09.15.10

Cantwell Announces $13.5 Million in Grants Awarded to 15 WA Tribes to Curb Crime

Grants will help tribal governments improve public safety, tribal justice systems, rehabilitation programs

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that 15 Washington state tribes are receiving grants totaling $13,579,972 from the Department of Justice that will help tribal governments implement provisions of the recently-enacted Tribal Law and Order Act. Co-sponsored by Cantwell and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and signed into law by President Obama on July 29th, the Tribal Law and Order Act increases collaboration among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to curb crime on tribal land. The law also reauthorizes tribal law and justice programs to fight gangs, drug smuggling and violence.
 
“We have worked hard to try and address the security and justice needs of Indian Country, most recently with the enactment of the Tribal Law and Order Act this past July,” Senator Cantwell said. “The grants announced today will assist tribal governments in implementing these important provisions of the new law, which help tribes provide protection to their members and foster a sense of justice and freedom from fear on Indian reservations.”
 
The Washington state federally-recognized tribes receiving grants include:
·         Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
·         Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation
·         Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Nation
·         Cowlitz Indian Tribe
·         Kalispel Tribe of Indians
·         Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
·         Quileute Tribal Council
·         Quinault Indian Nation
·         Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
·         Skokomish Indian Nation
·         Snoqualmie Tribe
·         Spokane Tribe of Indians
·         Squaxin Island Tribe
·         Suquamish Tribe
·         Tulalip Tribes of Washington
For full grant details, click here.
 
The grants announced today are part of 300 grants totaling $127 million being awarded to tribes in 31 states through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS). CTAS is a unique collaboration among the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). CTAS was created in response to the Attorney General’s National Listening Session and tribal consultation sessions, one of which occurred in Seattle last August. 
 
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