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25–531 PDF 2017

S. PRT. 115–17 

AMBER ALERTS AND TAKING LAND INTO TRUST 

IN INDIAN COUNTRY 

LISTENING SESSION 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MAY 10, 2017 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JON TESTER, Montana, 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada 

T. MICHAEL ANDREWS, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER ROMERO, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Listening session held on May 10, 2017 ................................................................ 1 

Statement of Senator Cortez Masto ....................................................................... 23 

Statement of Senator McCain ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 21 

WITNESSES

Clement, Charles, President/CEO, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium ....................................................................................................................... 27 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 

Crotty, Hon. Amber Kanazbah, Delegate, 23rd Navajo Nation Council ............. 10 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11 

Garry, Eileen M., Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice ................................................ 2 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 3 

Walters, Jim, Program Administrator, National Criminal Justice Training 

Center .................................................................................................................... 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 

APPENDIX

Buchanan, RADM Chris R.E.H.S., M.P.H., Assistant Surgeon General, 

USPHS; Acting Director, Indian Health Service, U. S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, prepared statement ............................................ 39 

(1) 

AMBER ALERTS AND TAKING LAND INTO 

TRUST IN INDIAN COUNTRY 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room 

628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John McCain, presiding. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN MCCAIN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA 

Senator MCCAIN. Unfortunately, due to the state of partisanship 

in the United States Senate today and outside events that have 

certainly caused a lot of turbulence here in the Nation’s Capital 

that our Democrat friends have decided to object to committee 

hearings to be held today. That is their right to do so. I do not deny 

them that right. 

What it has done is prevented us from having an important hearing today. Therefore, the Chairman, who I hope will be here shortly, because people have come from other places. We do not want 

to keep them from being heard as we discuss this bill. 

This is not a hearing per se but it will be a listening session. 

Only in Washington could we do that kind of foolishness. 

I am obviously very committed on this issue and this legislation 

as are our witnesses, so we are going to have a listening session. 

The bill, as our witnesses know, would reauthorize a grant program that is operated by the U.S. Department of Justice that assists local governments in developing their Amber Alert communications plans. 

The bill would also clarify that Indian tribes are eligible for 

Amber Alert grants. Currently, tribes which participate in this 

grant program do so under a DOJ pilot initiative. 

Further, the bill would require the Department of Justice to 

impel stricter transparency and accountability standards for how 

tribal governments use these grants. Finally, the bill directs the 

Department of Justice to complete a needs assessment all across 

Indian Country. 

I thank you for being here because you care about the safety of 

Native American children living on reservations. According to data 

produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are more 

than 7,700 American Indian children listed as missing in the 

United States of America. I repeat there are more than 7,700 

2 

American Indian children are listed as missing in the United 

States of America. 

Last year, the Navajo community was devastated by the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike. In that high profile 

case, authorities did not issue an Amber Alert for Ashlynne until 

the day after family members reported her abduction. 

Part of the reason for the delayed alert is that complications 

arise when issuing alerts across the multiple jurisdictions that 

span the Navajo Reservation, including three States and 12 different counties. This is a problem for any Indian tribe with a large 

rural land base. 

This grant program can help Indian tribes hire an in-house 

Amber Alert coordinator to develop, train and implement communication plans necessary to address child abduction emergencies. 

I will be encouraging my colleagues to support this legislation. I 

want to emphasize, in keeping with Senate rules, this is not a 

hearing. This is a listening session and will not be listed as a hearing. 

I am here to listen. The reason I think it is okay to have it as 

a listening session is because I think every day we wait to pass this 

legislation, there is another child whose life is in danger. I think 

there is some urgency to this issue. 

Ms. Garry, you are the Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department 

of Justice. Mr. Walters, you are the Program Administrator of the 

National Criminal Justice Training Center of Royse City, Texas. 

Mr. Charles Clement is the Chief Executive Officer of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Juneau, Alaska. 

Ms. Garry, maybe we could begin with comments from you in 

this listening session. 

STATEMENT OF EILEEN M. GARRY, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, 

OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY 

PREVENTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Ms. GARRY. Thank you, Senator McCain. It is an honor to be 

here this afternoon. 

I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the Amber Alert Program 

and its value to our Nation’s tribal communities. 

As the Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention, I oversee a number of Federal initiatives 

designed to protect children and support tribal youth. 

Before taking my current post in January, I spent 15 years as 

the Deputy Director of the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice 

Assistance. Much of my work there involved outreach to tribes 

through a host of criminal justice programs. 

