Staff reports
NEW TOWN, N.D. – A milestone was marked for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (formerly Three Affiliated Tribes) Nov. 20 as Chairman Marcus Wells Jr. signed the annual funding award documents that will ensure the tribe’s assumption of law enforcement services on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation from the BIA Office of Justice Services, Great Plains region.
On Jan. 12, 2007, the tribal business council voted by resolution pursuant to Title 1 of the P.L. 93-638 Indian Self-Determination and Education Act, which notified the federal government that the tribe intended to assume the role and responsibility of implementing law enforcement services on behalf of its members to improve inadequate services.
The contract (commonly referred to as a ”638 contract”) will transfer the law enforcement funding secretarial amount of more than $1.2 million to the tribe’s law enforcement program. The funding and the related program functions, services and activities, including administrative functions, will transfer from the federal government to the tribe which includes uniformed police and telecommunications. In addition, the tribe will be awarded a pre-award contract and startup funding that will allow the tribe to assume the functions of law enforcement with all the necessary equipment, training and vehicles necessary to provide daily, around-the-clock police protection across Fort Berthold’s 1 million acres.
Since 2000, the business council began supplementing the BIA-OJS Fort Berthold Agency New Town to provide increased funding and manpower while utilizing federal grant opportunities. The transfer of law enforcement services to the tribe offers additional funding opportunities that otherwise would not be available to a government agency. For the past two years, the tribe has injected tribal general funds in order to provide additional police officers to supplement BIA-OJS’ decline in services. The tribe has committed an additional $600,000 of monies from the general fund toward the 2008 ”638 contract” of law enforcement services budget for a combined total of $2 million, which will provide for additional personnel to police all six communities located on Fort Berthold.
”The tribal business council is committed to investing in the public safety of our lands, roadways, property and protection of our enrolled members and residents of Fort Berthold. We were compelled to journey down this road as a direct result of the steady decline and lack of adequate law enforcement provided by the Fort Berthold Agency,” said Marcus Wells Jr.
Over the past year, Wells has testified before the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., and participated in field hearings specific to the ”crisis in Indian country -lack of adequate law enforcement” in an effort to raise the issue before Congress for legislative solution. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairs the committee.
”We have to thank our congressional delegation for their support. Senator Dorgan is committed to making improvements in our public safety system. We asked for help and he has followed through. We feel administrative
changes could be made within the BIA, as well as legislative. We are expecting an increased congressional appropriation for 2008,” Wells said.
The tribe’s date of assumption of law enforcement was expected to take place Dec. 7 at 8 a.m., when the BIA-OJS officers and administration would stand down and the new tribal police force, led by Chief Frank Felix, would assume the police department headquarters.
Felix, a resident of the White Shield Community, retired as BIA Chief of Police in April of 2005 after serving 35 years in law enforcement. He applied for the police chief position and was selected unanimously by the tribal business council Nov. 7. Felix took his oath of office during the contract award ceremony as members of the tribe’s self-determination contract team, business council and newly hired police officers looked on.
