Tribal Nations Leadership Council Meeting

This week the Department of Justice’s Office of Tribal Justice hosted the Tribal Nations Leadership Council, established in 2010 to provide the Attorney General with advice, experience, and knowledge about public safety, criminal justice, and other critical issues facing American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  The council met with Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery who described the department’s efforts to address public safety and to strengthen tribal sovereignty.  The TNLC also heard from senior leadership and staff from throughout the department’s law enforcement, grant making, and litigating components.  The TNLC provided suggestions to improve the department’s grant programs, its support for tribal youth and the implementation of special domestic violence jurisdiction in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, and expanding tribal access to federal criminal justice databases, among other topics.

“The Department of Justice is committed to working with tribal partners to create stronger, safer, and healthier communities for all American Indians and Alaska Natives,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “Since its founding five years ago, the Tribal Nations Leadership Council has been a crucial part of that effort, offering a vital forum for dialogue, discussion, and cooperation between tribal leaders and department officials.  I am proud of our close collaboration with sovereign tribal governments, and excited about the work we will continue to do together to advance progress and ensure opportunity for every individual on tribal lands.”

The TNLC includes the following members:

• Michael J. Stickman, First Chief, Nulato Village (Alaska Region)
• Lynn Malerba, Chief, The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut (Eastern Region)
• Ron Sparkman, Chairman, Shawnee Tribe (Eastern Oklahoma Region)
• Dave Archambault, II, Chairman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Great Plains Region)
• Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Midwest Region)
• Russell Begaye, President, Navajo Nation (Navajo Region)
• W. Ron Allen, Tribal Chairman/Executive Director, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (Northwest Region)
• Juana Majel Dixon, Councilwoman, Pauma-Yuima Band of Mission Indians (Pacific Region)
• Merlin Sioux, Council Member, Northern Cheyenne Tribe (Rocky Mountain Region)
• John Barrett, Jr., Chairman, Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Southern Plains Region)
• Gary Hayes, Council Member, Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation (Southwest Region)