During my time at BJA, I helped lead a major effort called ‘‘The 

Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation,’’ which streamlined 

many of the department’s grant programs to make them more accessible to tribal applicants. We have awarded more than $727 million to tribes under the CTAS Initiative. 

I also served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Indian 

Law and Order Commission. The Commission’s role is to study 

criminal justice in Indian Country and to recommend improvements at the tribal, Federal and State levels. 

3 

We produced a landmark report with three major categories of 

recommendations: one, improving Federal accountability; two, expanding tribal authority; and three, strengthening the partnerships 

between tribal, Federal and State officials. I believe our work was 

a major contribution to tribal self determination and tribal safety. 

I consider my work with American Indian and Alaska Native 

tribes to be among the most rewarding experiences of my entire career. I am proud to be a part of a Department of Justice that 

stands behind our tribal partners. 

One of my highest priorities is making sure tribes have the resources they need to keep their children safe. An effective Amber 

Alert Program is key to that goal. Amber Alert has helped to recover hundreds of abducted children and return them safely to 

their families, but there is still much work to be done. 

That is why my office, in coordination with our partners at the 

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Fox Valley 

Technical College, is working together to strengthen the Amber 

Alert Program as a whole and in Indian Country, in particular. 

Since fiscal year 2013, we have invested more than $7.2 million 

in training and technical assistance to help tribes, local jurisdictions and States expand their capacity to rescue abducted children. 

We expect to make more funding available this year for training 

and technical assistance. 

As part of that program, we have a tribal database of training 

opportunities covering topics like child sex trafficking, working 

with tribal law enforcement, and managing child abduction response teams. 

We have conducted a Tribal Child Protection Leadership Forum 

which brought together tribal public safety leaders and Federal, 

State and local partners to discuss the many challenges around 

protecting children in Indian Country. 

We are planning a symposium next month in Bismarck, North 

Dakota to talk about the emerging threat of child sex trafficking 

and exploitation. We have invited tribal representatives to take 

part in a National Amber Alert Coordinator Symposium to be held 

in June. 

We are taking these steps because we understand the life and 

death importance of a seamless Amber Alert Program. Our goal at 

the Department of Justice is an Amber Alert system that is as effective in Indian Country as it is in the busy metropolitan areas 

of our Nation. 

I thank you for giving this issue the attention it deserves. I am 

grateful for your time and for your leadership. I appreciate all the 

support you continue to give to our tribal programs. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Garry follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF EILEEN M. GARRY, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and Members of the Committee, thank 

you for this opportunity to discuss AMBER Alert grants in Indian country. I am Eileen Garry, the Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). I oversee state, local and tribal juvenile justice programs, and child 

protection activities. Prior to being named Acting OJJDP Administrator in January 

4 

2017, I served for 15 years as Deputy Director of the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) where I developed and administered grant programs, led tribal 

affairs and oversaw all planning, management, and budget activities of BJA, among 

other things. During my time at BJA, I helped lead the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, which streamlined the application process for many of the Department’s grant programs to make them more accessible to tribal applicants. We have 

awarded more than $727 million to tribes under this initiative. 

I also served as Deputy Executive Director for the Indian Law and Order Commission. My work with American Indian and Alaska Native tribes has been a rewarding experience, and I have been proud to be part of the Department’s longstanding work supporting our tribal partners. Whether it is through law enforcement funding, supporting tribal victims of crime, addressing sexual assault or examining the effects of trauma on tribal youth, the Department is committed to responding to challenges facing those who live in Indian country. 

Ensuring that the National AMBER Alert program is responsive to American Indian and Alaska Native children who are abducted goes hand in hand with the Justice Department’s existing efforts in Indian country. 

As the Committee knows, the AMBER Alert system became operational in 1996. 

It was the result of a collaboration between local police and broadcasters in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, region to help find abducted children. ‘‘AMBER’’ is an abbreviation for ‘‘America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,’’ and was named in 

memory of a 9-year-old girl from Arlington, Texas, Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered. Although AMBER Alert programs were being implemented in some states, it was not until 2002, when President Bush appointed the 

first National AMBER Alert Coordinator, that the issue began receiving nationwide 

support. In 2003, President Bush signed into law the PROTECT Act, which 

strengthened law enforcement efforts to prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes 

against children. By 2005, all 50 states developed AMBER Alert plans. 

Under existing statutes, including the PROTECT Act, the Department is authorized to provide grants to states, offer training and technical assistance to those developing or managing AMBER Alert programs and issue guidance to states and 

local jurisdictions to ensure that programs are effective, uniform and sustainable. 

Since its inception in 2002, the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance 

program has trained 95,448 law enforcement officers, child protection officials, and 

dispatchers. This OJJDP program functions in coordination with other missing and 

exploited children programs funded by the Department of Justice, as well as other 

federal agencies. 

