This project was supported by cooperative agreement numbers 2010-CK-WX-K023 and 2011-CK-WX-K02 

awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions 

contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services 

should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, 

the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. 

The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the date of publication. Given that 

URLs and websites are in constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the COPS Office can vouch for their 

current validity. 

Recommended citation:

Copple, James E., and Colleen K. Copple. 2016. Break the Cycle: Methamphetamine and CommunityOriented Policing in Indian Country. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Cover photo by Blend Images 

ISBN: 978-1-935676-92-8 

Published 2016
A guide for tribal 

law enforcement and 

community stakeholders

Break the Cycle

Methamphetamine and 

Community-Oriented 

Policing in Indian Country

By James E. Copple

and Colleen K. Copple
George Burba
Indian people are struggling with these problems: meth and suicide. They didn’t struggle 

with these problems when they were young, so these problems are foreign to them, and 

there are no words in their languages for these problems. These problems are an evil that 

attacks the mind and leaves that person empty. These problems have changed the balance 

of things, and it isn’t supposed to be like this.

Elders are supposed to be buried by the young; now the elders are burying [them]. The 

actions of the U.S. government have changed their way of life forever, and they don’t know 

what to do. The uncles can’t teach the nephews what they are supposed to learn to be men, 

so they do the best they can. This causes a gap between the young and the old, and they 

are losing the young to a different way of life.

Many times the men in suits come to us. We meet with them in a room, and they tell us 

what is wrong with us, then leave. Years later, they come again and tell us what is wrong 

with our people, and they leave. They do this again and again. And when they leave, we look 

around the room, and it is only us there with the ones who have already gone before us, our 

ancestors. [Our elders] knew how to survive—that is why we are here now. 

These are our communities and our people, not theirs. Don’t tell us what is wrong with us, 

then leave. What is that word they use? Empower? Empower us! Teach us so we can help 

ourselves because we don’t know this evil that has our young ones. Don’t tell us how to do 

it your way. We are not you. Help us so we can do it our way.

— Anonymous Alaskan elder, testimony given during the Meth and Suicide Prevention 

Task Force meeting at the National Congress of American Indians 68th Annual Convention, 

Portland, Oregon, October 2011.

Contents

Letter from the Director. vi

Acknowledgments.... ix

About This Project. 

Executive Summary ...

.....................

xi

Unique challenges facing law enforcement in Indian country xi

Recommendations...... xii

Conclusions .... xiii

Introduction1

Methamphetamine in Indian country 1

Methamphetamine trafficking 2

Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement 5

Community-oriented policing 7

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention.15

Role of the meth prevention coordinator 18

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Tribal Law Enforcement in Treatment . . . . . . 25

Community-oriented policing in Indian country via healing to wellness courts 26

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

30

Conclusions ...................................... 33

Appendix A. Geography of Tribal Lands 35

Appendix B. History of Tribal Judicial Systems 37

Formation of tribal courts 38

Public Law 280 39

v
vi Break the Cycle

Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

....................................

42

CBPR’s relevance to law enforcement 44

Designing and implementing CBPR projects 44

CBPR examples in tribal communities 47

Law enforcement’s role in CBPR 49

Appendix D. Prioritization Planning Worksheet 51

About Strategic Applications International 53

About the COPS Office 54
vii

Letter from the Director

Dear colleagues,

Unfortunately, we are all well aware of the violence, crime, and suffering that have resulted 

from the use of methamphetamines. It’s a scourge that we are all dedicated to eradicating.

The COPS Office has been working to address this plague since 1998 and has seen some progress in methamphetamine prevention and treatment programs across the nation. But sadly, 

we have also witnessed the enduring grip this drug has had on tribal lands, where it continues 

to ravage communities and is particularly destructive to young people. 

We must break this cycle of addiction, the violence and crime that result, and the community 

devastation that increases as new generations succumb to drugs. In an effort to accomplish 

this, SAI brought 40 tribes and eight tribal meth fellows together in a COPS Office-funded program to discuss and evaluate approaches that would meet their unique needs. 

This guide, which was developed in collaboration with the tribes, is the result of those meetings. It recommends practices and innovations based on the approach that most closely conforms to Native American culture and traditions: community policing. 

Building trust, working collaboratively with other stakeholders, and focusing on problem solving to prevent problems are tribal as well as core community policing values. And incorporating 

traditions such as talking circles and programs that encourage relationships with tribal elders 

leads to more effective programs.

This guide identifies practices such as these based on empirical evidence and research and 

recommends methods for creating working relationships among prevention specialists, law 

enforcement, and treatment providers in programs based on healing and restoration. Most 

importantly, it emphasizes the value of tradition and culture in community ownership, prevention, and treatment. 
viii Break the Cycle

Methamphetamine addiction can not only lead to brain damage and other devastating health 

problems but also destroy families and communities. It is time to break this cycle—and I am 

proud to say that community policing is playing an important role in this effort. 

We commend the work and dedication of the 40 tribal communities that are developing solutions based on their own Native traditions and values, and we thank SAI for its excellent work 

in research, training, and technical assistance. 

Sincerely, 

Ronald L. Davis

Director 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
ix

Acknowledgments

Strategic Applications International (SAI) wishes to thank the many contributors to this document. Its development was dependent on many writers and editors. 

First and foremost, SAI thanks James E. Copple and Colleen K. Copple, the founders of SAI, 

who provided overall direction and guidance in the design and implementation of the COPS 

Office Tribal Methamphetamine Initiative (Tribal Meth) and its grantee technical assistance 

project and in the focus of this guide. 

In addition, SAI thanks Chad Pfeiffer, Eric Rodriguez, and Crystal Owens, who served as Tribal 

Meth fellows on the project and whose work set the foundation for several chapters in this guide. 

SAI’s team included Heidi Wilson, who was both a contributing writer and responsible for editing and organizing content; Julianna McCully and Jeanne Blackburn, who provided final editing and shaping of the guide; Jessica Drake, who managed the process; and Anthony Coulson, 

who spearheaded much of the primary research that went into developing this document and 

wrote major components. 

We would also like to recognize contributing writers Shannon Nagel, Jennifer Zobler, and 

Kelsey Hampton, all of SAI, as well as Cathleen Willging of the Pacific Institute for Research 

and Evaluation for her work on community-based participatory research. 

Finally, we wish to thank Deborah Spence of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for her guidance in shepherding this document through 

development, design, and publication.
x Break the Cycle

About This Project

Through a COPS Office Tribal Methamphetamine Initiative (Tribal Meth) grant, Strategic Applications International (SAI) had the privilege to work with 40 tribal law enforcement agencies 

and their partners in substance abuse prevention and treatment. SAI’s training and technical 

assistance (T/TA) model promotes the role of indigenous leadership using community policing 

principles to address meth trafficking and its effects on tribal communities. To build a cadre 

of young professionals with experience addressing the effects of meth in Indian country, SAI 

selected eight Tribal Meth fellows from a wide range of professions and tribes. These fellows 

participated in the design of SAI’s T/TA services, conducted research on best practices, wrote 

case studies, developed webinars, and contributed to this guide. 

SAI provided T/TA through on-site assessments with each tribe; led tribes in an action-planning 

summit to fully define problems, barriers, and solutions for reducing the destructive effects of 

meth in Indian communities and emerging best practices; provided monthly, one-on-one TA 

calls; and developed, organized, and led tabletop action-planning sessions and webinars; and 

developed a website, www.methpedia.org, that provides meth-related information, strategies, 

tools, prevention programs, and treatment options.
xi

Executive Summary

Methamphetamine has a disproportionate negative effect on tribal communities. Its use among 

American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians is nearly double that of Whites, 

Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans.1 Meth was identified by 74 percent of Indian country 

law enforcement agencies as their greatest drug threat.2

In response to this compelling need, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS 

Office) awarded its Tribal Methamphetamine Initiative (Tribal Meth) grants to 40 tribes and 

selected Strategic Applications International (SAI) to provide grantees with training and technical assistance (T/TA). SAI conducted site assessments to determine technical assistance 

needs and emerging best practices in Indian country and then brought grantees and partners 

together at a strategic-action planning event, titled “Break the Cycle: Community Oriented 

Policing Approaches to Addressing Methamphetamine in Indian Country.” In addition, SAI 

worked with eight Tribal Meth fellows, who provided insight and expertise. The fellows brought 

to the project a wealth of experience as emerging leaders in their law enforcement or treatmentand-prevention agencies. Fellows were encouraged to think broadly and connect their work to 

each other’s disciplines. 

1. SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, Methamphetamine Use, Abuse, and Dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004, National 

Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Report (September 16, 2005), 8, http://www.csam-asam.org/sites/default/files/

pdf/misc/NSDUHReport.ppt.

2. Methamphetamine in Indian Country: An American Problem Uniquely Affecting Indian Country (Washington, DC: 

National Congress of American Indians, November 2006), http://www.justice.gov/archive/tribal/docs/fv_tjs/session_1/

session1_presentations/Meth_Overview.pdf.

Unique challenges facing law enforcement in Indian country

Indian country faces unique challenges not found in other states and non-Indian communities. 

Tribal law enforcement’s challenges include patrol responsibility for a vast and disconnected 

geography (see appendix A); legislation that limits criminal jurisdiction on reservations (see 

appendix B); lack of funding; low officer-to-population ratios; and lack of “professionalized” 

tribal law enforcement, including adequate retention policies (such as retirement plans, health 

benefits, and employment protections), training opportunities, succession planning, and leadership stability. 

Compounding these barriers is continuing and historical trauma, a cumulative emotional and 

psychological wounding throughout that not only is lifelong but also extends across generations. The devastating consequence is a breakdown in cultural bonds between elders and 

children and among generations. Without a foundation of culture and tradition, programs to 

address substance abuse, prevention, and treatment will be less effective.
xii Break the Cycle

Interagency collaboration is a challenge for most law enforcement agencies. This is particularly true in Indian country because of its unique jurisdictional challenges. Without widespread collaboration, anti-substance abuse efforts in Indian country have limited success. Law 

enforcement efforts benefit from a community-policing approach that builds on trust, leadership, and interagency collaboration. Collaboration should exist between tribal agencies and 

across jurisdictions and include both neighboring county and state agencies, particularly law 

enforcement agencies.

Recommendations

This guide for tribal law enforcement and community stakeholders reflects the priorities and 

key information resulting from SAI’s on-site assessments conducted with each tribe; input 

from the eight Tribal Meth fellows; technical assistance provided to each of the grantees; and 

the ideas, discussions, and data that emerged from the strategic-planning summit. The guide 

addresses the importance and value of tradition and culture in community ownership, prevention, and treatment; identifies innovations and best practices specific to meth production, 

distribution, and use in Indian country; and provides a series of recommendations for law 

enforcement and other key stakeholders. 

The following recommendations, which also appear at the end of their associated chapters, 

are categorized according to how tribal law enforcement can use them:

Strengthening tribal law enforcement systems

 Strengthen existing tribal law enforcement agencies.

 Ensure the chief of police has autonomy over operations to create law enforcement leadership stability.

 Use a workload-based formula to develop the police department’s budget.

 Create a separate authority for “charging functions” versus “deciding functions.”

 Establish professional benefits for tribal law enforcement officers similar to those of their 

counterparts at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs and their 

nontribal counterparts.

 Hire personnel based on nationally recognized standards, personal and professional integrity, and cultural competence.

 Adopt standardized training protocols to match requirements for state certification.

 Develop interagency agreements with neighboring, nontribal law enforcement agencies.

 Develop a strong working relationship with the tribal council, business community, and 

community groups.
Executive Summary xiii

Tribal law enforcement in prevention

 Establish a drug abuse prevention coordinator position.

 Convene meetings with tribal councils and tribal elders to develop culturally appropriate 

meth prevention policies and programs.

 Champion prevention programs developed in partnership with the community.

 Encourage community involvement in prevention programs.

 Conduct routine home visits for repeat offenders.

 Institutionalize prevention efforts as part of routine roles and responsibilities.

Tribal law enforcement in treatment

 Train officers on the cycle of addiction and efficacy of treatment.

 Champion culturally appropriate treatment in partnership with the community.

 Advocate treatment as an alternative to incarceration.

 Advocate that cases involving substance abuse be sent to tribal wellness court.

 Follow up with offenders who have completed treatment.

Conclusions

The SAI on-site assessment process and subsequent summit found strong voices for policing 

reform and the role of substance abuse prevention and treatment. This guide provides specific 

recommendations to create working relationships among prevention specialists, law enforcement, and treatment providers, all of whom can and should embrace cultural practices that 

emphasize reconciliation, healing, and restoration. There are promising practices found among 

the 40 tribes in this project, and those practices can be replicated in other communities.

It is time to break the cycle of meth addiction and work to engage tribal communities in finding their own solutions versus relying on prescriptions developed outside the cultural context 

of Native tradition and values. Community policing is a promising strategy to advance policy 

and practice that can move Native people and communities into a place of balance, health, 

and growth.

1

Introduction

THE USE OF METHAMPHETAMINE and other drugs is a pervasive problem in Indian country. 

Although headlines have focused on heroin and opiates, the meth problem has not disappeared and is actually growing.3 Meth use leads to an increase in crime and violence, abuse 

of women and children, damage to the environment, and a lower quality of life for tribal community residents. Controlling the drug problem is critical to maintaining healthy and safe 

communities in Indian country. This is a difficult task because of several factors, including 

geography, legislation that limits criminal jurisdiction in Indian country, and issues facing 

tribal law enforcement.

3. 2014 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary (Washington, DC: Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014), 

http://www.dea.gov/resource-center/dir-ndta-unclass.pdf.

Methamphetamine in Indian country

Data on meth use in Indian country was well documented eight years ago, but little new data 

exists—and it is greatly needed. Meanwhile, previous research showed that meth has had a 

disproportionate negative effect on tribal communities. Meth use among American Indians, 

Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians was nearly double that of other ethnicities.4 Of Indian 

country law enforcement agencies, 74 percent identified meth as their greatest drug threat, 

but its effect is not limited to use.5 The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that up to 

40 percent of violent crime on reservations involves meth,6 and some tribes have estimated 

that parental meth addiction accounts for “65 percent of all cases involving child neglect and 

placement of children in foster care.”7 The resulting burden on tribal institutions (e.g., criminal justice, public health, treatment, and child protection) has overwhelmed the ability of 

such agencies to respond. According to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 

(BIA) Office of Law Enforcement Services, 90 percent of tribal police needed additional druginvestigation training.8

4. SAMHSA, Methamphetamine Use, Abuse, and Dependence (see note 1).

5. Methamphetamine in Indian Country, 2 (see note 2).

6. Ibid.

7. The Problem of Methamphetamine in Indian Country, hearing before the Committee on Indian Affairs, S. Hrg., 

190th Cong. 499, 2nd session (2006) (statement of Ivan D. Posey, Chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council).

