Readout of Justice Department Participation in the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and other senior Justice Department officials today participated in the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit. The summit reiterated the importance of Nation-to-Nation relationships and provided an opportunity for members of the administration to discuss key issues that the Tribal Nations face.

Attorney General Garland provided updates on the Department’s work over the past year on issues unique to Tribal communities and how the Department’s broader work is taking into account Tribal interests. In his remarks, he announced that the U.S. Marshals Service has developed a legislative proposal to formalize its role in enforcing Tribal violent felony arrest warrants, which would expand the practice that the Marshals Service has piloted over the last year to serve Tribal warrants at the request of, and in close coordination with, Tribal law enforcement and the Department’s Office of Tribal Justice. He highlighted how the Department has expanded the Tribal Access Program, supporting 132 Tribes and over 450 Tribal government agencies, and has significantly increased the number of Assistant U.S. Attorneys dedicated to Indian Country prosecutions. He also discussed the Department’s efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis in close coordination with Tribal law enforcement partners. In addition, Attorney General Garland provided an update on the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the owners and operators of a hotel and bar in South Dakota for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And he reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to working alongside Native American communities to fulfill the promise of equal protection under the law.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta participated in a Nation-to-Nation Talk with Tribal leaders, along with Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Director Tracy Toulou of the Office of Tribal Justice, and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Cohen of the Office of Justice Programs. These officials discussed a number of public-safety and justice issues with Tribal leaders, including special Tribal criminal jurisdiction, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis, law enforcement partnerships, and accessing funding and resources. Deputy Attorney General Monaco underscored the Justice Department’s commitment to working in partnership with Tribal law enforcement, including through the Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorney initiative and funding opportunities through the Office of Violence Against Women to support special Tribal criminal jurisdiction. 

Associate Attorney General Gupta announced that the Environment and Natural Resources Division has established a dedicated email inbox for Tribal leaders to contact the Justice Department with litigation-related inquiries. She also described ongoing efforts to streamline the grantmaking process for Tribes and to explore the possibility of enhancing public safety in Tribal communities through Tribal compacting.    

Associate Attorney General Gupta also spoke at a panel entitled “Substance Use and Mental Health in Tribal Communities,” alongside Tribal leaders and other senior administration officials. She emphasized the Justice Department’s commitment to supporting Tribal solutions for Tribal problems, and described how her meetings with Tribal leaders, including in Minnesota and Alaska earlier this year, have highlighted the importance of supporting Healing-to-Wellness Courts and other comprehensive services to address substance abuse and addiction in Tribal communities.

Associate Attorney General Gupta outlined ongoing efforts by the Justice Department’s grantmaking offices to make grants more readily accessible to Tribal communities, including through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, which will be open in December 2023, and the Department’s Directory of Tribal Grants. She concluded by reaffirming the Justice Department’s commitment to supporting Tribes’ efforts not only in enforcement but also in prevention, support, recovery, and healing.

Yesterday, Director Rosie Hidalgo of the Office on Violence Against Women joined U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell for the District of South Dakota and Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan Jr. of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch on a panel entitled “Next Steps to Address the Crisis of MMIP.” Director Hidalgo highlighted OVW’s commitment to addressing the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons. Additionally, she announced that OVW released its first Notice of Reimbursement under the new Tribal Reimbursement Program, established in VAWA 2022, for expenses incurred in exercising special Tribal criminal jurisdiction  over non-Indians who commit certain covered crimes in Indian country.