A critical role of the Department is to develop and disseminate recommended 

guidelines for states on how and when to issue AMBER Alerts. Specifically, the 

Amber Alert system works when the following 5 steps are engaged: (1) law enforcement confirms that an abduction has occurred, (2) the child is 17 years old or younger; (3) the child is at risk of serious injury or death as a result of the abduction, 

(4) descriptions of the child and captor are obtained; and (5) information about the 

abduction is entered immediately into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. 

In order for this system to work at peak effectiveness, OJJDP has funded the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to operate the AMBER 

Alert Secondary Distribution system. The AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution system, known as AASD, is comprised of wireless carriers, Internet service providers, 

digital signage, social networking websites, content providers and major retailers 

who distribute AMBER Alerts to a geographically targeted audience in support of 

the AMBER Alert coordinator. These alerts assist in notifying the public about recently reported child abductions with information to help in the search for the abducted child, suspected abductor, and/or suspected vehicle. Tribes can take advantage of these NCMEC resources, which include sending and receiving AMBER 

Alerts. NCMEC automatically contacts the tribe or activating agency upon the report of an abduction. 

In addition to providing grant support and guidance to states and local jurisdictions, we have achieved significant progress in locating missing children since the 

enactment of the PROTECT Act. This is due, in part, to technological advancements, 

particularly information sharing on social media platforms such as Facebook and 

Google traffic alerts, and to extensive nationwide coordination efforts with organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Wireless 

Foundation and the Ad Council. 

Since the fiscal year 2013, OJJDP has invested more than $7.2 million in critical 

training and technical assistance to help states, local jurisdictions, and tribes expand their capacity to rescue abducted children. In order to continue these efforts, 

OJJDP issued a competitive solicitation for the National AMBER Alert Training and 

Technical Assistance Program for FY 2017. Tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
5 

tions, as well as tribal institutions of higher learning were eligible under this solicitation. The competitive solicitation was released on December 5, 2016, and closed 

on February 6, 2017, and thus the applications for this funding are still under review. OJP has not yet made final FY 2017 funding decisions. 

While our AMBER Alert efforts cover all 50 states and even address child abductions that cross our borders with Canada and Mexico, we are keenly aware that 

American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages face unique challenges. Some of 

these challenges include navigating tribal, federal, and state jurisdictions; limited 

911 systems; and shortages of data management tools, dispatch systems and software needed for disseminating critical information in the aftermath of an abduction. 

As early as 2007, the Justice Department consulted with tribes on how to implement and improve the AMBER Alert program in their communities. That year, ten 

tribal sites were selected to pilot the Department’s AMBER Alert in Indian Country 

Initiative. They served as demonstration sites to help expand the AMBER Alert program into Indian counrty and bridge the gap between tribal communities and state 

and regional programs across the country. The tribal communities selected to participate in the initiative were Pueblo of Acoma; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of Laguna; Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico; The Choctaw Nation of 

Oklahoma ; the Crow Tribe of Montana; the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Gila 

River Indian Community of the Gila River Reservation, Arizona; Navajo Nation of 

Arizona, New Mexico and Utah; Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation; 

the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 

Yakama Nation. The initiative helped tribal communities develop and implement 

AMBER Alert plans and provided interoperability, infrastructure and equipment resources to meet the specific needs of tribal communities. 

In September 2015, the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program 

launched a tribal database that serves as a resource for tribal law enforcement, 

child protective services professionals and members of local communities. Training 

available through the tribal database covers topics such as working with tribal law 

enforcement, child sex trafficking, interviewing high-risk juveniles and child abduction response teams. This resource is available to all tribes, and although it is currently in the outreach and education phase, it has the potential to be used as a central depository for tribal community child protection program assessments that 

would help make tribes aware of the benefits and resources available. 

Another vital resource we have made available is the Tribal Child Protection 

Leadership Forum. This event, conducted last year in Scottsdale, Arizona, enabled 

tribal public safety leaders to come together with OJJDP leadership and state, local 

and federal partners to discuss available resources and best practices to address the 

many challenges around protecting children in Indian Country. We are also planning the Tribal Child Protection Symposium, which is open to tribes in the region. 

We expect tribes from North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Minnesota to participate. This event, scheduled for June in Bismarck, North Dakota, 

will focus on the emerging threat of child sex trafficking and exploitation among 

tribal communities in the Dakotas and Montana. Federal, state, local and tribal 

partners will collaborate on developing community programs to prevent and eliminate the trafficking and exploitation of tribal youth. In addition, representatives 

from tribes who have implemented AMBER Alert plans in their communities will 

take part in the OJJDP-sponsored 2017 National AMBER Alert Coordinators Symposium, to be held this June in Minnesota. This event will provide an opportunity 

for tribal coordinators to collaborate directly with their state and regional AMBER 

Alert peers and to exchange information on emerging technology and best practices. 

