National American Indian Court Judges Association

BOULDER, COLORADO (Monday June 19, 2000) - The National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) has been awarded a grant from the U. S. Department of Justice to design, develop, and institute a National Tribal Justice Resource Center. The National Tribal Justice Resource Center will make available a wide range of legal resources to tribal court personnel, as well as respond to legal inquiries from American Indian and Alaska Native justice systems. This is the culmination of years of advocacy and work to fulfill the dream of providing a source of daily support and assistance to tribal justice systems nationwide. The Resource Center will initially have a staff of three persons and will be located at the offices of the National Indian Law Library in Boulder, Colorado.

NAICJA has been proposing the development of a National Tribal Justice Resource Center for years. NAICJA has repeatedly indicated that there is a vital need for a national resource center that would be an asset and a tool for enhancing American Indian and Alaska Native justice systems nationwide. The NAICJA Executive Committee proposed the development of this national resource center during a June 3, 1998 meeting with Attorney General Janet Reno. NAICJA then submitted a formal concept paper proposal to the Justice Department�s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) on July 18, 1998 in which NAICJA proposed to establish this national resource center. BJA quickly recognized the need for a national resource center. NAICJA has been in discussions with BJA since July 1998 concerning possible methods of establishing a national resource center. In August 1999, NAICJA submitted a concept paper in response to the BJA Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop a National Tribal Justice Resource Center. NAICJA was invited to submit a full proposal and was notified on May 24, 2000 that the grant had been awarded.

Judge Jill E. Shibles, a tribal member of the Penobscot Nation of Maine, current Chief Judge of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court of Connecticut, Appellate Justice of the Passamaquoddy Appellate Court of Maine and current First Vice-President of NAICJA, has been selected by the NAICJA Board of Directors to serve as Executive Director of the Resource Center. She will assume her duties at the Boulder office on September 1, 2000. NAICJA is currently conducting a national search for the Associate Director and Office Manager positions.

This effort represents the first time that many key organizations that provide training and technical assistance to tribal justice systems will be working together to coordinate service delivery and assess the need for new resources and services through the Resource Center. The following is a list of NAICJA�s initial collaborating partners:

National Indian Law Library
National Judicial College
National Congress of American Indians
American Indian Law Center
National Indian Child Welfare Association
Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council
National Association of Tribal Court Personnel
Federal Judicial Center
Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Training Institute
National Center for State Courts
American University Justice Programs Office
American Indian Development Associate
NAICJA has entered into an initial one-year rental agreement with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) to house the Resource Center at the National Indian Law Library in Boulder. The Law Library possesses one of the largest collections of tribal opinions, tribal codes and tribal constitutions in the nation. Access to the Library�s resources will be a critical component to the initial success of the Resource Center.

Although NAICJA will administer the BJA grant, in order to ensure that the Resource Center adequately addresses the needs of all facets of tribal justice systems, a Management and Oversight Committee and a Project Advisory Committee will advise and oversee the implementation of the project. Three staff members working at the direction of the Management and Oversight Committee will carry out the daily work of the Resource Center. The five-member Management and Oversight Committee will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Resource Center. A larger Project Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives of NAICJA�s collaborating partners plus other individuals and organizations with expertise in tribal justice issues, resource center development, Indian law and technology, will assist the Management and Oversight Committee to prioritize the Resource Center�s projects. The Project Advisory Committee will lend its expertise and resources in support of the Resource Center�s efforts.

Early in the development of the Resource Center, a national assessment of tribal justice system needs will be conducted. All services and programs developed by the Resource Center will be available to all tribal justice system personnel and interested persons. Even without a formal needs assessment, NAICJA has identified the following unmet justice system needs and has committed, through the Resource Center, to meeting them. The Resource Center�s initial list of tasks includes:

Create a clearinghouse of existing judicial resource materials, training and technical assistance.
Inform tribal justice systems concerning available services and resources through a printed and on-line version of a Resource Center newsletter.
Prioritize and develop on-call tribal court specific resource materials.
Establish an 1-800 Helpline for tribal justice systems.
Provide a free searchable database of tribal justice system opinions accessible via the Internet.
Conduct a Case Management and Computer Technology Conference
Develop and expand Internet resources available to tribal courts (will link the Resource Center sites to other useful websites) and offer Internet training and technical assistance.
Provide on-line reference and research assistance services (through the Resource Center website).
Establish a mentor system for tribal justice systems.

The Resource Center will also be the primary technical assistance provider for those American Indian and Alaska Native Nations that have received enhancement grants under the BJA Indian Tribal Court Program established under the Indian Country Law Enforcement Initiative.

�The National Tribal Justice Resource Center has the potential to provide very real and practical benefits to every American Indian and Alaska Native justice system in the United States. Tribal courts are one of the clearest expressions of tribal sovereignty. The Resource Center will allow us to assist tribes, to strengthen their methods of self-government and improve the climate within tribal lands for economic prosperity, by offering tools to enhance tribal justice systems. It is the most exciting and beneficial project I have had the opportunity to be involved with in my years of working with and for tribal courts,� said Judge Shibles.