Research Report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
“What Idaho did, under the leadership of the tribes, was determine that they would take the lead on this, I think that’s appropriate. A lot of states have done legislation, they’ve done task forces, but I think this is an issue that we need to listen to the people that are most affected by it.”
House Representative, Public Testimony, HCR33, February 12, 2020
“Tribal law enforcement desperately needs help. The reality that Idaho does not recognize tribal law enforcement officers as law enforcement officers, relegates them to very limited abilities outside of what they can do collaboratively. That’s something that the state should take a look at. I would appreciate it, if the state would at least look seriously at this very important issue that would help tribes […] My experience teaches me that Public Law 280 is not your challenge, your challenge is the resolve and the commitment of the local communities to work collaboratively to problem solve. If they want to solve the problem, they don’t need further statutory authority. It is helpful to have peace officer designation for tribal law enforcement, significantly. But if a local community or county is committed and wants to problem solve with tribal members, they can do it. And we have evidence of that going on in several locales.”
US Attorney, Public Testimony, HCR33, February 12, 2020
“As with any smaller jurisdiction, it is not uncommon for our police department to call on another state or federal agency to assist, our department may not have the resources or manpower to effectively respond to an incident, or it is a case where outside law enforcement assistance is mandated. There have been many incidents of this occurring. Many times, the collaboration of these incidents have been positive, with effective communication and collaboration and with successful prosecution through state, federal and/or tribal court.”
Tribal Prosecutor, Public Testimony, HCR33, February 12, 2020