8. FY 2010 Tribal Methamphetamine Initiative (Tribal Meth), Fact Sheet (Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, September 2010), http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/fact_sheets/e06107285-TribalMeth-FactSheet_093010.pdf.
2 Break the Cycle

According to information compiled by the National Congress of American Indians, drawn 

from a 2005 BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services survey9 and the National Indian Child 

Welfare Association:

 74 percent of tribal police departments rank meth the greatest drug threat; 

 64 percent of tribal police indicate an increase in domestic violence and assault/battery;

 80 to 85 percent of Indian families in child-welfare systems are estimated to have drugor alcohol-abuse issues.10

Indian country faces an even greater threat than meth alone: Strategic Applications International (SAI) site assessments show that meth, prescription opiates, and heroin have a devastating combined impact that is well-established in Indian country. Meth addiction creates a 

demand for prescription opiates (e.g., OxyContin or Vicodin). Addiction to prescription opiates 

tends to lead to heroin use, which is cheaper and more readily available. And while opiate and 

heroin use has grown in Indian Country, meth use has not diminished.

9. National Methamphetamine Initiative Survey: The Status of the Methamphetamine Threat and Impact 

on Indian Lands—An Analysis (New Mexico Investigative Support Center, 2006), http://www.fortpecktribes.org/

fpmp/news/pdf/BIA_MethSurvey.pdf.

10. National Congress of American Indians, “Methamphetamine in Indian Country: An American Problem 

Uniquely Affecting Indian Country—An NCAI Briefing Paper,” Native American Law Digest 16, no. 12 (December 

2006): 1.

Methamphetamine trafficking

There are two basic types of meth: levomethamphetamine (also known as l-meth) and dextromethamphetamine (also known as d-meth). Mexico is the predominant source of meth in 

Indian country. This relationship is important because Mexican meth is largely d-meth made 

by the ephedrine-reduction process. 

D-meth is approximately 10 times as physiologically active as l-meth. D-meth increases heart 

rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and respirations; dilates the pupils; and has fewer adverse 

side-effects than l-meth. The extreme nature of d-meth’s pleasure-boosting abilities makes it 

so addictive to its users. In addition, d-meth produces effects within the sympathetic nervous 

system that are typically anywhere from two to 10 times as powerful as the effects of l-meth. 

Because d-meth produces particularly intense mind alteration when compared to other forms 

of meth, it comes with higher abuse and addiction risks for its users.11 Called “ice” or “glass” 

by users and law enforcement, d-meth is quantified by the Drug Enforcement Administration 

(DEA) Office of Forensic Science as a substance with a tested purity of 85 percent or higher.

11. “Types of Methamphetamine,” Drug Addiction Treatment, accessed September 25, 2015, 

http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com/types-of-addiction/stimulants-types-of-addiction/typesof-methamphetamine/.
Introduction 3

L-meth affects the central nervous system, but its effects are weaker and somewhat shorter 

than those of d-meth. The SAI team found that d-meth was the most common form of meth in 

nearly all grantee communities (northeastern Oklahoma and Kansas are exceptions).

In northeast Oklahoma and Kansas, the “one-pot” or “bottle” method of making d- and l-meth 

is the most popular (and most hazardous) method of making “dirty” meth in small user quantities. The bottle method often results in explosion and fire. Discarded soda bottles that contain 

still-active catalyst chemicals pose threats of fire and chemical hazards to children who pick 

them up or shake them, causing a flammable and caustic reaction. In northeast Oklahoma and 

Kansas, reservations are littered with hazardous waste (a one-to-six ratio of finished product 

to hazardous waste), creating environmental dangers. SAI site assessments and follow-up contacts with grantees show the bottle method is expanding to grantee tribes in Nebraska, southern Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota; however, this expansion has slowed because 

of the unprecedented availability of cheap, high-quality Mexican meth.

SAI assessment interviews, data collection, and direct reports from local law enforcement and 

the DEA reveal that meth comes to reservations in several ways. Generally, non-Indian distributors import meth from the nearest major urban areas. As an example, personal interviews 

with a confidential source indicate that Chicago traffickers supply Midwest and northern tribes 

through Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, and Bismarck. Likewise, Hispanic 

gangs in Dallas appear to supply most of the Oklahoma and Kansas grantee tribes. A major 

Sinaloa Cartel supply route in the West has been known to carry meth to reservations through 

San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Denver. The SAI 

site assessments found that primarily Hispanic traffickers meet local Native-American distributors in tribal areas. Particularly concerning, according to congressional testimony, is that the 

average Native-American gang member is 15 years old—and getting younger. Police report that 

gangs, to avoid prosecutions, use Native-American children as young as eight to carry drugs 

and participate in other gang activities.12

12. Examining the Increase of Gang Activity in Indian Country, Before the Comm. on Indian Affairs, 111th Cong., 1st sess. 

(2009), S. Hrg. 111–263. 

Native-American distributors seldom travel to the urban areas. This differs from trafficking in 

other rural areas, where rural traffickers go to urban areas to make wholesale purchases. 

Because tribal police have no jurisdiction over non-Indians and because nontribal law enforcement with the authority to make such arrests may not prioritize criminal activity on tribal 

lands, non-Native distributers on tribal lands may fall through law enforcement cracks.

SAI assessments highlight that casinos are a gateway to trafficking on most reservations. 

Designed to attract large numbers of nontribal visitors, the hotel-casino infrastructure (the 

physical “plant”) allows urban traffickers easy entry to tribal lands. Observations and inter
4 Break the Cycle

views with grantee law enforcement indicate that this gaming gateway has not been adequately 

pursued or addressed. Most reservations rely on gaming as a primary source of revenue and 

employment, so issues of trafficking in casinos will require collaboration between gaming and 

tribal law enforcement.

Law enforcement and tribal member interviews during the site assessments revealed that the 

oil industry represents another trafficking gateway. Oil is the blessing and curse of grantees 

in North Dakota and eastern Montana. The proliferation of oil drilling on tribal lands has led 

to a sharp increase in the number of oil workers, almost all of whom are White, from across 

the United States. Oil workers may use meth to cope with long, strenuous hours in remote 

locations. Increasing amounts of meth on tribal lands because of usage among oil workers can 

increase access and addiction among members of the tribe. Tribal law enforcement agencies in 

North Dakota and Montana report that the widespread use of drugs by oil workers increased 

meth use by neighboring tribes and fueled the rise of violent crime, including rape, to unprecedented levels. Tribal law enforcement was not initially prepared to meet the increase in meth 

use and related public-safety threats on reservations in North Dakota and Montana.

Meth in Indian country is inextricably tied to supply-side reduction efforts by others. Absent 

checkpoint searches of every vehicle coming onto the reservation or tribal lands, tribes are 

dependent on the success or failure of the United States’s relationship with Mexico, interdiction 

efforts at the United States-Mexico border, and nontribal law enforcement targeting distribution 

networks that feed reservations and tribal lands. 

Nevertheless, meth in Indian country should not be the only focus for tribal law enforcement. 

There is no single substance threat to Indian country. Considering that meth, prescription opiate, and heroin use are inextricably linked, efforts that focus only on meth and exclude other 

substances are destined to fail. Indeed, to have the biggest impact, any programming and policies should address the risk and protective factors found by the Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to be common to abuse of alcohol and other drugs,13

as well as those that have been found to be common to substance abuse or mental illness 

among Alaska Native and Native-American populations.14

13. Visit SAMHSA’s “Grantee Stories, Tools, and Other Resources” web page at http://www.samhsa.gov/capt/toolslearning-resources, and under the “Prevention Tools” drop-down menu, select “Risk and Protective Factors.” 

14. “Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Abuse and/or Mental Health Problems Among Alaska Native and Native 

American Populations,” last modified September 24, 2015, http://www.samhsa.gov/capt/tools-learning-resources/

risk-protective-factors-alaska-native-native-american.
5

Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement

INDIAN COUNTRY HAS THREE TYPES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ARRANGEMENTS—BIA 638-

contracted, BIA-administered, and tribal-funded police departments. Each has its own challenges and benefits.

Regarding the first type, BIA 638-contracted police departments are the most common administrative arrangement for tribal police departments. This type is organized under the auspices 

of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, or Public Law 93–638, 

which enables tribes “to establish their own government functions” by contracting with the 

BIA’s Office of Justice Services. ”A 638 contract establishes the department’s organizational 

framework and performance standards and provides basic funding for the police function. 

Officers and non-sworn staff of these departments are tribal employees.”15

Amendments to the act provide for “self-governance compacts,” which are similar to 638 

contracts but allow tribes even more control. Under these arrangements, the tribe substitutes 

its own law enforcement agency for the BIA. In addition, under the Tribal Law and Order Act 

(TLOA), tribal police can have special law enforcement commissions when negotiated between 

the BIA and tribe. Because the tribal police are acting in place of a federal agency, these commissions give them jurisdiction over non-Indians. In most states, however, BIA and tribal police 

officers are not given peace officer status, meaning they cannot enforce state laws and are not 

given the same legal status as fellow state police officers. This is a significant handicap when 

tribal officers conduct any type of policing on reservations that involves non-Indians, especially 

those living on reservations.

Next, BIA-administered police departments are the second most common type of police department in Indian country, and the staff are employees of the Federal Government. Under this 

arrangement, the BIA superintendent oversees all or most BIA functions on that tribal land.16

Last, the third type, tribal-funded police departments, provides tribes with a level of autonomy, 

but tribes lack full jurisdiction to make arrests within their communities. Tribal police cannot 

arrest non-Indians nor make arrests for felony crimes, which significantly limits their ability to 

effectively provide community security.17

15. “Tribal Law Enforcement,” Tribal Court Clearinghouse, accessed August 14, 2014, http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/

enforcement.htm.

16. Ibid.

17. Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 (1978).
6 Break the Cycle

Regardless of design, police in Indian territories are overworked and underfunded. “On tribal 

lands, 1.3 officers must serve every 1,000 citizens, compared to 2.9 officers per 1,000 citizens 

in non-Indian communities with populations under 10,000.”18 The U.S. Senate report accompanying the TLOA notes that fewer than 3,000 BIA and tribal law enforcement officers patrol more 

than 56 million acres in 35 states. When compared to similar rural communities nationwide, 

this amounts to an approximate unmet staffing need of 40 percent. The unmet staffing need 

is even greater on some reservations. According to the report, the police shortage in Indian 

country can also be explained by “the lack of funding for BIA and tribal police officers, [and] 

the difficulty in recruiting, training, and retaining new police and corrections officers adds to 

the problem.”19

The TLOA attempts to address the problems of law enforcement in a number of ways. It 

increases recruitment and retention efforts for BIA and tribal police. The act reinforces collaboration between BIA and tribal police and provides both with the option of training at state 

police academies (in addition to tribal, state, and local colleges), which is consistent with federal law enforcement training standards; thereby, the act significantly expands officer training 

options. The TLOA also increases tribal officers’ arrest authority on the reservation. An amendment to the Controlled Substances Act allows a tribal officer designated by the attorney general 

to make a warrantless arrest if the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect committed 

a felony under federal law or if the officer observed the suspect commit any crime against the 

United States. 

Many tribal police departments have no access to criminal history records and are “severely 

impeded and marginalized” by this lack of access.20 The TLOA provides tribal police greater 

access to national criminal-justice databases, such as the Interstate Identification Index (III) 

and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). These databases provide essential criminal 

history information to officers detaining or arresting a suspect and, likewise, allow officers to 

enter information into the database. Access to the III and NCIC allows tribal police to interact 

with the broader law enforcement community and adds legitimacy to efforts of tribal police in 

that community. 

18. “Tribal Law Enforcement” (see note 15).

19. The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009, 111th Cong., 1st sess. (2009–2010), S. report 111–093, 7 (Mr. Dorgan, from 

the Committee on Indian Affairs).

20. David Patton, “Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010: Breathing Life into the Miner’s Canary,” Gonzaga Law Review 47, 

no. 767 (2012): 17.

The TLOA takes other measures intended to incentivize increased coordination among various 

police forces in and around Indian country. For instance, the U.S. attorney general is authorized to “provide technical and other assistance to state, tribal, and local governments that 

enter into cooperative agreements, including agreements relating to mutual aid, hot-pursuit 
Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement 7

of suspects, and cross-deputization.” In helping tribal police departments grow, the TLOA 

implicitly acknowledges that tribal police, when properly empowered and funded, can be the 

greatest deterrent to crime in Indian country.

Community-oriented policing

Community-oriented policing is based on the philosophy that communities and police share 

the resources and responsibility for solving problems that threaten a community’s safety and 

well-being. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) emphasizes 

organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving 

techniques to proactively address conditions that lead to public safety issues such as crime, 

social disorder, and fear of crime.21

Community policing is built on three pillars: problem solving, partnerships, and organizational 

transformation. Police can respond to criminal activity, but they rarely solve problems on 

their own; communities must be involved. With community policing, law enforcement develops relationships within the community to establish trust and better address problems that 

cause crime. To be able to create partnerships and proactively solve problems, police departments must be organized and managed to support the philosophy behind community policing. 

Community policing focuses on both responding to crime and working with the community to 

develop responses to the conditions that create public safety problems. 

The SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) problem-solving model is used to 

determine the cause of the problem, as well as to develop and evaluate appropriate and meaningful responses. This includes

 scanning: identifying and prioritizing problems within the community;

 analysis: researching what is known about the victim, offender, and location;

 response: developing solutions to bring about community cohesion and lasting reductions 

in the number and extent of problems;

 assessment: evaluating the efficacy of the selected responses.

This is an iterative process involving ongoing scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. 

Using a community-policing model, officers are still able to focus on the immediate conditions 

within their reach, such as limiting criminal opportunities or increasing guardianships for 

potential victims and handlers for potential offenders,22 while working with community leaders 

and business owners (tribal elders, tribal councils, casino owners, etc.).

21. “About,” Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, accessed September 10, 2015, http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/

Default.asp?Item=35.

