Last year, my wife Cheryl and I joined Los Angeles City Council Member Mitchell Farrell and the City of Los Angeles celebrating the change of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Los Angeles. At the National Indian Gaming Association, we advocate non-violent protest. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated for non-violent protests because violence often clouds the issue. POLICE REFORM In the House of Representatives, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) championed police reform calling for the end of chokeholds and independent reviews of police use of deadly force, oversight by community organizations, and state attorneys general. Rep. Bass, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus, included provisions for Indian country, with NCAI, Native American Police Chiefs Association, and the US DOJ Office of Tribal Justice involved. H.R. 7120 also seeks to end racial profiling and de-escalate conflict. We strongly support these goals. Naturally, many of our Indian nations support traditional peace-makers, and restorative justice to de-escalate community conflict. Indian tribes have long promoted community policing to positively engage with our tribal members. Detoxification, In patient alcohol and substance abuse treatment, and community re-entry programs are needed. Yet, in Indian country, we also face serious drug trafficking, methamphetamine and opioid abuse and violence against women. Tribal Governments continue to need full funding for police officers, detention facilities, and investigative services. We must continue to stay diligent and continue to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. (MMIW) We call upon Federal, tribal and state law enforcement to work together to stop the victimization of our women. We call upon Congress to affirm our inherent authority to exercise law enforcement over all Indian country crime. That means we must recognize the work of the many honorable tribal police officers serving our communities. NATIVE AMERICANS: NEW HOPE FOR AN END OF SYSTEMIC RACISM Across America, Native Peoples were subject to genocidal wars and massacres, ethnic cleansing under the “removal policy,” Indian lands were stolen under the “Reservation” and “Allotment” policies championed by the so called “friends of the Indians.” Generations of poverty, suffering, and untimely death among Native Americans followed. It’s time for respect. Time for reform to ensure that Indian nations and tribes’ treaty rights, self-determination and self-government are honored.
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