maze of injustice

Sen. Dorgan Concept Paper on Violent Crime in Indian Country

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Sen. Dorgan’s office:

November 7th, 2007 – Over the past year, the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs has held three oversight hearings, a series of
listening sessions, and multiple meetings with tribal leaders to
discuss the longstanding problem of violent crime in Indian Country.
Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs, has developed a concept paper which has been sent to tribal
leaders. The concept paper, found here, is a compilation of comments
from tribal leaders that examines the problems and lists a number of
proposed solutions to law enforcement issues in Indian Country.

The Committee will continue to meet with tribal leaders over the next
few months in the development of legislation to address this issue.
For those who wish to provide additional comments, we invite you to
share your comments and ideas with us through our website. Please
click on the link below and share with us your thoughts on this
important matter. However, if you wish to submit any documents in
addition to your comments, please e-mail comments@indian.senate.gov
with both your comments and attachments. Similarly, you may fax the
information to (202) 228-2589.

http://www.indian.senate.gov/public/_files/Indiancrimeconceptpaper.pdf

Congressional Authority to Reaffirm Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over Non-Indians

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The recent testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee regarding the possible Congressional reaffirmation of tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indian domestic violence and sexual assault perpetrators — that we blogged about earlier — is now complete with the final version of Riyaz Kanji’s testimony on Congressional authority to take this action.

Violence Against Indian Women

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee heard powerful testimony from Indian women last week on the pervasive problem of violence against women. Riyaz Kanji of Ann Arbor’s Kanji & Katzen testified that Congress has authority to extend criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians to Indian tribes, if it chooses.

The Amnesty Report that helped to jump start this issue in Congress is here.

Sarah Deer’s recent editorial in Indian Country Today on the topic is here. And some of her related material is here, an article in the Suffolk Law Review.