22. Community Policing Defined (Washington, DC: Office of Community Policing Services, 2014), http://ric-zai-inc.com/

Publications/cops-p157-pub.pdf.
8 Break the Cycle

CASE STUDY

Wind River Home-Visit Operation

The Wind River Indian Reservation comprises two 

tribes, the Northern Arapaho and the Eastern Shoshone, in the state of Wyoming and has a population 

of approximately 12,000 enrolled members (3,900 

Northern Arapaho and 8,000 Eastern Shoshone). This 

reservation is the seventh largest in the United States. 

At the time of assessment, Wind River’s unemployment rate was 80 percent, and life expectancy was 

49 years. BIA Chief Joseph Brooks of the Wind River 

Police Department had six police officers prior to 

2010, and the average response time to a call was 

about two hours. 

In May 2010, the BIA initiated a six-month “surge” 

operation at Wind River, bringing approximately 30 

National Park Service rangers, BIA police officers, 

and Indian country law enforcement officers with BIA 

training-certification on a 30-day rotation. The joint 

tribal council of Wind River was notified eight months 

prior to beginning the operation, but how that was 

communicated to the community differed greatly, 

depending on the tribe. Hundreds of arrests occurred 

quickly, overwhelming the Wind River judicial system. 

The rotation of almost 100 law enforcement officers 

from all over the United States meant that prosecutors did not have easy access to law enforcement to 

prepare for prosecution. It became cost prohibitive to 

pay for these officers to travel back to Wind River. In 

addition, judges were members of either the Eastern 

Shoshone or Northern Arapaho tribe, and tribal prosecutors worked directly for the judges. In a number 

of instances, defendants had some relationship with 

the prosecutor or the judge associated with his or her 

case, and these factors led to the dismissal of almost 

all charges against surge defendants. 

Chief Brooks then designed a program using the 

approximately 20 officers working Wind River after 

the surge. In this effort, law enforcement focused on 

prevention efforts for repeat offenders. The chief found 

that relatively few individuals were responsible for the 

majority of crimes.

To have the largest impact using the fewest resources, 

Chief Brooks implemented “Operation Sittin’ Eagle,” 

an alternative to incarceration wherein the intervention 

involved frequent home visits to each repeat offender. 

Personnel researched when each repeat-offending 

tribal member was most likely to drink, get drunk, or 

use drugs. Then, two BIA police officers were assigned 

to visit each repeat offender’s home around the estimated time an individual would begin drinking or using 

drugs. If no one was there, officers left a door hanger 

indicating the time police visited.

Law enforcement also greeted neighboring residents, 

a simple intervention with two key effects. First, the 

community gave police information about criminal activity in their neighborhoods. Second, repeat 

offenders no longer posed a threat. Drug users either 

stopped using or left the reservation. Some users may 

have sought treatment because of police disrupting 

drug and alcohol use. If a repeat offender changed 

the time he or she drank or used drugs, police simply 

changed their visit times. Repeat offenders who did 

not seek treatment generally moved. If they moved to 

another location on the reservation, officers followed. 

Most often, repeat offenders left the Wind River Indian 

Reservation altogether. In the year after the home-visit 

program started, service calls dropped from 600 per 

month during the surge to 163 per month, and DUI 

deaths dropped by 100 percent.

Source: This case study is based on interviews and focus groups conducted May 1–4, 2012 at the “Break the Cycle: Methamphetamine 

and Community Oriented Policing in Indian Country” summit hosted by Strategic Applications International and the Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services.
Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement 9

Recommendations 

The following recommendations primarily focus on the organizational transformation and 

structural aspects of community policing and provide a foundation for good problem solving. This emphasis is the direct result of input from the 40 Tribal Meth grantees during the 

action-planning summit addressing the barriers they face as tribal law enforcement agencies. 

Such transformation is not easy to implement. At the very least, it requires money and political will beyond the tribal police department that may not currently exist. 

To break these recommendations down into short-, medium-, and long-term goals, agencies 

may want to score each recommendation based on its level of impact (low, medium, high) and 

feasibility. Recommendations that have high impact and high feasibility should be a high priority, and the agency should develop an immediate implementation plan. Recommendations that 

require advocacy within and outside of the tribal police department, grant funding, and memoranda of understanding (MOU) with other agencies and organizations may require the development of resources, including relationships, for implementation, which should be noted in the 

implementation plan. See appendix D for a sample prioritization planning worksheet.

1 Strengthen existing tribal law enforement agencies.

Among the 40 tribes assessed, self-governed tribal law enforcement agencies seemed to have 

stronger leadership and a more robust public safety program with strong ties to neighboring 

law enforcement agencies. Examples include White Earth Nation, Wyandotte, Quapaw, Chickasaw, Keweenaw Bay, Te-Moak, Kalispel, Coquille, Warm Springs, and Cherokee.

2 Ensure the chief of police has autonomy over operations to create law enforcement leadership stability.

Revolving law enforcement leadership is destabilizing to any community, but instability has 

an even greater impact on tribal communities. By January 2012, more than half (21 of 40) 

of the 2010–2011 COPS Office Tribal Meth grantee police chiefs (638-contracted, BIA, or 

self-governed) were new to the position since inception of their COPS Office grant.

Stable leadership is an important factor in actualizing public safety service that benefits the 

community. Many municipal and state governments address this by committing to a minimum 

five-year contract that requires the contract be paid-in-full if that municipality or state decides 

to dismiss the police chief before completion of the full term. However, when tribal councils 

have the ability to hire and fire the police chief at will, such a contract may not ensure leadership stability, only that the police chief is paid. This would have the unintended consequence 

of cost to the tribe to pay the contract using law enforcement money that is already scarce.
10 Break the Cycle

Another approach is a contractual agreement that allows the tribal chief of police autonomy 

over day-to-day operations of training, special operations, and other police functions but 

leaves control for issues involving the tribe’s sovereignty to the tribal council. Such an 

arrangement would give the police chief the ability to create a department to suit community needs and may limit overt political influence in hiring and firing law enforcement leadership. In the grantee population, 21 of 40 police chief turnovers involved dismissal based on 

politics, not competence.

3 Use a workload-based formula to develop the police department’s budget.

According to the COPS Office and a Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice 

study,23 the best method for determining an effective staffing level (and related budget) 

is workload-based approaches that derive staffing indicators from demand for service, 

which estimates future staffing needs by modeling current levels of activity. The steps 

of a workload-based assessment are as follows:

 Examine the distribution of calls for service by hour, day, and month.

 Examine the nature of calls.

 Estimate time consumed on calls for service.

 Calculate an agency shift-relief factor.

 Establish performance objectives.

 Provide staffing estimates.24

If possible, a workload-based budget, which should be institutionalized in the tribal constitution, protects public safety for the long term and reinforces a fixed-year contract for 

a chief of police. If changes to the constitution are prohibitive, tribal councils should, at a 

minimum, appropriate a workload-based budget for law enforcement. As tribes grow and 

law enforcement needs increase, tribal leadership can use this type of budget to determine 

the role of possible federal grants to supplement tribal contributions for maintaining an 

active, healthy, and effective police department.

23. Jeremy M. Wilson and Alexander Weiss, A Performance-Based Approach to Police Staffing and Allocation (Washington, 

DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2014), http://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-p247-pub.pdf.

24. Jeremy M. Wilson and Alexander Weiss, “How Many Police Officers Do You Need? A Performance-Based Approach 

to Police Staffing and Allocation,” Community Policing Dispatch 5, no. 11 (November 2012), http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/

dispatch/11-2012/how.many.officers.asp.
Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement 11

4 Create a separate authority for “charging functions” versus “deciding functions.”

In many tribes, prosecution of tribal law is under direct authority of the tribal government’s 

judicial branch. Tribes with a prosecutor under the supervision of a judge run the risk of 

appearing biased and even corrupt, resulting in diminished community trust in the administration of justice. Judiciaries should be seen as impartial, and tribes should consider policies 

and laws that give their criminal justice system the appropriate integrity, independence, 

and oversight.

A strong first step is to place prosecution of tribal law under a separate, executive office within 

tribal government, leaving judges independent under the judicial branch. Alternatively, some 

tribes have adopted a justice executive director position that oversees the chief of police, chief 

judge, and chief prosecutor, providing a political buffer between law enforcement and the tribal 

council. If these recommendations are prohibitive because of required constitutional changes, 

the prosecutor’s contract may be written to provide a degree of autonomy between the prosecutor’s office and the judiciary. 

Establish professional benefits for tribal law enforcement officers similar to those of their BIA 

and nontribal counterparts. 5

BIA police are federal officers under the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and are afforded 

the protections of federal employees, including merit-protection status and “6e” law enforcement and firefighter retirement benefits that allow officers to retire with a pension or annuity 

at age 50 upon 20 years of continuous federal service. In addition, BIA law enforcement training is contracted out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s federal training centers 

in Glynco, Georgia, or Artesia, New Mexico. A 16-week training course that includes basic law 

enforcement is conducted among 91 other law enforcement agencies that use this academy.

A majority of the Public Law 93-638-contracted and self-governed tribal law enforcement organizations do not afford police officers the same level of professional benefits as their municipal, 

county, and state counterparts. They are tribal employees. Pay is often low and turnover high. 

A competent tribal officer without professional parity likely will not serve more than a couple 

of years before moving into a municipal, county, or state law enforcement position.

Sworn law enforcement personnel should have pay parity with municipal and county law 

enforcement in their region or area. Professionalization is defined by the tribe committing to 

a retirement plan, health benefits, and employment protections. Professionalization directly 

affects retention, and retention becomes experience and a level of community service that 

cannot be replicated.
12 Break the Cycle

Hire personnel based on nationally recognized standards, personal and professional integrity, 

and cultural competence. 6

The challenge for all law enforcement organizations is to build and sustain a mature organization, and longevity in the department and community is critical to this aim. Similarly, effective 

staffing requires law enforcement knowledge and competence, personal and professional integrity, and cultural competence.

These three components are central to community-oriented policing. There are many examples of knowledgeable officers who lack cultural competence and have alienated communities, 

compromising community trust and cooperation for the entire police force. Evaluating cultural 

competence should be part of both hiring and training protocols. 

Equally, police officers who are able to build community trust 

but lack sufficient police training cannot adequately address 

public safety.

Tribal law enforcement agencies should hire qualified candidates, regardless of their citizenship to the tribe. Competent 

personnel—established through standard hiring thresholds and 

sustained by enforced standards of conduct and disciplined, 

multi-tiered supervision—provide the best level of service. A strong hiring process begins with 

patience. It is better to wait for the right candidate than to make a borderline selection to fill a 

position quickly. Tribal law enforcement agencies should require candidates meet the same or 

stricter standards mandated by state law enforcement certification authorities (such as a community emergency response team [CERT] or the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and 

Training [POST]), including completing drug questionnaires, supplying criminal histories, and 

meeting physical and mental health conditions. 

Maintaining these standards bears directly on reciprocity with other law enforcement agencies. 

In states governed by Public Law 280 (particularly California), which initially eliminated most 

BIA criminal jurisdiction in Indian country, some sheriffs have not allowed tribal law enforcement access to state law enforcement indices for motor vehicle and driver’s license information, 

including their criminal justice information system for criminal histories and NCIC for active 

extraditable wants and warrants (see “Public Law 280” on page 39). This may be due to the perception that tribal law enforcement officers are not held to similar competency standards.

Establishing these kinds of hiring 

practices, along with pay and benefits 

to retain officers, means quality 

sworn personnel eventually age into 

leadership positions within the tribal 

law enforcement organization.

7 Adopt standardized training protocols to match requirements for state certification.

Tribal law enforcement organizations must invest in adequate training and certifications. 

SAI found many instances in which training was not locally available to tribes or funding to 

acquire training was insufficient. This included firearms training, tactical-situation training, 
Strengthening Tribal Law Enforcement 13

interviewing techniques, source development, first-responder medical certifications, and drug 

identification. Basic law enforcement certification for some tribes was missing, with tribes relying on BIA training at Artesia, New Mexico. 

The most effective tribal law enforcement agencies have standardized training protocols to 

match requirements for state certification. Sending new hires to state or local police academies that graduate and certify the officers means they have authority to make arrests on and 

off reservations and tribal areas. These tribal law enforcement agencies also have established 

agreements with county and municipal law enforcement. 

If appropriate training is provided and fully used, the tribal law enforcement agency will have 

competition for first-line supervisory positions. Once an officer is identified for a supervisory 

position, it is important that the officer successfully complete leadership and management 

training commensurate with the position. A number of aspects of supervision are important 

to maintaining the community’s trust, and this first-line supervisory position also has initial 

responsibility for organizational stewardship. A good police officer does not necessarily equate 

to good leadership. Leadership is a function that occurs in front of a desk; management occurs 

behind a desk. Both are key to maintaining organizational integrity.

8 Develop interagency agreements with neighboring, nontribal law enforcement agencies.

Addressing substance abuse necessitates trusting relationships between tribal law enforcement 

and outside agencies. MOUs formalize how law enforcement agencies interact. For example, 

does the tribe use the county jail, dispatch, mutual aid, or services such as those for juveniles 

and women? This understanding is key to successful tribal law enforcement efforts.

Site assessments found that trusted relationships with other law enforcement entities result 

in a strong tribal law enforcement organization. Strong interagency relationships also allow for 

resource sharing, including surveillance equipment; forensic and specialized expertise; training 

opportunities; and other invaluable options and infrastructure.

There are excellent examples of interagency cooperation with nontribal law enforcement 

that directly benefit tribes. Wyandotte and Quapaw participate in a regional drug task force 

with other northeast Oklahoma tribes, the county sheriff, municipal police, and the BIA. Los 

Coyotes Band in San Diego County, California, had its detective deputized and assigned to a 

task force affiliated with the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy’s High Intensity Drug 

Trafficking Area program in the northern part of San Diego County. The task force was able to 

bring undercover and surveillance resources onto the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation to remove 

drug traffickers.
14 Break the Cycle

Interagency agreements can be prohibitive because of long-established animosity. In some 

cases, returning jurisdiction to tribal police, as recommended by the TLOA’s Indian Law and 

Order Commission, or implementing statewide legislation to recognize tribal officers as peace 

officers in the state (as done by Oregon and New Mexico) may be more efficient solutions. 

Nevertheless, cross jurisdiction collaboration is necessary because crime does not recognize 

political boundaries.

