BIA law officer graduates from FBI academy

WASHINGTON — Leonard Merriam, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie
Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan, is a new graduate of the FBI
National Academy campus in Quantico, Va.

Merriam, a special agent in the BIA’s office of law enforcement, joins a
select group of seven BIA special agents who are FBI National Academy
graduates.

Merriam, who graduated Sept. 16, was among 247 law enforcement officers
from 48 states, the District of Columbia, 21 foreign countries, four
military organizations and four federal civilian organizations to take part
in the academy’s 222nd session.

The 10-week program included advanced investigative, management and fitness
training by FBI academy instructional staff, special agents and
internationally recognized law enforcement experts.

“The training at the FBI National Academy was among the most academically
and physically demanding that I have ever received. I am pleased to be able
to apply what I have learned to my work in BIA law enforcement,” Merriam
said.

Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Merriam majored in criminal justice with a minor
in corrections at Lake Superior State University. During that time, Merriam
interned as a conservation officer with the BIA’s Michigan Agency in Sault
Ste. Marie. He helped pay for his education by joining his family’s
tradition of working as tribal commercial fishermen, which sparked his
interest in conservation law enforcement.

Following his graduation in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in criminal
justice and conservation law enforcement, Merriam worked for his tribe as a
police officer until he joined the Sault Ste. Marie police force in 1997.
He became a special agent with the BIA’s Michigan Agency in 1999 and served
as such until 2003, when he transferred to the Office of Law Enforcement
and Security headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Merriam’s work with the OLES will continue.

The OLES’s mission is to improve enforcement services and preserve public
safety in Indian country through six district offices and by supporting,
through funding and/or training, over 170 tribally operated police
departments and directly operating 31 police departments. The office also
funds 59 tribally operated detention facilities across the country;
coordinates homeland security support on federal Indian lands; and provides
training and professional development through the Indian Police Academy in
Artesia, N.M.