STATE'S TRIBES LOSE OUT ON FEDERAL 'DRUG COURT' FUNDS

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. Justice Department officials last year
shortchanged Indian tribes in California of federal funds to fight
crime.

Despite pledges to correct the oversight, the situation may be getting
worse.

The Justice Department last week doled out $5 million in new grants to
38 tribes for the well-received "drug courts," which help nonviolent
drug and alcohol offenders break the cycle of dependency and jail.
California, which has 107 tribes and the most American Indians in the
nation, received none of the money.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that the Nevada-based Washoe
Tribe, which also has members in California, is the only tribe
receiving federal money that has representatives from the state.

The tribes in California, which have about 65,000 members, find
themselves in a tricky situation because they do not have the police
and court systems in place required for the federal grant money. The
tribes have been hampered by a 1953 federal law that gave California
and a few other states jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters on
tribal lands.

Unlike other states, most tribes in California do not have their own
police departments or court services.

Drug courts target substance abusers by removing them from the regular
court system and focusing more on rehabilitation. Drug courts, which
have been successful in Los Angeles and Miami, are in place in about
500 communities nationwide and have drawn praise from Attorney General
Janet Reno, federal drug czar Barry McCaffrey and others.

A Justice Department study released last year identified alcohol as a
major factor in crimes involving Indians. The study claimed that seven
of 10 Indians in local jails for violent crimes had been drinking when
the crimes occurred, which is almost double the rate for the general
population.

Federal officials have reached out to California tribes to help them
develop tribal police departments and court systems, said Mark Van
Norman, director of the Justice Department's Office of Tribal Justice.

"The California tribes are really beginning to focus more strongly on
justice systems and police development," he said. "We're seeing a lot
of positive development even though it's unfortunate that we don't
have California participating in these drug court funding projects.
I'm hopeful this year we'll get more participation."

Federal officials, however, made similar pledges last year when less
than 1 percent of the $89 million earmarked for new tribal police
officers went to California tribes.