Develop a strong working relationship with the tribal council, the business community, and 

community groups. 9

Many recommendations require political will. Developing trust and respect within the tribal 

council helps develop the political will necessary to strengthen the police department. Relationships with other community leaders enhance the success of police advocacy.
15

Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention

Figure 1. Relationship model for tribal 

prevention programs

Each segment of the larger tribal community forms 

a protective barrier around the smaller segment, using 

culture and tradition as the foundational framework.

Tribal

Government

Community

Elders

Family

Child

TRA

DITIO

N

C

U

LT

URE

THE CHALLENGE OF METHAMPHETAMINE in Indian country is complex, but prevention is key 

to a holistic, multidimensional solution. Prevention efforts reduce crime and allow law enforcement organizations to move from a reactive response to more proactive and collaborative 

approach. In SAI interviews, tribal law enforcement officials identified a child- and parentfocused prevention program that includes mentoring, activities, role models, and goal development. Working with community groups in support of their missions has the benefit of 

increasing public trust and contributes to leadership and program development within the 

law enforcement organization.

However, assessments show a majority of the 40 sites did not have significant prevention programs. Some tribal police organizations support and participate in one or two activities, but 

few fully maximize the positive potential of this critical law enforcement function. 

COPS Office Tribal Meth grant sites that used grant funding to hire a meth prevention coordinator were often leading prevention efforts in their respective tribal areas, including White 

Earth, Shoshone-Bannock, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and Kalispel. Coincidentally, site assessments showed excellent tribal law enforcement organization representation with strong leadership and institutionalized policies and practices in these tribes as well. With limited resources 

already stretched thin, tribal law enforcement has a vested interest in encouraging and promoting prevention programs for meth and other illicit drugs. 

With a prevention approach, police officers interact with community 

members daily and recognize at-risk behavior. Absent this opportunity for regular contact and relationships, frustrated officers 

often must wait until a law is broken before they can intervene. 

Officers can use their influence to affect policy and encourage 

adoption and use of prevention programs that allow 

earlier, positive intervention. 
16 Break the Cycle

For any drug prevention program, it is important to develop resilience, specifically among 

youths. Children and teens considered resilient are less likely to participate in harmful activities such as substance abuse and have greater success in school, demonstrate healthier 

interactions with peers and adults, use good communication and problem-solving skills, have 

a more constructive outlook on life, and exhibit a more positive self-concept. The White Earth 

Nation’s Brother Eagle program is an excellent example of a program that emphasizes culturally focused education targeting children to foster resilience. The White Earth Police Department created age-appropriate videos and workbooks explaining the dangers of drugs, as well 

as where and how a child facing difficult situations can find help and solace.

Based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and research by the Rand Corporation 

validating youth resilience factors, five resilience factors25 for healthy development and lifestyle 

include the following:

1. A relationship with a significant adult

2. A sense of hope

3. Acquisition of skills

4. Altruism or opportunities for service

5. Locus of control

Positive relationships with adults and feelings of connectedness and support are central to 

these factors. For Native Americans, these are both key to preventing substance abuse and 

maintaining the character and cultural values of tribal communities. Opportunities for community bonding are a foundation for prevention and may be fostered through traditional skills, 

spirituality, use of language, and instilling pride and culture. 

This kind of community-oriented policing requires law enforcement to be involved from the 

beginning, and such effort pays comprehensive dividends. Integrating law enforcement with 

traditions and cultural practice presents a coordinated effort that nurtures feelings of tribal 

responsibility and commitment and develops resilience that fosters holistic well-being, especially among the young. Cultural practices that produce resilience might include music, talking 

circles, ceremonies, pow wows, festivals, storytelling beading, cooking, fishing, and an emphasis on families and the role of tribal elders. 

25. James E. Copple, Fatal Attraction: America’s Youth and Their Affair with Alcohol (Raleigh, NC: Lulu Publications, 

Inc., 2010).
Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention 17

A report by American Indian Development Associates repeatedly refers to using and emphasizing Native-American culture as a “key to success” and as crucial for improving outcomes of 

substance-abuse prevention and treatment programs and building credibility for programs. The 

report chronicles various Native communities and their efforts to use traditional practices and 

values to counter substance abuse.26

For example, the report discusses the use of talking circles in the Southern Ute Spirit Youth 

Services Program in southwest Colorado. This traditional practice, in an environment of guaranteed confidentiality, is used to encourage youths to listen with compassion, to avoid judging others, and to speak freely about difficult subjects.27 Another example is the Na’Nizhoozhi 

Center. Incorporated in McKinley County, New Mexico, and home to members of the Navajo 

Nation and Pueblos, the center focuses on intertribal relations of the clan system, or Nahasdlii, 

and uses this series of relationships to emphasize Native values in drug and alcohol recovery. 

Similarly, the Zuni Recovery Center of the Pueblo in Zuni, New Mexico, seeks to address youth 

substance abuse with traditional values and practices, including highlighting the importance 

of relationships between youths and tribal elders, which is “fundamental to Zuni culture.”28

Program activities include storytelling, preparation of traditional foods, oven building, and 

traditional arts and crafts.29 The recovery center also supports traditional Zuni dances and 

ceremonies, which require participants to be sober and healthy.

A 2000 report published in the Juvenile Justice Journal recommends culturally focused prevention and intervention strategies for addressing substance abuse among Native-American populations. The authors suggest that necessary components of such a cultural program include a 

focus on family, peers, ceremony and ritual, spirituality, and communities.30 Individual tribes 

have unique traditions and practices, but a general model for culture-based prevention can be 

a helpful introduction and first step. Efforts that emphasize ways to bolster healthy families 

and peer groups generate a system of individual support and reinforce Native values of tribal 

loyalty and brotherhood.

26. American Indian Development Associates, Promising Practices and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol and Substance Abuse 

Among American Indians and Alaska Natives (Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, 2000), http://www.aidainc.net/

Publications/Alcohol%20promise.pdf.

27. Ibid., 15.

28. Ibid., 28.

29. Ibid., 28. 

30. Ruth Sanchez-Way and Sandie Johnson, “Cultural Practices in American Indian Prevention Programs,” Juvenile 

Justice Journal 7, no. 2 (2000): 20–30, https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjnl_2000_12/cult.html.
18 Break the Cycle

Another cultural example comes from the Navajo Nation of the Southwest, where meth production and use presents a significant health and crime threat. A community task force began with 

identifying and creating a culture-centric context, language, and understanding of drugs and 

associated issues for the community and individuals. This meant first identifying an official 

Navajo word for meth. The task force comprised health care workers, law enforcement, tribal 

leaders, and members of the community. Further initiatives included school presentations, 

training to identify suspicious behavior, collaboration between businesses and law enforcement, and an overall emphasis on the Navajo tradition of beauty way—a lifestyle of healing 

and health incompatible with meth use.31 The Whirling Thunder Wellness Program of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska employed similar collaborative efforts to combat the dual issues of 

diabetes and substance abuse. Strategies included talking circles to educate youths about the 

dangers of certain behaviors.32

Given limited resources and a police force already stretched thin, finding time to engage in 

prevention efforts is a significant barrier that cannot be ignored. Using grant funds to establish 

a position that focuses on prevention is an effective step, but sustaining this effort requires all 

law enforcement personnel to rethink their roles within the community. As prevention begins 

to show reciprocal decreases in crime, officers should increasingly focus on prevention work. 

Over time, the agency should require all personnel to engage in both enforcement and prevention efforts.

31. “Navajo Nation Methamphetamine Task Force,” Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, 

accessed September 10, 2015, http://hpaied.org/publications/navajo-nation-methamphetamine-task-force.

32. “Whirling Thunder Wellness Program,” Government Innovators Network, Harvard Kennedy School, accessed 

September 10, 2015, http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/whirling-thunder-wellness-program.

Role of the meth prevention coordinator

Traditional American-Indian culture places great importance on kinship ties and family. Tribal 

communities are more likely to facilitate informal controls than to report a family member, 

extended family member, or other community member to a tribal law enforcement agency for 

meth-related crimes. By aligning community values with principles of community-oriented 

policing, meth prevention coordinators have the ability to validate community concerns, to help 

shape community perception of law enforcement, and to facilitate necessary dialogue between 

law enforcement and tribal community stakeholders. Four tribes out of the 40 grantees have a 

meth prevention coordinator, a position designed to do the following:

 Provide technical assistance and resources to community stakeholders, including tribal law 

enforcement, tribal council, tribal court, elders, tribal housing authority, tribal schools, substance abuse programs, and youth programs
Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention 19

 Provide leadership, oversight, and advocacy at the tribal level for increased public awareness 

and access to meth prevention and treatment resources

 Provide detailed and specific training to tribal entities

 Work to develop partnerships and coordinate with other local, state, and federal agencies

 Collect baseline data related to meth and support ongoing monitoring, trends, and analysis

 Serve as a liaison between the community and local law enforcement

The goal is to reduce the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of meth in Indian 

country. Many tribal communities are striving to implement a zero-tolerance policy for meth 

and other illegal substances on tribal lands. To accomplish this, tribal communities and 

corresponding law enforcement agencies must heed the call to do more, and meth prevention 

personnel can help. Meth prevention staffers, using a holistic approach, coordinate community 

services in response to increased meth problems, work collaboratively to increase awareness of 

prevention and treatment, provide education and information about needed resources so the 

community can create its own tribe-specific programs, establish baseline data for the community, and document the level of need.

These promising models can be a catalyst for workable, tribal-specific policing strategies 

grounded by community priorities. Research shows arrests for the manufacture, distribution, 

and consumption of meth have had limited efficacy.33 Such an approach focuses on enforcement rather than addressing prevention and treatment interventions. As tribal communities 

continue to evolve, modifications in policing practices are inevitable. A finger-pointing mentality only ensures a cycle of separatism and exploitation of tribal communities victimized by a 

meth epidemic.

Meth is a multidimensional problem that cannot be solved by law enforcement alone. Indian 

country faces multiple challenges to create and maintain operative prevention and treatment 

infrastructures. Funding priorities consistently shift, which results in significant cuts to prevention and treatment efforts or in program elimination. The inclusion of a meth prevention 

coordinator in tribal policing strategies can help establish a foundation for prevention and 

treatment within tribal communities and build an alliance with tribal law enforcement. This 

partnership is warranted and would enhance and contribute to tribal law enforcement efforts, 

resulting in tribal communities that feel empowered, safe, and understood by the systems and 

services that exist as a result of meth in the community. 

33. Bryan Stevenson, “Drug Policy, Criminal Justice and Mass Imprisonment: Working Paper,” paper presented to the Global 

Commission on Drug Policies, Geneva, January 24–25, 2011.
20 Break the Cycle

CASE STUDY

Healthy, Drug-Free Homes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Crystal Owen, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribal meth coordinator

 

Meth

MAZA SUNKA

Meth abuse and addiction creates significant health, 

social, law enforcement, judicial, treatment, and environmental problems on reservations, including overtaxing limited resources of tribal housing authorities. Early 

in 2013, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) Housing 

Authority took responsibility for more than 600 lowand moderate-income homes in 14 locations throughout the reservation. 

In 2011, the SWO Housing Authority faced deterioration of a newly built housing site known as Barker Hill, 

which had been infiltrated by meth and prescription pill 

misuse and abuse. Once beautiful, the housing site 

 soon became known as Pill Hill. Parents were afraid 

 to let children play outside because drug 

 users were loitering in the area; there

 were reports of property theft and home 

 burglaries; and drug seekers were coming 

 and going at all times of the day and 

 night. Residents did not feel safe 

 in their homes. 

 Using funds from their 

 COPS Office Tribal 

 Meth grant, tribal law 

enforcement purchased a mobile trace scanner, a 

hand-held instrument that simultaneously detects 

narcotics and common explosives. Tribal law enforcement named the scanner Maza Sunka, or Iron Dog, 

because it is user-friendly and helpful in creating a 

drug-free environment. 

Trace levels of narcotics or explosives are introduced 

into the instrument by one of two means: particulate 

samples are gathered by wiping a surface with specially designed traps, which are then inserted into the 

instrument for analysis, or vapors are drawn through 

a nozzle directly into the mobile trace scanner. Samples are heated to ensure a vapor phase and passed 

through a semipermeable membrane to filter out dust 

and dirt. The vapors are exposed to dryer material to 

keep humidity low. Vapors, which are analyzed by ion 

trap mobility spectrometry, are drawn into an ionization 

chamber and then passed through an electric field. 

The mobility of each target ion through the electric 

field differs sufficiently in time so that each is uniquely 

identified. Both positive and negative ions are simultaneously detected. 

Users operate and view data on the mobile trace 

scanner through a 3.5-inch color, touchscreen display. The scanner can be connected to a network, 

personal computer, USB drive, or laptop for data 

transfer. The following narcotics can be detected 

at low part-per-billion levels: cocaine, heroin, delta 

9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), meth, ephedrine, 

methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), morphine, 

L-amphetamine, and ecgonine methyl ester (EME).

This device created a cost savings for the Tribal 

Meth program. Tribal law enforcement purchased the 

scanner with the intent of housing the device, but an 

agreement with the SWO Housing Authority allowed 

housing maintenance staff to be trained to operate and 

care for the device. 

In the beginning, the Tribal Meth program’s plan was to 

buy 600 one-time use home-testing drug kits at $65 

to $100 per kit. At $40,000, the mobile trace scanner 

was cost-effective because it can be used repeatedly 

with weekly maintenance. It is important to note that 

this machine cannot pinpoint who is using drugs at the 
Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention 21

time of detection, but it is highly effective in determining the presence of illegal drugs and allows for proper 

follow-up investigation. 

When the use of the mobile trace scanner began in 

2012, the first 11 homes at Barker Hill tested positive for meth and other illegal drugs. This created a 

situation that took some consideration because there 

were no policies or procedures in place for dealing with 

a problem of this magnitude. Tenants in these homes 

denied the use of meth or other drugs, which created 

uncertainty about who was responsible. 

The SWO Housing Authority’s primary concern was for 

families in these 11 homes facing possible eviction if 

illegal drugs were found. With a shortage of available 

housing on the reservation, immediate evictions could 

create big problems and raise concern that children 

and the elderly could be displaced or homeless. The 

SWO Housing Authority, along with its board of directors, put into effect a new drug-free housing policy 

and began testing all homes at every housing site. The 

decision was made to test the homes after tenants 

moved out, and if traces of narcotics were found, the 

home was thoroughly cleaned by the SWO Housing 

Authority. Homes were then re-tested until no traces 

of narcotics were detected. Today, tenants can feel 

confident when they move into a home that it is free 

of any drug residue. 

