Upon The Back of a Turtle...

A Cross Cultural Training Curriculum for Federal Criminal Justice Personnel

• A Short History of Indian Law Enforcement - The Indian police carry with them a long and distinguished tradition that provides the inspiration to meet the challenges they face. It extends not merely to the creation of the reservation system, but back into the unrecorded histories of the Native American societies before the white men came.
• Conducting Investigations in Indian Country - It is important to look at issues of cultural reference and cultural difference in the care of Native communities and their likely interaction with federal criminal justice personnel. Many times there are issues of historical reference which European or the dominant society based individuals might not be specifically aware of. Nor might they be appreciated through the eyes of an interviewer. It is important to understand that there are specific and diverse cultural differences and values that will impact how most Native people will interact with criminal interviewers and federal jurisdictions.
• Cultural Sensitivity for Non-Indian Service Providers Working with American Indian Victims of Crime - Non-Indian service providers often work with more than one community. The differences between tribal communities dictate that service providers educate themselves about each tribal nation. Such education may take the form of participation in diversity training and the utilization of consultants, including tribal elders and leaders, to discuss the similarities and differences between tribes and issues related to the tribal structure.
• Invesitgating Child Sexual Abuse in Indian Country - Child sexual abuse investigations are difficult at best, but the problems are compounded when the crime occurs on an Indian reservation. Indians living on reservations are often geographically isolated. In addition to physical separation from the American mainstream, Indian tribes are culturally distinct. The judicial system on Indian reservations is more complicated because multiple federal and tribal law enforcement agencies often have concurrent jurisdiction.
• Lessons from the Third Sovereign: Indian Tribal Courts - Today in the United States, we have three types of sovereign entities - the Federal government, the States, and the Indian tribes. Each of the three sovereigns has its own judicial system, and each plays an important role in the administration of justice in this country.
• Child Sexual Abuse in Federal Indian Schools - BIA administrators repeatedly failed to report child sexual abuse allegations to law enforcement authorities and even threatened persons making allegations with slander suits. BIA's negligence led to needless cases of child molestation, yet many of the negligent officials were actually promoted to higher positions. Indian children across the country must now bear the burden of BIA's mistakes and suffer the trauma of sexual abuse on reservations where mental health treatment is often unavailable.
• Gun Violence in Indian Country - The rates of fatal gun injuries on reservations are alarmingly high, but the rates of non-fatal gun injuries (which one would expect, based on national trends, to be higher than rates of fatal injuries) are unknown simply because such information is not routinely collected. In reservation communities, which tend to be small and rural, the major stakeholders in this discussion are gun owners and gun users; children and parents; young males, in particular; and tribal government officials. The total numbers of reservation gun injury deaths do not at first seem large, but categorical examination and comparison to national mortality rates reveal their significance and indicate both the existence of a serious problem and the need for solutions.
• Suggestions for Working with an Interpreter - When using an interpreter, inform the person about the role of the interpreter. If interviewing a child, inform the parents, grandparents or other persons who are present about the role of the interpreter. This will provide a few suggestions when using an interpreter and how to best inform the family and interpreter of their roles.