explained that the tribes started looking for solutions a few years back. They passed a domestic abuse act in 2013, but certain cases would once in a while fall through the cracks.

“It impacts Valley County,” Martell said. “Fort Peck tribes have been working with the Department of Justice, they were in a pilot program.”

The law that passed on March 7 allows the tribal law enforcement to prosecute non-tribal suspects in cases of domestic violence. Martell said that five tribes had approved the special domestic violence criminal offense law so far.

An issue that allowed things to fall through the cracks were one U.S. Attorney would have a very large work load and focus mostly on felony cases. Domestic violence crimes fall under a misdemeanor, so those cases wouldn’t come to the attention of the U.S. Attorney working in the region.

There were a few hesitant due to the change in law, as there would be some extra added expenses of a public attorney, a judge and getting a U.S. Attorney to Poplar. Martell said that with a new jail in Poplar housing non-tribal citizens for crimes committed wouldn’t be an issue.

In a press release from the tribes, it cited that violence against Native American women has reached epidemic proportions and the old system forced the tribes to rely exclusively on federal officials that weren’t local to investigate and prosecute crimes of domestic violence by non-Indians against a Native American.