When a tenant now signs a lease, he or she acknowledges that the home is drug-free. If later inspections 

find drug residue, the tenant is held responsible for 

cleanup and removal and is subject to eviction. However, currently, there are no legal ramifications for 

tenants unless actual drugs are found, in which case 

tribal law enforcement is notified, and charges 

are filed.

Tenants are responsible for any illegal 

activities that take place within the home.

By using proven technology with the mobile trace 

scanner, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate meth prevention program is able to meet its mission to help families 

gain a sense of security and raise children in a drugfree environment. 

With this device, the tribe has seen an increase in 

awareness and requests for testing at public housing, 

private homes, schools, and tribal program facilities. 

When used to detect narcotics, the mobile trace 

scanner plays 

a critical role in 

reducing drug 

activity in the 

community and 

contributes to public awareness and discussions that 

further engage residents in prevention efforts. The 

scanner is also used to routinely test tribal program 

offices. If traces of narcotics are found, the human 

resource director orders employee drug-testing, a 

process that is approved and supported by tribal executives. In minimizing the physical presence of drugs 

in the community, tribal police officers can reduce the 

number of incidents that occur and ensure a safer 

environment for the Oyate who live in tribal housing. 

Overall, the scanner has been efficient and successful 

in creating community awareness and providing safe 

and drug-free facilities. 

For more information on this mobile trace scanner, 

contact Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Law Enforcement at 605-698-7661.
22 Break the Cycle

Recommendations 

Here are six concrete ways local law enforcement can be involved in preventing meth use and 

production in tribal areas:

1 Establish a drug abuse prevention coordinator position.

As the Wind River case study illustrates (see page 8), by aligning community values with the 

principles of community-oriented policing, prevention coordinators have the ability to validate 

community concerns, shape community perception of law enforcement, and facilitate necessary 

dialogue between law enforcement and tribal community stakeholders. The position can also 

serve as the first step for institutionalizing community-oriented policing (as long as there is 

community-oriented policing training and an expectation that officers will use communityoriented approaches like those outlined in this guide). 

The four meth prevention coordinator positions among the tribal law enforcement grantees 

were funded through U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grants. Although not a guaranteed or 

sustainable approach, using grant funds is an appropriate way to fund the position initially. 

However, over time the position should transition to a permanent budget line item among the 

civilian staff at the police department. 

Convene meetings with tribal councils and tribal elders to develop culturally appropriate meth 2 prevention policies and programs.

The police chiefs and their representatives should recommend that tribal councils consider 

culturally appropriate drug-prevention policies and programs. Actions can include drug-free 

housing policies, funding for youth prevention programs, and establishing tribal courts. Law 

enforcement officers can testify before the tribal council about the extent of problems and the 

need for a prevention focus.
Tribal Law Enforcement in Prevention 23

3 Champion prevention programs developed in partnership with the community.

Once prevention programs are planned and have been implemented, tribal police should be 

seen as program champions who participate in prevention events and advocate for their continuation. When possible, tribal police departments can initiate prevention programs, such as the 

Brother Eagle program developed by the White Earth Police Department (see page 16).

4 Encourage community involvement in prevention programs.

Law enforcement officers interact with community members on a daily basis and recognize 

risky behaviors. Officers are in a unique position to identify and influence those at risk. When 

officers intervene in positive ways, they gain community credibility and decrease the potential 

of future criminal activity because police are no longer seen as simply punitive but as community members ensuring public safety.

5 Conduct routine home visits for repeat offenders.

As designed in Operation Sittin’ Eagle (see the Wind River case study on page 8), police visit 

repeat offenders at home around the time an individual would begin drinking or using drugs. 

In addition, officers visit neighboring homes to greet residents and share information about 

prevention efforts and public safety goals. This simple intervention can lead to law enforcement’s ability to gather intelligence from neighbors, possible changes in the repeat offender’s behavior, or the offender’s departure from the reservation. The idea is not to harass the 

offender but to encourage a change in behavior through positive police engagement.

6 Institutionalize prevention efforts as part of routine roles and responsibilities.

Once prevention efforts begin to reduce crime, law enforcement agencies should institutionalize 

prevention programs. Increasingly, officers should engage more in prevention work. Over time, 

departments should require all personnel to engage in both enforcement and prevention efforts. 

25

Tribal Law Enforcement in Treatment 

SAI FOUND FEW TREATMENT OPTIONS among the COPS Office Tribal Meth grantees. Most of the 

40 grantees must send community members a significant distance away from the reservation 

for residential treatment. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was the only tribe that had a 

residential treatment facility on tribal land. On the reservation, most grantees had a variety of 

outpatient services based out of Indian Health Service clinics or tribal health centers.

While law enforcement is generally a great advocate for treatment, not all tribal law enforcement officers recognize the potential benefits of treatment as part of a law enforcement strategy. 

Many participants at the 2012 meth summit, “Break the Cycle: Methamphetamine and Community Oriented Policing in Indian Country,” hosted by SAI and the COPS Office, expressed 

frustration about ineffective treatment, pointing to repeated arrests of the same people. These 

problems are indicative of the need for stronger treatment systems linked closely with local law 

enforcement and community support systems. However, there are effective treatment options 

that have shown positive results. Some of the key components necessary for effective treatment 

include access, length of treatment, and adequate support. Treatment grounded in tradition is 

also critical for success among Native-American patients.

Law enforcement should partner with the treatment community for a number of reasons. First, 

tribal law enforcement that engages the treatment community creates a stronger relationship 

with tribal members. The partnership demonstrates law enforcement’s investment in the longterm health of members and increases trust as the community begins to see police as part of 

the path to wellness.

Second, tribal members who enter treatment offer valuable insight and strategic intelligence 

for treatment professionals. Patient privacy laws must always be maintained and respected, 

but the treatment community and law enforcement can share information that benefits both 

domains. For example, without divulging private patient information, details may help law 

enforcement to better understand the threat of substance abuse, including drug prices, combinations of drugs used, general times when users get high, times when users tend to go for 

treatment, and other trends of use and abuse. This information is invaluable for resourcing 

police assets in a community. 

Third, when done well, treatment works. There is ample evidence for effective treatment when it 

is culturally appropriate and when there is family and community support. When this happens, 

law enforcement sees a reciprocal reduction in drug-related workload, but law enforcement 

must first be an advocate for treatment and an ongoing supportive partner. Wellness is the 

goal, and those who achieve that goal need to be welcomed backed into the community. It is 

especially important for tribal law enforcement to be first in line at that celebration. 
26 Break the Cycle

Attendees of the “Break the Cycle” summit emphasized culturally appropriate treatment using 

traditional healing as a key to success for Native-American addicts. Summit attendees believe 

access to treatment is a fundamental right of indigenous people. However, treatment facilities 

are rarely close to the tribe or culturally based, and they are often difficult to engage.

Indian country can help build more treatment capacity within tribal lands by establishing 

infrastructure, nurturing professionals, and developing a clear understanding of how tribal 

members can access treatment. Summit attendees said the tribe must create and sustain an 

expectation that treatment is a part of their community, which means educating the tribe on 

the need for treatment and building tribal council support for policies that promote treatment. 

Participants identified policies such as the following: 

 Mandatory drug testing for tribal government employees and school teachers

 Treatment as an alternative to incarceration, so that restorative justice is part of the healing 

process for both users and victims

 Banishment for those unprepared or unwilling to engage in the healing process

 Compulsory treatment for those in custody when incarceration is required

Fourth, summit attendees said that recovering addicts should be celebrated and welcomed 

back into the community. Attendees emphasized the need for forgiveness and to celebrate 

sobriety with community events and ceremonies. Just as important to the celebration is longterm aftercare and community supports that help former addicts avoid relapse. However, everyone, including tribal law enforcement and communities, must also understand that relapse is 

often part of the recovery process and not justification for additional punishment. 

Last, attendees suggested that those in recovery should be encouraged to mentor young people. 

The SAMHSA website provides more information on peer-to-peer mentoring.34

34. What Are Peer Recovery Support Services? HHS publication no. (SMA) 09-4454 (Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration, 2009), http://store.samhsa.gov/product/What-Are-Peer-Recovery-Support-Services-/

SMA09-4454. 

Community-oriented policing in Indian country via healing to wellness courts

A drug court is a specialized docket established to handle cases involving alcohol and drug 

offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug testing, treatment services, and immediate 

sanctions and incentives. Often, the goals of a drug court program are to provide immediate 

sanctions and direct treatment while holding offenders accountable for criminal conduct. The 

program works to increase protective factors for individuals, families, and the community. 

During the program, participants are

 provided with intensive treatment and other services to discontinue substance use and then 

remain clean and sober; 
Tribal Law Enforcement in Treatment 27

 held accountable by the drug court judge for meeting obligations to the court, society, 

themselves, and their families;

 regularly and randomly tested for drug use;

 required to appear in court frequently for judicial review of progress; 

 rewarded for doing well or sanctioned if they don’t meet obligations.

Drug courts are the most effective justice intervention for treating drug addicts. They significantly reduce drug use and crime and are more cost-effective than any other demonstrated 

criminal justice strategy. Drug courts

 ensure compliance and are six times more likely to keep offenders in treatment long enough 

for stable remission;

 increase treatment program graduation rates by nearly 80 percent for meth-addicted people 

and reduce meth use by more than 50 percent compared to outpatient treatment alone; 

 significantly reduce crime, as much as 45 percent more than other sentencing options;

 restore families (parents in family drug court are twice as likely to enter and complete treatment, and family reunification rates are 50 percent higher for family drug court participants);

 save money (a cost savings of $3,000 to $13,000 per client reflects reduced prison costs, 

reduced revolving-door arrests and trials, and reduced victimization).35

An adaptation of the drug court is the tribal healing to wellness court, a component of the 

tribal justice system that incorporates and adapts the wellness concept to meet the specific 

substance-abuse needs of each tribal community.36 This court provides an opportunity to 

address the devastation of alcohol or other drug abuse by establishing more structure and a 

higher level of accountability for these cases through a system of comprehensive supervision, 

drug testing, treatment services, immediate sanctions and incentives, team-based case management, and community support. Like a drug court, the tribal healing to wellness court team 

includes tribal judges, advocates, prosecutors, police officers, educators, and substance abuse 

and mental health professionals. Uniquely, this court also includes tribal elders and traditional 

healers. The concept borrows from traditional problem-solving methods and restores the individual to his or her place as a contributing member of the tribal community. Court programs 

use the unique strengths and history of each tribe and realign existing community resources 

in an atmosphere of communication, cooperation, and collaboration.

35. “What Are Drug Courts?” National Association of Drug Court Professionals, accessed August 14, 2013, 

http://www.nadcp.org/learn/what-are-drug-courts. 

36. Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Healing to Wellness Courts: A Preliminary Overview of Tribal Drug Courts

(Washington, DC: Drug Courts Program Office, July 1999).
28 Break the Cycle

CASE STUDY

A Tribal Meth Fellow’s Perspective on Treatment

by Chad Pfeiffer

Many Native Americans experience Western therapy as oppressive, often bringing an awareness of 

colonization and marginalization of their Native world 

views.*

 In a study of southwestern Native-American 

populations affected by meth, treatment providers 

advocated Western-based treatment practices with 

minimal consideration and confidence in cultural treatment modalities.†

 This response could be translated 

as a product of assimilation. Many Native-American 

individuals and communities have received messages, 

consciously and subconsciously, that mainstream is 

better than indigenous. The same study found that 

Native-American clients who reported meth abuse preferred treatment that incorporates cultural and spiritual 

modalities.‡

 Many Native-American communities experience alienation from Western approaches to therapy. 

In contrast to the Western template for intervention 

(e.g., between a therapist and client), Native-American 

templates for treatment often include the community 

and family, traditional healers, ceremonies, and celebrations.§

 Native-American clients entering substanceabuse treatment may feel they must assimilate to 

Western world views and self-perceptions as part 

of treatment and healing. Accepting Western-based 

modalities over one’s own culture could further marginalize and traumatize a Native-American client. 

A basic premise of Native-American culture is that 

people, situations, and events are perceived holistically. Isolated treatment of an individual’s mental or 

physical health is ineffective.** A holistic approach to 

substance-abuse treatment would deal with the whole 

person, and a central tenet to holistic healing is that 

one’s physical health, mental health, and spiritual 

health are inextricably related.†† When considering this 

worldview, it is difficult to isolate and focus on specific 

influences.‡‡ By this premise, an individual’s relationships should also be a vital component of treatment 

and recovery.

Native communities have “community competence”—

the capacity to improve quality of life for community 

members.§§ Along with community competence, these 

communities also have a wealth of cultural knowledge. 

Ceremonial knowledge may be the most authentic and 

philosophical information available to a Native culture. 

Native-American adolescents who 

exhibit strong cultural or spiritual 

connections are less likely to use 

methamphetamine.
Tribal Law Enforcement in Treatment 29

Many substance-abuse treatment programs have 

incorporated spirituality into their treatment approach. 

Spirituality is esoteric and experienced uniquely and 

individually. Cognition and behavior can be influenced 

greatly by a person’s spiritual disposition. A client’s 

spiritual background and beliefs may hold the key 

to understanding underlying values that motivate 

them.*** Mental health research has shown that 

Native-American adolescents who exhibit strong 

cultural or spiritual connections are less likely to 

use meth.†††

Research suggests two phases are important to 

linking Native-American communities to mainstream 

mental-health services.‡‡‡ First, the motivational phase 

is needed to discuss the context of intergenerational trauma and to highlight the strengths of Native 

cultures. Second, the intervention phase should link 

Western evidence-based interventions to Native 

cultural traditions. A final step in treatment programs 

should be recovery, which can be seen as a healing 

and celebratory process. 

The communal nature of tribal society (perhaps through 

ceremonies and community events) can be used 

to celebrate sobriety and to welcome a recovering 

individual back into the tribe’s support. The community 

and law enforcement should play a significant role in 

continued support and care for recovering addicts to 

ameliorate risk of relapse.

* John Coates, Mel Gray, and Tiani Hetherington, “An ‘Ecospiritual’ 

Perspective: Finally, a Place for Indigenous Approaches,” British Journal 

of Social Work 36, no. 3 (2006): 381–399; David R. Hodge, Gordon E. 

Limb, and Terry L. Cross, “Moving from Colonization toward Balance 

and Harmony: A Native American Perspective on Wellness,” Social Work

54, no. 23 (2009): 211–219.

