Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council calls for federal measures to tackle crime and missing crisis of the indigenous people

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From Levi Rickert

May 21, 2025

In a mighty letter to the federal leadership, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council (RMTLC) has made a clear work for immediate and coordinated federal measures to combat the crisis of violent crime, drug trafficking and missing and murdered indigenous people in the entire Indian country – especially in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

The RMTLC represents the interests and sovereignty of tribal nations in the Rocky Mountain region. The letter, which is advised by Doug Burgum, Secretary of the US Ministry of the Interior and the US Ministry of Justice, Pam Bondi, calls on the two departments to jointly implement a comprehensive strategy for public security that was developed in direct cooperation with tribal governments.

Despite long -term contractual obligations and legal tasks, the support of the federal government, even as crime has increased, has decreased considerably. Since January, this has been tightened by the current expenditure of the Federal Government of the Trump administration in the Indian Land and the proposed federal budget in the 2026 financial year, which requires a reduction of 27% for the expenditure for law enforcement in the Indian Land.

This concern was announced on Tuesday when Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) said at a hearing of the budget budget at a greeting at secretary Burgum: “We probably don't see a look at the eye-in particular in relation to Indian programs.” Simpson mentioned Burgum the need to prioritize this year's financing in order to satisfy the largest tribal needs such as education, law enforcement authorities and land management issues.

American Indian communities are exposed to some of the highest violent crimes in the United States, the homicide rates are four times higher than that for non-Hispanic white, and half of all local women report that they are victims of violent crimes. The situation is deteriorated by the fact that many perpetrators are non-home and exceed tribal justice systems due to gaps in responsibility.

The letter shows disturbing statistics: While the local population in the region has doubled since 2000, violent crime has tripled and the number of tribal officials has dropped by 50%. These alarming trends indicate an urgent need for improved and persistent law enforcement support from the federal government in tribal areas.

The Federal Law, including the Indian law enforcement reform law and the main crime law, prescribes federal responsibility for law enforcement authorities in the Indian country. Stem nations, under the self -determination of self -determination, also keep the sovereign authority to maintain public security. RMTLC emphasizes that the solution is in a coordinated partnership – not during your studies, but in action.

The Council calls for the creation of a joint task force for violent crimes in the Indian country, which is chaired by the Interior Minister, the Attorney General and the tribal leader with the chairman of the secretary. This task force would also include US lawyers, the FBI, the BIA office for judicial services and other important federal authorities. His mission: fight against violent crimes, to solve MMIP cases, to disrupt drug trafficking and to support rehabilitation for non-violent criminals.

RMTLC calls on the government to move away from fragmented, competitive subsidies that frequently cannot manage tribal governments due to administrative burdens. Instead, it calls for large doj block grants, the full financing of the tribal police and a stronger use of public law 93-638 and public law 102-477 authorities that enable programs for self-government and integrated programs for public security.

The letter concludes by the end of June with an application for a joint session of the inner and doj -Tribal -task Forces and signals a strong desire to switch from rhetoric to the results. The message of the national congress of the Indian resolution LV-24-078 The RMTLC is clear: the time for measures is now. Stem nations must be equal partners to ensure justice, security and the protection of native life in the Indian country.

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Author: Levi RickertE-mail: This E -Mail address is protected from spambots. You need JavaScript to display it.

Levi “Calle in front of the storm” Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of native news online. Rickert was awarded the best columns 2021 for the Print/Online category for the Print/Online category. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. It can be achieved [email protected].