Notwithstanding the progress and numerous success stories that have resulted 

from the AMBER Alert program, there are opportunities for improvement in tribal 

communities. For example, tribal leaders and the Justice Department have explored 

creating an emergency alert system, as well as improving the efficiency of the current system. 

In its two decades of existence, AMBER Alert has been instrumental in safely recovering hundreds of abducted children, and it is important to continue our collective work to strengthen this vital public safety tool, especially in remote and often 

under-resourced areas of Indian country. For example, since 2005, 50 Native American children featured in AMBER Alerts have been recovered. 

Thank you for your leadership and your continued support of our tribal programs 

and partnerships. I appreciate this opportunity to testify on behalf of the Justice 

Department, and I look forward to answering your questions. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you. 

6 

Mr. Walters. 

STATEMENT OF JIM WALTERS, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, 

NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING CENTER 

Mr. WALTERS. Good afternoon, Senator McCain. 

In my role with the National Criminal Justice Training Center, 

I am the Program Administrator responsible for manning NCJTC’s 

Amber Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program out of the 

Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention. 

I wanted to thank you as well for this opportunity to come today 

to discuss the issue of making tribal communities eligible to apply 

for Amber Alert grants. 

This topic is important to me because I have worked and lived 

in tribal communities for over 30 years. My primary focus has been 

on investigations, primarily in the area of child abductions. This 

topic is important across Indian Country. 

You referenced the case of Ashlynne Mike. A little over a year 

ago on May 2, 2016, 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike and her younger 

brother were abducted near Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo 

Nation. 

Ashlynne’s younger brother was able to escape from their abductor. He ran through the desert to seek help. He later returned to 

assist in the search for his sister but tragically, she was murdered 

by her abductor before help could arrive or she could be saved. 

This Committee’s focus on this issue is timely, it is relevant and 

it is terribly important. Ashlynne’s case demonstrates the need for 

Amber Alert programs to be statutorily connected not just to the 

States, but also to the tribes to give them equal footing. 

History has taught that when a child is abducted, time is the 

enemy. In those child abduction cases where homicide is the outcome, in approximately 76 percent of those cases, the child is murdered within the first three hours after the abduction. 

The abductor will generally take the child from the place they 

were last seen, move that child to another location to both avoid 

detection and allow them to have the opportunity to carry out 

whatever motivation or fantasy it was that drove them to take that 

child. 

This is when the child is at greatest risk. The abductor may release the child on their own or they may just as likely kill the child 

to prevent apprehension or to prevent detection. It is crucial, therefore, that officials be able to immediately assess the circumstances 

surrounding that abduction, deploy the resources necessary and 

alert the public so the public can be involved in the process of helping to find that child and locating them before harm comes to the 

child. 

Amber Alert is the tool that supports this process. It improves 

the chances of safely recovering the abducted child. To date, Amber 

Alerts have resulted in the safe recovery of 868 children in our Nation. 

The Amber Alert plans that were created by the PROTECT ACT 

of 2003 created a nationwide system that enabled law enforcement 

agencies across the Country to alert the public when a child was 

abducted. 

7 

The PROTECT ACT did not fully consider the need for Amber 

Alert plans on tribal lands. Noticeably absent was any statutory 

mention of tribal participation. 

In 2007, the Amber Alert in Indian Country Pilot Project was 

launched within the Department of Justice to develop capabilities 

and capacity within tribal communities to respond to abducted, endangered, missing and exploited children. 

The pilot sites in that initial program underwent assessments of 

their capabilities that showed us that most tribes did not have the 

adequate infrastructure to create Amber Alert systems on their 

own. 

The project also involved delivering training and technical assistance to tribal communities to improve the capabilities of tribal officers who, in most cases, do not have the access to specialized training in that area. 

A key concept of this training is to recognize the cultural aspects 

of tribal communities and engage the community in efforts to recover the missing child. I was a part of that program and the pilot 

program was highly successful. 

The participating tribes demonstrated that if access to the State 

Amber plans, the right tools, technology and training, they could 

provide the same level of service to their communities as their 

State and local counterparts. 

An important concept of this legislation is that it provides Congress with an assessment of the capabilities and status of Amber 

Alert programs serving tribal communities. The results would also 

be used to guide training and technical assistance for tribal communities to help develop and sustain Amber Alert programs that 

remain in place through changes in Administration. 