† Alyssa A. Forcehimes, Kamilla L. Venner, Michael P. Bogenschutz, 

et al., “American Indian Methamphetamine and Other Drug Use in the 

Southwestern United States,” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority 

Psychology 17, no. 4 (2011): 366–376.

‡ Ibid.

§ Janet King, “Reclaiming Our Roots: Accomplishments and Challenges,” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 43, no. 4 (2011): 297–301.

** William J. Szlemko, James W. Wood, and Pamela Jumper Thurman, 

“Native Americans and Alcohol: Past, Present, and Future,” Journal of 

General Psychology 133, no. 4 (2006): 435–451.

†† Terry L. Cross, Kathleen Earle, Holly Echo-Hawk Solie, et al., Cultural 

Strengths and Challenges in Implementing a System of Care Model in 

American Indian Communities, Systems of Care: Promising Practices 

in Children’s Mental Health, 2000 Series, vol. 1 (Washington, DC: 

Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, American Institutes 

for Research, 2000).

‡‡ Ethan Nebelkopf and Serena Wright, “Holistic System of Care: A 

Ten-Year Perspective,” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 43 no. 4 (2011): 

302–308.

§§ Roger Dale Walker, Douglas A. Bigelow, Jessica Hope LePak, et 

al., “Demonstrating the Process of Community Innovation: The Indian 

Country Methamphetamine Initiative,” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 

43 no. 4 (2011): 325–330.

*** Edward S. Neukreg, The World of the Counselor: An Introduction to 

the Counseling Profession (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2007).

††† Allison Barlow, Britta C. Mullany, Nicole Neault, et al., “Examining 

Correlates of Methamphetamine and Other Drug Use in Pregnant American Indian Adolescents,” American Indian and Alaska Native Mental 

Health Research 17, no. 1 (2010): 1–24.

‡‡‡ Renda Dionne, Betsy Davis, Lisa Sheeber, et al., “Initial Evaluation 

of a Cultural Approach to Implementation of Evidence-Based Parenting 

Interventions in American Indian Communities,” Journal of Community 

Psychology 37 no. 7 (2009): 911–921.
30 Break the Cycle

A core team is involved in developing a tribal healing to wellness court program. The team 

(ideally comprising 8 to 12 members) could include tribal citizens, tribal employees, the tribal 

court, and the tribal council. The team provides guidance for program development and 

hands-on involvement in client treatment planning. Team members often conduct education 

classes or run group sessions. They should conduct regular case management meetings to 

design, review, or modify participant treatment and rehabilitation plans.

Often, offenders enter the program in one of three ways: law enforcement referrals to the 

prosecutor or tribal healing to wellness court team, pre-trial diversion, or sentencing. A client 

assessment is used to make a final determination for program admission. Assessment objectives rely on standard instruments for consistent criteria and to ensure fair selection of participants. Assessments are also used to correctly diagnose alcohol or drug problems that need 

to be treated and may define other client needs, such as educational or vocational training, 

assistance with family problems, and other mental health concerns. These inventories provide 

the basis for developing treatment and rehabilitation plans. 

Tribal healing to wellness courts are part of a holistic approach to ending addiction. The 

program must include access to culturally appropriate treatment options and the existence 

of a greater support system within the community. When done right, the result is a decrease 

in repeat offenders and an increase in the number of mentors supporting recovery of other 

addicts. The website “Tribal Healing to Wellness Court” offers more information about establishing a tribal court, including links to grant opportunities.37

Recommendations 

As with prevention efforts, law enforcement can play a significant role in culturally appropriate 

treatment programs for substance abuse in tribal communities. Arresting drug offenders does 

little to address the underlying cause of drug use—namely, addiction. Without treatment, druguse offenders will almost certainly be repeat offenders. Repeatedly arresting the same offender 

for drug use is frustrating for law enforcement. As such, police departments have a vested 

interest in treatment programs that successfully break the cycle of drug use. 

It is important to acknowledge that while some law enforcement personnel may believe that 

treatment does not work because of the offender “revolving door,” treatment can fail for several 

reasons, including a lack of culturally appropriate programming. In addition, recovering addicts 

often return to the same situations in which they began using drugs without making significant 

changes to reduce the likelihood of relapse. Culturally grounded programs can work with communitywide support and the active involvement of law enforcement and tribal councils. 

37. “Tribal Healing to Wellness Court,” Bureau of Justice Assistance, last accessed December 24, 2015, 

http://www.wellnesscourts.org/.
Tribal Law Enforcement in Treatment 31

Law enforcement’s role in substance-abuse treatment should include recognizing the inherent cultural needs of each tribe and embracing a holistic approach sensitive to the communal 

nature of Native life. This method requires a close partnership with tribal councils and community members, and it necessitates training for law enforcement in the complex nature of 

substance-abuse issues, including the cycle and process of addiction and the view of relapse 

as an opportunity for learning. Law enforcement should support the use of alternatives to 

incarceration and promote these alternatives to tribal councils and judicial systems. The following recommendations identify several key ways in which law enforcement can be involved 

in treatment methods and programs:

1 Train officers on the cycle of addiction and efficacy of treatment.

Police chiefs should encourage law enforcement officers to learn more about treatment. Bring 

treatment professionals to the police department to provide short, in-service presentations on 

the cycle of addiction, treatment programs that work and why, and program success rates. 

Make sure to invite representatives from treatment centers with a reputation for effective programs that can be replicated and modeled.

2 Champion culturally appropriate treatment in partnership with the community.

Encourage tribal councils to develop or invest in culturally appropriate treatment programs 

and to allocate resources for treatment. In addition, when community groups are working to 

bring treatment centers to the community or are partnering with other communities for greater 

treatment access, ensure law enforcement is among the voices expressing support.

3 Advocate treatment as an alternative to incarceration.

Encourage tribal councils to establish a system of tribal wellness courts. As the case study “A 

Tribal Meth Fellow’s Perspective on Treatment” illustrates (see page 28), tribal wellness courts 

are effective for repeat offenders when used with a culturally appropriate treatment model.

4 Advocate that cases involving substance abuse be sent to tribal wellness court.

Once a tribal wellness court is established, the court is only as effective as the number and 

appropriateness of the cases before it. Police and prosecutors should proactively seek, identify, 

and refer cases to tribal wellness courts as an alternative to incarceration.

5 Follow up with offenders who have completed treatment.

Law enforcement should be an encouraging and positive part of an individual’s recovery from 

drug use. Having people who support and applaud their efforts can help motivate recovering 

addicts, but law enforcement should also recognize that relapse is common for recovering 

addicts and does not mean failure.

33

Conclusions 

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF METHAMPHETAMINE ADDICTION IN INDIAN COUNTRY requires sensitivity to cultural traditions and the norms of Native culture as well as an awareness of community policing, which is collaborative, participatory, and inclusive—three traits that resonate 

with Native culture. Community policing also reinforces flexibility in its structure and application, enabling Native cultures to adapt the principles of community policing to fit their needs. 

Of all law enforcement efforts, community policing is probably the most consistent with the 

Native American culture and way of life.

Living on reservations has helped Native Americans to maintain their cultural identity, but 

being isolated from the rest of the American experience has challenged tribal efforts to connect 

with the broader American culture and has led to unforeseen consequences. One such consequence has been evidence-based prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse that 

have been shaped by Western ideas and that do not take Indian culture and beliefs into consideration. For prevention and treatment programs to be effective in Indian country, they need 

to include traditional values that form the foundation of the Native-American community and 

to emphasize the strength of family. Such programs should also include community policing 

because its principles support Native-American culture. 

The SAI assessment process, subsequent meth summit, and ongoing technical assistance 

found strong voices for policing reform and the role of substance abuse prevention and treatment in Indian country. This guide provides specific recommendations to create working relationships among prevention specialists, law enforcement, and treatment providers, all of whom 

can and should embrace cultural practices that emphasize reconciliation, healing, and restoration. The promising practices found among the 40 tribes that participated in this project and 

discussed in this guide can be replicated in other communities.

It is time to break the cycle of meth addiction and work to engage tribal communities in finding their own solutions versus using prescriptions developed outside the cultural context 

of Native tradition and values. Community policing may be the most promising strategy to 

advance policy and practice and move Native people and communities into a place of balance, 

health, and growth.

35

Appendix A. Geography of Tribal Lands

Figure 2. Map of federal and state reservations

Source: Recreated from “U.S. Federal and State Indian Reservations,” infoplease.com, accessed October 26, 2014, 

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0778676.html. 

Federal reservation

State reservation

Indian country is a complex and diverse tapestry comprising approximately 56 million acres 

of land owned by more than 560 independent, sovereign tribal governments and communities 

in the United States. Nearly all have reserved lands through treaties or statutes or by executive orders made in the 18th through 20th centuries.38 These reservations vary in size, with 

the largest at 16 million acres, to many reservations of less than 1,000 acres. Figure 2 shows 

how Indian country is dispersed throughout the United States.

38. Stewart Wakeling, Miriam Jorgensen, Susan Michaelson, et al., Policing on American Indian Reservations: A Report to 

the National Institute of Justice (Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, 2001). 
36 Break the Cycle

Within federal Indian reservations, there are allotted-status and restricted-status lands. There 

are also state Indian reservations. Distribution of lands within reservations has resulted in further division in and separation of Indian country, making it more difficult for law enforcement 

to maintain safe and healthy communities.39

Indian tribes, often referred to as nations, are not part of the U.S. federal or state government 

system. Rather, they have a separate, government-to-government relationship with the Federal 

Government. American Indians hold dual citizenship with the United States and their nation. 

Tribes adopt constitutions, pass civil laws to regulate commerce on their lands, and enforce 

these laws within their own judicial systems. However, there are limits to tribal authority, and 

legal authorities have referred to tribes as semi-sovereign “domestic dependent nations.”40

39. “Who We Are,” Bureau of Indian Affairs, accessed October 14, 2012, http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/index.htm. 

40. Stewart Wakeling, et. al., Policing on American Indian Reservations (see note 38).
37

Appendix B. History of Tribal Judicial Systems

by Eric Rodriguez, SAI Tribal Meth fellow

Table 1. Three major federal laws governing criminal jurisdiction in Indian country

FEDERAL LAW DESCRIPTION

General Crimes Act Enacted in 1817, the General Crimes Act (also known as the Federal Enclaves Act or 

Indian Country Crimes Act), as amended, extended the criminal laws of the Federal 

Government into Indian country and generally established federal criminal jurisdiction 

where either the alleged offender or the victim is Indian (but not both).

Major Crimes Act Enacted in 1885, the Major Crimes Act, as amended, provides the Federal Government 

with criminal jurisdiction over Indians charged with the felony-level offenses enumerated 

in the statute, even when the victim is Indian. The tribes retained exclusive jurisdiction 

over other criminal offenses (generally, misdemeanor level) where both parties are Indian.

Public Law 280 Enacted in 1953, Public Law 280, as amended, confers criminal jurisdiction over offenses committed in Indian country to the governments of six states—Alaska, California, 

Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin—except as specified by statute, thereby 

waiving federal jurisdiction in Indian country under the General and Major Crimes Acts and 

subjecting Indians to prosecution in state court.

Source: “Indian Country Criminal Justice: Departments of the Interior and Justice Should Strengthen Coordination to Support Tribal Courts,” 

GAO-11-252 (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, February 2011).

Contemporary tribal judicial systems41 are complex because of the historical contexts that 

shaped them. Failure to understand the reasons behind the policies currently in use risks 

using policies that weaken tribal nations. Table 1 provides an overview of the policies that 

have contributed to the current law enforcement jurisdictional system on tribal lands.

Before European contact, tribal nations had methods and practices to resolve disputes within 

their own communities. These varied by tribal community. The earliest formation of a tribal 

court system was in reaction to what is known as the Crow Dog42 case (1883) on what is now 

known as the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Crow Dog (Lakota) allegedly killed Spotted Tail 

(Lakota). Using traditional methods to resolve the dispute, the community decided Crow Dog 

was to provide necessary restitution to Spotted Tail’s family.

41. Contemporary tribal judicial systems cannot be gathered into one category. Because this appendix is unable to go into 

detail about all factors that can affect tribal judicial systems because of state or local laws, this appendix focuses on federal law.

42. See Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 (1883).

 Federal territorial courts were 

concerned because they believed the traditional Lakota way of handling the dispute resulted 
38 Break the Cycle

in Crow Dog’s release. In response, the federal territorial court prosecuted Crow Dog for murder. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the finding that the treaty between the Lakota Sioux and 

the United States reserved the Lakota right to its own decisions about justice.43 In reaction to 

this case, the Major Crimes Act44 was pursued to bring justice to Indian country. The Major 

Crimes Act authorized federal courts to prosecute Indians who commit certain major crimes 

on reservations.

The BIA created court systems (known as Courts of Indian Offenses) to prosecute these crimes. 

These courts handled less serious crimes and disputes between tribal members. A non-Indian 

offender can be brought before these courts only with the offender’s express consent. Judges 

for the Courts of Indian Offenses were often local BIA superintendents. The BIA policies of the 

time were for the assimilation of Indian people.45 The BIA superintendent’s role at the time was 

to suppress traditional practices, and this assimilation took from Native Americans their values 

and cultural customs. At the same time the Courts of Indian Offenses was created, Indian people were recruited to serve as BIA police officers46 to arrest and bring Indian criminal offenders 

to court.

43. Ibid. 

44. “Offenses Committed within Indian Country,” 18 U.S.C. § 1153. (Crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, 

assault with intent to commit murder, arson, burglary, and larceny.) 

45. Raymond V. Butler, “The Bureau of Indian Affairs: Activities Sine 1945,” Annals of the American Academy of 

Political and Social Science 436 (March 1978): 50–60.

46. “Indian Police: Ft. Belknap Indian Community, 1899,” Flickr, photo uploaded by orping, June 20, 2011, 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orping2000/5883430482/.

Formation of tribal courts

The passage of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, or Public Law 73-383, allowed 

tribal nations to create and operate their own judicial codes and court systems. These court 

systems enforced the tribal judicial codes created by the tribal nations. To be more specific, 

the tribal court systems were the result of the tribal nations’ authority to enact their own laws, 

to govern, and to be governed by their laws before the formation of the United States. These 

new federal laws have had a homogenizing influence on the government practices currently 

used by Native nations. 

Along with Western-influenced judicial codes, tribal nations adopted boilerplate constitutions 

created by the BIA and known as IRA constitutions.47

47. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development

U.S. Policies of Self-Determination (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008); Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt, 

“Reloading the Dice: Improving the Chances for Economic Development on American Indian Reservations,” Joint 

Occasional Papers on Native Affairs, no. 2003–02 (Tucson, AZ: Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, 

and Policy; Cambridge, MA: Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, 2003).

