Montana tribes to share $3 million in DOJ crime victims grants

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are among four Montana tribal communities that will receive more than $3 million in Department of Justice grants to improve public safety and to serve crime victims.

The four grants are among 137 grants to 85 American Indian and Alaska Native communities, totaling $73 million, announced last week during the virtual White House Tribal Nations Summit. The funds are designed to help enhance tribal justice systems and strengthen law enforcement, improve the handling of child abuse cases, combat domestic violence and support tribal youth programs.

CSKT was awarded $450,000 for Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities, a program is to improve the investigation, prosecution and handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, and particularly child sexual abuse cases, in a manner which lessens trauma for child victims.

More than four in five of American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Nearly three million people have experienced stalking, sexual violence, psychological aggression or physical violence by intimate partners.

“I am pleased that these Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) funds will be going to four of Montana’s tribal nations,” U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. “This money will provide critical support to help tribes strengthen public safety and address the challenges of violent crime too often experienced in their communities.”

Also receiving grants were:

• Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation: $508,245 for the Tribal Youth Program.
• The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation: $899,813 for Tribal Justice Systems.
• Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Tribes: $899,960 for Public Safety and Community Policing and $323,860 for Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities.

More than $73 million will be awarded under CTAS, a streamlined application that helps tribes apply for tribal-specific grant programs that enhance law enforcement and tribal justice practices, expand victim services and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts.