KFBB: Montana Tribal Prosecutors Form Statewide Organization
For the first time representatives from all seven of Montana’s reservations gathered to discuss crime and prosecution in Indian Country.
At the meeting, with a federal Indian Crime Unit and US Senator Jon Tester, the group decided to form a statewide organization much like judges and county attorneys have.
“What happens when you have all seven tribes meet? They all agree upon what’s important. Then, once you get that agreement on those 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 issues, they can put those recommendations forward to me, and I can take it to the Indian Affairs Committee or the Appropriations Committee, whatever the appropriate committee is,” Senator Tester explains.
Prosecutors hope the new association will lead to more uniformity in Indian Law across the state. “Each reservation has different laws. Coming together and getting our ideas together, and what our challenges and problems are, we’re hoping that [Senator] Tester will hear us out. Maybe there are some things we can take forward,” Fort Peck Tribal Prosecutor Stacie Crawford says.