The common IRA constitutions established a strong “tribal chair,” who led an elected tribal council of between eight and 

, The State of the Native Nations: Conditions under 
Appendix B. History of Tribal Judicial Systems 39

15 members. However, IRA constitutions rarely provided resolution-dispute policies. In addition, IRA constitutions delineated no explicit separation of governmental power48 and did not 

allow for the legitimate governing structures that tribal nations had always used.49

Not all tribal nations adopted IRA constitutions. During this era, these forms of government 

were new to Indian people. The Western way of voting was alien to many tribes. In Indian country, 181 tribes adopted IRA constitutions, and 77 rejected them.

50 Tribes that did not initially 

adopt IRA constitutions did so later with the help of attorneys who used IRA constitutions as 

a framework. Therefore, the tribes that adopted them later were adopting constitutions influenced by the IRA because the attorneys did not know how to develop new constitutions.51

Some tribal nations that did not create their own tribal codes still use the Courts of Indian 

Offenses and Law and Order Code to handle crimes on reservations.52 Other tribal nations 

with limited resources choose to use the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) courts operated 

by the BIA.

48. Harvard Project, State of the Native Nations (see note 47). 

49. John Fredericks III, “America’s First Nations: The Origins, History and Future of American Indian Sovereignty,” 

Journal of Law and Policy 7 (1999): 375—376.

50. Robert B. Porter, “Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty through Government Reform: What Are the Issues?” 

Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy 7 (Winter 1997). 

51. Eric Lemont, “Developing Effective Processes of American Indian Constitutional and Governmental Reform: 

Lessons from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Hualapai Nation, Navajo Nation, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe,” 

American Indian Law Review 26, no. 2 (2001/2002): 147—176. 

52. See “Where Are Courts of Indian Offenses Established,” Courts of Indian Offenses and Law and Order Code, 25 

CFR part 11.100 (2011): 21, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title25-vol1/CFR-2011-title25-vol1-part11/

content-detail.html.

Public Law 280

In 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 280, which eliminated most BIA criminal jurisdiction 

in Indian country, initially in five states and later in six.53,54 Between 1953 and 1968, criminal 

jurisdiction was transferred to state control without tribal nation consent. A 1968 amendment 

to Public Law 280 allowed tribal nations to retrocede Public Law 280 with the consent of 

the state. The amendments also allowed states to return jurisdiction to tribal nations. Most 

states, to keep their authority over tribal nations, chose not to return jurisdiction to federal 

and tribal authority. 

53. Carole Goldberg and Heather Valdez Singleton, Final Report Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Under Public 

Law 280 (Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, 2007). 

54. The six states were California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Wisconsin, and later Alaska. Additional states 

assumed some jurisdiction in Indian country.
40 Break the Cycle

Public Law 280 created lawlessness in Indian country because state, county, and city police 

departments were unable to handle the increase in calls for service. Tribal leaders, in testimony 

to Congress before passage of Public Law 280, said states had neither the resources nor the 

capacity to assume jurisdiction in Indian country. Furthermore, life for Native people on reservations after the passage changed dramatically for the worse.

The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Rosebud Sioux Tribe President 

Robert Burnette: 

I fear state jurisdiction for many reasons other than pure discriminatory action on the part of the population. 

I fear state jurisdiction, because it is foreign to us as a method and because it is such a political mode of 

operation. It has been said that tribal courts are subject to political pressures, and I would like to make it 

very clear here that everything in this nation of ours is subject to political pressures. I was a witness to the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs takeover in November of 1972, and I observed the administrative branch of the 

Federal Government holding in abeyance federal court orders that were issued to do a certain job within 

that takeover. So, no one can accuse the tribes of being political themselves. Yes, there is a certain amount 

of politics in tribal courts, depending upon who is elected as a leader of his tribe and how well he defines 

individual rights.

55

The effects of Public Law 280 can be seen on many Indian reservations. The jurisdictional 

confusion that tribal police officers faced is shown in table 2 on page 41.56

In response to the confusion created by these laws, efforts have been made to return power 

to tribal governments. Public Law 638 (1975) and Public Law 413 (1994) work hand in hand 

to improve tribal self-governance by establishing and solidifying government-to-government 

relations between tribes and the U.S. government and allowing tribes to form their own governments and financial infrastructures.57 In 2010, the TLOA expanded the punitive abilities 

of tribal courts operating on reservations, allowing for increased sentencing in criminal cases. 

The TLOA is unique because the DOJ and the DOI met in collaboration with tribal leaders 

and tribal justice professionals to create a long-term plan to improve law enforcement in 

Indian country.

55. The Need for Indian Law Enforcement and Judicial Reform on Indian Reservations, Subcommittee on Indian Affairs,

Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 94th Cong. (1975) (statement of Robert Burnette, president, Rosebud Sioux Tribe).

56. Ibid., 11–252.

57. “Public Law 93–638: Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975” (88 Stat.; January 4, 1975),

http://www.idrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/7-PL-93-638.pdf; “Public Law 103–413: Title IV: Tribal Self-Governance 

Act of 1994” (108 Stat.; October 25, 1994), http://tribalselfgov.org/OSG_KenPosts/Self-Governance%20Title%20IV.pdf.
Appendix B. History of Tribal Judicial Systems 41

Table 2. Criminal jurisdiction in Indian country where 

jurisdiction has not been conferred on a state

IDENTITY OF 

THE OFFENDER

IDENTITY OF 

THE VICTIM JURISDICTION

Indian Indian If the offense is listed in the Major Crimes Act, as amended, (18 U.S.C. 

§ 1153), the tribal and federal governments have jurisdiction. If the 

offense is not listed in the act, tribal jurisdiction is exclusive. 

Indian Non-Indian If the offense is listed in the Major Crimes Act, the tribal and federal 

governments have jurisdiction, not the states. If the offense is not listed 

in the act, under the General Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 1152), tribal and 

federal governments have jurisdiction, not states.

Non-Indian Indian Federal jurisdiction is exclusive; tribal and state governments do not 

have jurisdiction.

Non-Indian Non-Indian States have exclusive jurisdiction; tribal and federal governments 

do not have jurisdiction.
42 Break the Cycle

Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research 

by Catie Willging, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation 

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research in 

which community members form partnerships with experienced researchers to better understand and develop solutions for a variety of social and health problems, including substance 

abuse.58 In CBPR, everyone recognizes all partners as equal 

players with unique strengths. Partners can include volunteer organizations; colleges and universities; tribal, state, 

and county health departments; law enforcement agencies, courts, local task forces, and committees; treatment facilities and clinics; 12-step groups; 

churches and faith communities; businesses; and established research institutions. These 

partners work together to share knowledge, resources, and responsibility for the research 

process, building upon individual and collective strengths to study and solve social and health 

problems that affect communities. 

Partners in CBPR recognize the importance of community voice in every aspect of the research 

process. When done well, CBPR projects promote community ownership and control for the 

entire process, increasing the prospect that research results are both relevant and tailored to 

communities. A handful of core principles guide CBPR:

 Projects are participatory, and all partners decide how work will be done.

 Co-learning and information sharing among community members and research 

partners is emphasized. 

 Projects build community capacity for future research and evaluation initiatives.

 Partners help one another to work through issues that affect them directly. 

 Research and action are balanced.59

These principles make it possible for CBPR practitioners to combine community knowledge 

with research for the purpose of achieving lasting social change.60

A commonly used method in community policing 

is the SARA model, which resembles CBPR.

58. John Lowe, Cheryl Riggs, and Jim Henson, “Principles for Establishing Trust when Developing a Substance Abuse 

Intervention with a Native American Community,” Creative Nursing 17, no. 2 (2011): 68–73, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pmc/articles/PMC3103821/?tool=pmcentrez; see also Nina B. Wallerstein and Bonnie Duran, 2006, “Using Community-Based 

Participatory Research to Address Health Disparities,” Health Promotion Practice 7 (3): 312–323, http://hpp.sagepub.com/

content/7/3/312.

59. Meredith Minkler and Nina Wallerstein, Community-Based Participatory Research for Health: From Process to Outcomes, 

2nd ed. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008).

60. Zubaida Faridi, Jo Anne Grunbaum, Barbara Sajor Gray, et al., “Community-Based Participatory Reach: Necessary 

Next Steps,” Preventing Chronic Disease 4, no. 3 (July 2007), http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/06_0182.htm.
Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research 43

Table 3. Comparison of the SARA and CBPR models

SARA CBPR

Scanning. Identify and prioritize problems 

in the community.

Step 1. Engage people with interest in the issues and 

who can help implement a CBPR project.

Step 2. Gather information to determine community 

needs and resources.

Analysis. Research what is known about the victim, 

offender, and location.

Step 3. Analyze data, and develop a clear statement of 

issues and concerns. Determine priorities and resource 

issues, including allocation.

Response. Develop solutions to bring lasting reductions 

in the number and extent of the problems.

Step 4. Develop a project description and action plan.

Step 6. Implement the new program or policy.

Step 7. Plan for the future.

Assessment. Evaluate the success of the responses. Step 5. Develop an evaluation plan to determine what 

worked during implementation.

Note: CBPR steps are grouped according to which phase of the SARA model they resemble.

In recent years, CBPR has emerged as an important research practice in Native-American 

communities, whose members have historically had research projects done on rather than with

them. CBPR challenges traditional models of research that are culturally neglectful and that 

have failed to address many of the most pressing social and health problems affecting these communities. Indeed, there is a long history of non-Indian academics conducting research on tribal 

lands with little or no benefit to Native communities. They may do this without local permission 

or active involvement of community members. As a result, Native communities may be unfairly 

portrayed in negative or stigmatizing ways (particularly when the research is about substance 

abuse), and non-Indian researchers remain insensitive to community concerns or issues. 

CBPR allows Native communities to define for themselves particular issues of concern, to define 

and develop their own culturally appropriate solutions, and to take ownership for how findings 

are reported.61 Native-American researchers have been at the forefront of creating new paradigms for CBPR, such as tribal participatory research, which emphasizes tribal oversight to 

ensure that researchers behave ethically and respect Native culture, traditions, and values.62

61. Linda Burhansstipanov, Suzanne Christopher, and Ann Schumacher, “Lessons Learned from Community-Based Participatory Research in Indian Country,” Cancer Control 12, suppl. 2 (November 2005): 70–76; Patricia A.L. Cochran, Catherine A. 

Marshall, Carmen Garcia-Downing, et al., “Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Implications for Participatory Research and Community,” American Journal of Public Health 98, no. 1 (2008): 22–27; John Lowe, Cheryl Riggs, and Jim Henson, “Principles for 

Establishing Trust When Developing a Substance Abuse Intervention with a Native American Community,” Creative Nursing 17, 

no. 2 (2011): 68–73.

62. Philip A. Fisher and Thomas J. Ball, “Tribal Participatory Research: Mechanisms of a Collaborative Model,” American 
44 Break the Cycle

CBPR’s relevance to law enforcement

Police often have important insight to share about how communities are affected by social and 

health problems, such as substance abuse. They also have ideas about what can be done to 

lessen these effects. 

Individuals in law enforcement are particularly suited for participation in CBPR partnerships 

because they have been involved in similar relationships for nearly 30 years. A commonly used 

method in community policing is the SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and action) model, 

which resembles CBPR.63 Table 3 on page 43 compares the SARA phases and CBPR steps to 

illustrate their similarity.

Journal of Community Psychology 32, no. 3–4 (2003): 207–216; Lisa R. Thomas, Dennis M. Donovan, Robin L. Sigo, et al., “The 

Community Pulling Together: A Tribal Community-University Partnership Project to Reduce Substance Abuse and Promote Good 

Health in a Reservation Tribal Community,” Journal of Ethnicity and Substance Abuse 8, no. 3 (2009): 283–300.

63. In the scanning phase of the SARA model, stakeholders (such as police officers and community members) together identify

recurring problems that affect the community and prioritize problems to be addressed. In the analysis phase, partners assess 

how the identified problem is currently addressed and the strengths or weaknesses of that response. In the response phase, 

partners brainstorm and choose possible solutions most likely to have the greatest positive effect in the community. Also, the 

creation of an action plan with goals and objectives occurs in this phase, and this action plan may serve as the basis of a new 

program or communitywide initiative. In the final SARA phase, the assessment phase, the partners determine whether the plan 

was implemented adequately. Information collected before and after creation and implementation of the action plan will help the 

partners to identify new strategies to fix or build upon the original plan. 

Designing and implementing CBPR projects

Key questions 

When conducting research using a CBPR process, all partners must ask three key questions: 

1. For whom is the research being conducted?

2. Who represents the community in question?

3. Who speaks for the community?64

These questions help define and guide how research processes are defined and implemented. 

Partners should be open to critical reflection on the overall CBPR process to ensure that everyone’s contributions are recognized and that no one is excluded or allowed to dominate the process. 

64. Kari Hartwig, Diane Calleson, and Maurice Williams, “Unit 1: CBPR—Getting Grounded,” Developing and Sustaining

Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: A Skill-Building Curriculum, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, 

accessed December 22, 2015, http://www.cbprcurriculum.info.
Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research 45

Responsibilities in CBPR partnerships

Partners in CBPR projects should focus their fundamental responsibilities on cooperation and 

engaged collaboration. In successful CBPR partnerships, all involved stakeholders make a commitment to do the following:

 Participate and contribute to the project

 Help develop ground rules for how CBPR partners will work together

 Listen and strive to understand others’ views

 Be a resource for developing and implementing CBPR priorities and projects

 Present what the CBPR partnership is accomplishing at key meetings and events in the community65

Effective CBPR partnerships

Effective collaboration depends on the following characteristics:

 Alignment of community and research missions and priorities

 History of positive engagement within the community in question 

 Knowledge of and connection to the community

 Staff or volunteers

 Consistency and reliability 

 Knowledge and technical skills to share 

 Support and involvement from leaders66

Even when all of these characteristics are present, CBPR still takes hard work, dedication, and 

time. Effectively managing conflict before it occurs helps all partners when problems occur. 

Participants should anticipate issues related to tension or conflict. And partners are encouraged to acknowledge potential trust and turf issues, to openly discuss conflict and its causes, 

and to remind everyone of the big picture.67

65. Frances Dunn Butterfoss, Coalitions and Partnerships in Community Health (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007).

