DOJ Consultation Meeting on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Needs of Native Americans

On January 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) issued a Dear Tribal Leader letter inviting Tribal leaders to a two-day government-to-government consultation on March 16 and 17, 2022. The purpose of this two-day consultation is to discuss “DOJ’s efforts to address the unacceptably high rate of violent crime in Native communities, including the rates of missing or murdered indigenous persons.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco directed this consultation in her November 15, 2021  memorandum establishing the DOJ’s Steering Committee to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous persons (MMIP). The OTJ is also welcoming written comments via email to OTJ@usdoj.gov until April 15, 2022. The meetings will be held from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST on both days.

On November 15, 2021, during the White House Tribal Nations Summit, President Biden signed Executive Order 14053 (E.O.) “Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People,” which directed the Administration to work together with Tribes to “build safe and healthy Tribal communities and to support comprehensive law enforcement, prevention, intervention, and support services.”  The E.O. also recognizes that because “approximately 70 percent of American Indian and Alaska Natives live in urban areas and part of this epidemic of violence is against Native American people in urban areas, we must continue that work on Tribal lands but also build on existing strategies to identify solutions directed toward the particular needs of urban Native Americans.”  To that end, in her November 15, 2021 memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco directed DOJ’s Steering Committee to seek and consider the views of stakeholders including Urban Indian Organizations.