South Dakota Searchlight – U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, is asking a congressional subcommittee to conduct field hearings about the lack of adequate law enforcement on Native American reservations.
Johnson made the request Monday in a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.
“As I speak with leaders from South Dakota’s nine tribes, it is clear the number one concern facing Indian reservations is the dismal state of law enforcement,” Johnson wrote.
Tribes in South Dakota depend largely on the federal government to fund and support their law enforcement activities, based on treaties dating to the 1800s. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is currently suing the federal government over its allegedly insufficient support.
Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said in a news release that he would welcome field hearings “as an opportunity for members of the House to hear firsthand about the crisis we face every day in our tribal communities.”
“A generation of our people are now born plagued by gangs and cartels, human and drug trafficking, organized crime, abuse, and murder,” Star Comes Out said.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe and Crow Creek Sioux Tribe have each declared a state of emergency this year due to insufficient law enforcement on their reservations.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation has one officer to every 1,333 people, according to Johnson. The FBI reports that the average U.S. city has about 2 police officers per 1,000 residents.
Johnson cited his efforts to secure resources for tribal police departments and his co-sponsorship of legislation including the Tribal COPS Act, which would bring additional training, compensation and equipment to tribal law enforcement agencies; and the Invest to Protect Act, which would provide grants to small, rural and tribal departments to improve the recruitment and retention of local law enforcement and provide mental health training to officers.