66. Hartwig, Calleson, and Williams, “Unit 1” (see note 64).

67. Butterfoss, Coalitions and Partnerships in Community Health (see note 65).
46 Break the Cycle

Steps for designing and implementing CBPR projects

The goal for any CBPR partnership is data-driven social action and change. The term data refers 

to information, facts, and evidence that help community members to better understand and 

address known social and health problems and to discover unanticipated problems. Data are 

also important for planning and implementing effective programs and policies. Using the following seven steps as a template can help all key stakeholders design and implement CBPR projects:

1. Engage people who have an interest in the issues or concerns and who can bring positive, active 

influence to a CBPR project.

Key activities: Create a CBPR stakeholder group, hire or identify a coordinator, organize 

meetings and engage community members, and initiate capacity-building efforts (e.g., 

provide problem-specific training and help build research skills).

2. Determine research needs, strategies and processes, and related resources.

Key activities: Identify sources of data, educate key stakeholders about data needs and 

barriers, develop strategies to access data, determine focus of community assessment, 

determine appropriate data collection methods, develop questions and data collection tools, 

obtain necessary permissions and approvals of the tribe or tribal entities, and collect data.

3. Analyze data and develop a clear statement of concerns; determine priorities and resource issues, 

including allocation.

Key activities: Analyze data collected for the assessment, review and interpret results, 

determine focus of program and policy efforts, and use results to create a comprehensive 

problem statement. 

4. Develop a project description and action plan.

Key activities: Develop programming goals; identify, prioritize, and select strategies; and list 

tasks for each strategy. The action plan becomes the basis for new programs and policies.

5. Develop an evaluation plan to determine what worked.

Key activities: Develop performance measures, develop short- and long-term outcome measures, and identify information and data sources.

6. Implement the new program or policy.

Key activities: Determine responsibilities and assign tasks; support each other; review 

accomplishments, deadlines, and the budget on a regular basis; and provide feedback to 

each person and group involved.

7. Plan for the future.

Key activities: Review performance and results; refine the program to address problems; 

share work with the community and CBPR stakeholder group; begin long-term strategic 

planning, including funding options; and explore and access resources.
Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research 47

Throughout the process, it is important to emphasize community strengths, to respect tribalspecific rules and regulations that may govern research activities, and to ensure that the 

research and its results are shared appropriately and without harm to the tribe. It is important to highlight and build local capacities, knowledge, resources, and diversity. CBPR is most 

successful in building upon what a community already does well. CBPR requires money, and 

academic partners can help by writing grant proposals. Community partners also may be able 

to tap into monies for local programming.

CBPR is not a short-term undertaking, but successful efforts foster mutually beneficial relationships among community and academic partners. Cooperative work increases buy-in to 

problem-solving strategies, and it nurtures effective and sustainable programs and policies. 

Participation alone benefits all partners in many tangible and intangible ways, including community and partner appreciation; improved trust; and enhanced professional, economic, educational, and personal relationships.68

CBPR examples in tribal communities

CBPR emphasizes equality of communities and academic partners in designing and implementing studies on pressing health and social problems, such as drug use. Studies may help 

guide advocacy efforts or serve as the basis for new policies and programs. Trust between local 

stakeholders and academic collaborators is key to CBPR in Native-American communities.69

Imposing non-Indian values and beliefs has led to mistrust of non-Indian services, systems, 

and practices—including research. CBPR is well-suited to help build trust within and across 

these sectors.70 CBPR has been implemented in a wide range of tribal settings, and its usefulness in Indian country has been enthusiastically received by Indian and non-Indian scholars 

and community partners.71 Projects vary in terms of issues and strategy, but the common link 

is commitment to community involvement and making community needs the priority.72

68. Ella Greene-Morton, Ann-Gel Palermo, Sarah Flicker, et al., “Unit 4: Trust and Communication in a CBPR Partnership—

Spreading the “Glue” and Having it Stick,” Developing and Sustaining Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: A Skill-Building Curriculum, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, accessed January 25, 2016, 

http://www.cbprcurriculum.info.

69. Jessica R. Goodkind, Kimberly Ross-Toledo, Susie John, et al., “Rebuilding Trust: A Community, Multiagency, and 

University Partnership to Improve Behavioral Health Care for American Indian Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” 

Journal of Community Psychology 39, no. 4 (May 2011): 452–477, doi:10.1002/jcop.20446.

70. Ibid.

71. Burhansstipanov et al., “Lessons Learned from Community-Based Participatory Research” (see note 61); Goodkind 

et al., “Rebuilding Trust” (see note 69); Puneet Chawla Sahota, Community-Based Participatory Research in American Indian 

and Alaska Native Communities (Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians, Policy Research Center, 2010), 

http://www.ncaiprc.org/files/CBPR%20Paper%20FINAL.pdf; Lisa Rey Thomas, Carmen Rosa, Alyssa Forcehimes, et al., 

“Research Partnerships between Academic Institutions and American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Organizations: 

Effective Strategies and Lessons Learned in a Multi-Site CTN [Clinical Trials Network] Study,” American Journal of Drug and 

Alcohol Abuse 37, no. 5 (2011): 333–338.

72. Sahota, Community-Based Participatory Research (see note 71).
48 Break the Cycle

Project TRUST (teaching, referral, understanding, support, and testing) is one example of effective CBPR for Indian country.73 This project worked to understand and eliminate the causes of 

behavioral health disparities among youths in a Southwest Native-American community. Participants included service providers, tribal parents, youths, community members, community 

organizers, and university researchers.74 Project TRUST’s guiding concept was an assumption that the community best knows its particular needs. Western ways of thinking and healing have shaped both federal policy and traditional research on drug and alcohol issues. In 

tribal communities, that has resulted in disconnect between Native values and substanceabuse treatment that questioned the credibility and validity of cultural beliefs and Native 

healing practices.75

Project TRUST developed a list of more than 20 recommendations that help illustrate the 

need for a more integrated, culturally relevant approach to behavioral health care for 

Native-American youths.76 The list was compiled by a community advisory board in meetings 

with American-Indian youths, parents, and elders. Project TRUST participants asked how those 

working in law enforcement and the criminal justice system (e.g., courts) could do a better job 

reaching and meeting the needs of Native-American youths struggling with drugs and alcohol. 

The community identified police as an important source of help, involvement, and support. 

Other recommendations included increased access to and compensation for traditional healing practices, apologies and reparations from the U.S. government, expansion of school-based 

health centers, and cultural-competence training to address issues related to historical trauma 

and institutional racism.77 These recommendations now guide planning for local initiatives and 

have been shared with tribal, state, and national audiences as the most relevant ways to effect 

healthy change. 

Another CBPR project in Indian Country is Methamphetamine and Other Drugs in American 

Indian and Alaska Native Communities, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s 

Clinical Trials Network. Five sites in five different regions of the country collaborated to create 

research partnerships for collecting current and accurate data related to meth in NativeAmerican communities.78

73. J. Goodkind, K. Ross-Toledo, S. John, et al., Project TRUST: Report and Recommendations for Enhancing the Well-Being 

of Native American Youth, Families, and Communities (Project TRUST Partnership, 2008); Goodkind et al., “Rebuilding Trust” 

(see note 69).

74. Goodkind et al., “Rebuilding Trust” (see note 69).

75. Ibid.

76. Ibid.

77. Ibid.

78. Thomas et al., “Research Partnerships between Academic Institutions” (see note 71).

 Community advisory boards (CAB) were formed, comprising officials 
Appendix C. Community-Based Participatory Research 49

from tribal government, tribal organizations, and treatment agencies. The goal was to understand and address issues related to drug use in ways that are community driven, culturally 

grounded, and geared toward successful prevention and recovery.79

The CABs created individualized research protocols addressing site-specific access to 

resources, geography, culture, tradition, and exposure to postcolonial trauma.80 Each site’s 

plan considered community focus groups; key stakeholder interviews; phone surveys with 

people working in schools, treatment agencies, and law enforcement; and client record 

reviews. There are more than 560 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and these 

CAB meetings and strategy sessions helped push processes for data collection, analysis, and 

interpretation beyond a one-size-fits-all approach.81 The success of these tailored approaches 

hinged on a willingness of all parties to fully engage with one another, adequate time spent in 

the site communities, a consistent presence in site communities, and a willingness to listen to 

and learn from one another. These sites emphasized a desire to build on available resources 

(including law enforcement and the criminal justice system) and community resilience. CBPR 

helped ensure existing strengths were considered, valued, and used.82

Law enforcement’s role in CBPR

Police do not have to lead the effort; however, as champions and willing participants, tribal 

police departments benefit from community-approved solutions to public safety issues and 

a process grounded in good research. Tribal law enforcement should do the following:

1. Champion CBPR among community groups and the tribal council. Suggest CBPR as an approach to 

local organizations and leaders who might be in a position to organize and lead CBPR efforts. 

Tribal law enforcement does not have to lead the effort, but its willing participation may help 

establish a project in its community.

2. Identify a tribal law enforcement staff member to be a CBPR project liaison. When a CBPR effort 

is launched in the community, including tribal law enforcement in the partnership helps 

ensure that research is relevant and increases community trust.

3. Use CBPR results for law enforcement action-planning. CBPR results will identify problems and 

may serve as a springboard and basis for action planning around police and public safety 

concerns (keeping in mind that data are only relevant if law enforcement participated in the 

CBPR effort).

79. Ibid.

80. Ibid.

81. Ibid.

82. Ibid.
50 Break the Cycle

More information about CBPR can be found via the nonprofit membership organization 

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, which “promotes health equity and social justice through partnerships between communities and academic institutions,”83 and via Community Tool Box, a public service developed and managed by the University of Kansas’s Work 

Group for Community Health and Development.84

83. “About Us,” Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, last accessed December 29, 2015, 

https://ccph.memberclicks.net/about-us.

84. “Community Tool Box,” last accessed December 29, 2015, http://ctb.ku.edu/en. 
51

Appendix D. Prioritization Planning Worksheet

STRENGTHENING TRIBAL 

LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS

Priority:

HIGH

Priority:

MEDIUM

Priority: 

LOW

Feasibility:

HIGH

Feasibility:

MEDIUM

Feasibility: 

LOW

1. Strengthen existing tribal law enforcement agencies.

2. Ensure the chief of police has autonomy 

over operations to create law enforcement 

leadership stability.

3. Use a workload-based formula to develop 

the police department’s budget.

4. Create a separate authority for “charging 

functions” versus “deciding functions.”

5. Establish professional benefits for tribal 

law enforcement officers similar to those of 

their BIA and nontribal counterparts.

6. Hire personnel based on nationally recognized standards, personal and professional 

integrity, and cultural competence.

7. Adopt standardized training protocols to 

match requirements for state certification.

8. Develop interagency agreements with 

neighboring, nontribal law enforcement 

agencies.

9. Develop a strong working relationship with 

the tribal council, business community, and 

community groups.
52 Break the Cycle

TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

IN PREVENTION

Priority: 

HIGH

Priority: 

MEDIUM

Priority: 

LOW

Feasibility: 

HIGH

Feasibility: 

MEDIUM

Feasibility: 

LOW

1. Establish a drug abuse prevention 

coordinator position.

2. Convene meetings with tribal councils and 

tribal elders to develop culturally appropriate 

meth prevention policies and programs.

3. Champion prevention programs developed 

in partnership with the community.

4. Encourage community involvement in 

prevention programs.

5. Conduct routine home visits for 

repeat offenders.

6. Institutionalize prevention efforts as 

part of routine roles and responsibilities.

TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

IN TREATMENT

Priority: 

HIGH

Priority: 

MEDIUM

Priority: 

LOW

Feasibility: 

HIGH

Feasibility: 

MEDIUM

Feasibility: 

LOW

1. Train officers on the cycle of addiction 

and efficacy of treatment.

2. Champion culturally appropriate treatment 

in partnership with the community.

3. Advocate treatment as an alternative to 

incarceration.

4. Advocate that cases involving substance 

abuse be sent to tribal wellness court. 

5. Follow up with offenders who have 

completed treatment.
53

About Strategic Applications International

The mission of Strategic Applications International (SAI) is to pursue great ideas, promote action, 

and effect change with demonstrated results. SAI is committed to the best in program development, implementation, and evaluation. To mobilize the nation’s response to illicit drugs at 

the tribal, local, state, federal, and international level, SAI has worked extensively on issues of 

crime, violence, and substance abuse in partnership with the White House’s Office of National 

Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, 

and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 
About the COPS Office

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of the U.S. 

Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the 

nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information 

and grant resources.

Community policing begins with a commitment to building trust and mutual respect between 

police and communities. It supports public safety by encouraging all stakeholders to work 

together to address our nation’s crime challenges. When police and communities collaborate, 

they more effectively address underlying issues, change negative behavioral patterns, and 

allocate resources. 

Rather than simply responding to crime, community policing focuses on preventing it 

through strategic problem solving approaches based on collaboration. The COPS Office 

awards grants to hire community police and support the development and testing of innovative policing strategies. 

COPS Office funding also provides training and technical assistance to community members 

and local government leaders, as well as all levels of law enforcement. The Collaborative 

Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA), a program that promotes organizational 

transformation through analysis of policies, practices, and training related to issues of concern, is also available to law enforcement agencies

Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to provide training and technical assistance, enhance crime fighting technology, and add more than 125,000 officers to 

our nation’s streets. We also offer a wide variety of information resources to help law enforcement and community leaders address specific crime issues at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

54 Break the Cycle
Chapter Name 3
Methamphetamine has a disproportionate negative effect on tribal communities. In 

response to this compelling need, the COPS Office awarded Tribal Methamphetamine 

Initiative grants to 40 tribes and provided those grantees with training and technical 

assistance. This guide for tribal law enforcement and community stakeholders reflects 

the priorities and key information resulting from on-site assessments conducted with 

each tribe; input from eight tribal fellows; technical assistance provided to each of the 

grantees; and the ideas, discussions, and data that emerged from a national strategic 

planning summit. The guide addresses the importance and value of tradition and 

culture in community ownership, prevention, and treatment; identifies innovations and 

best practices specific to meth production, distribution, and use in Indian country; and 

provides a series of recommendations for law enforcement and other key stakeholders.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

145 N Street NE

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details about COPS Office programs, call 

the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770.

Visit the COPS Office online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Strategic Application International LLC

6526 10th Street

Alexandria, VA 22307

Visit SAI online at www.sai-dc.com.

ISBN: 978-1-935676-92-8

e081525717

Published 2016