I would stress that the needs and challenges among tribes vary. 

Just like the States, there is no one size fits all solution. I applaud 

this Committee for considering a strong piece of legislation. There 

is no substitute for making sure that the statute specifically recognizes tribal needs and works within a framework that understands 

the unique challenges facing Indian tribes. 

As a practitioner who has worked in Indian Country and an investigator who has conducted child abduction investigations, I am 

acutely aware of the need for tribes to have the ability to implement Amber Alert in their communities. 

I was at Shiprock just days after the abduction of Ashlynne 

Mike. I got to know her family and members of the Navajo community who were affected by this tragedy. I spoke with Ashlynne’s 

mother, Pamela, before coming to this meeting. 

The message she sent to the Committee was to express her desire that Ashlynne’s legacy and what comes out of this would be 

a law that would bring Amber Alert to the tribes and hopefully 

help prevent other Native families from suffering the tragedy her 

family has suffered. 

I thank you for your time. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Walters follows:] 

8 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JIM WALTERS, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL

CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING CENTER

Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members of the 

Committee. My name is Jim Walters, and I am a Program Administrator with Fox 

Valley Technical College’s National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC). I 

am responsible for managing NCJTC’s work for the US Department of Justice’s 

(DOJ) AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program which is funded 

by DOJ’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention (OJJDP). 

Thank you for this opportunity to meet with you today to discuss the issue of 

making tribal communities eligible for applying for grants to implement AMBER 

Alert plans. This topic is important to me because I have worked in law enforcement 

and with tribal communities for three decades, with a focus on investigations—particularly in child abductions. 

Just over a year ago, on May 2nd, 2016, eleven-year-old Ashlynne Mike and her 

younger brother were abducted near their home in Shiprock, New Mexico, on the 

Navajo Reservation. Ashlynne’s nine year old brother was able to escape their abductor and run through the desert to seek help and then assisted in the search for 

his sister. Tragically, Ashlynne was brutally murdered by their abductor before help 

could arrive. 

The Committee’s focus on this issue is timely, relevant, and terribly important. 

Ashlynne’s case demonstrates the need for the AMBER program to be statutorily 

connected not just to the states but to the tribes. 

History has taught us that when a child is abducted time is the enemy. Research 

has shown that in cases where homicide is the outcome, approximately 76 percent 

of those victims are killed within three hours of the abduction. We also know that 

there is generally a sequence of events that follows an abduction. The abductor will 

take the child away from the initial contact site to another location both to avoid 

detection and to allow for the opportunity to carry out whatever fantasy or motivation that compelled them to take the child. 

It is during this time that the child is at greatest risk. The abductor may release 

the child on their own or they may just as easily kill the child to avoid apprehension. These dynamics make it crucial that officials immediately assess the circumstances of the abduction, deploy resources, and alert the public to increase the 

probability of safely locating the child before the abductor can harm them. 

The AMBER Alert is the tool that supports this process and improves the chances 

of safely recovering the abducted child. AMBER Alerts have resulted in the safe recovery of 868 children. It exists in all 50 states because Congress took the steps to 

support state efforts to refine, standardize, and support this work. 

The PROTECT Act, signed into law on April 30, 2003, comprehensively strengthened law enforcement’s ability to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish violent 

crimes committed against children. The Act codified the previously-established National AMBER Alert Coordinator role in the U.S. Department of Justice and lead 

to the development of a national AMBER Alert strategy. The responsibility for this 

program has been assigned to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. 

The AMBER Alert plans created through the PROTECT Act created a nationwide 

system that enabled law enforcement agencies across the country to alert the public 

when a child was abducted. 

What the PROTECT Act did not fully consider was the need for AMBER Alert 

plans on tribal lands. The AMBER Alert program statutory language is relatively 

straightforward. It reads ‘‘Program Required.—The Attorney General shall carry out 

a program to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.’’ Noticeably absent is any statutory mention of tribal participation. 

In 2007, the AMBER in Indian Country pilot project was launched within the Department of Justice (grant number 2007–DD–BX–K074), providing an unprecedented opportunity to develop capabilities and capacity within tribal communities 

to respond to abducted, endangered missing and exploited children. 

The goal of the pilot project was to support the recovery of missing and abducted 

children by providing interoperability, infrastructure, and resources to meet the specific needs of tribal communities. Pilot tribes underwent in-depth assessments of 

their infrastructure and capability to respond to endangered missing and abducted 

children. The assessments found that most tribes did not have adequate call intake 

and case management systems; and many faced infrastructure limitations which 

made it impossible to create their own plan or partner with the State AMBER Alert 

plan. 

9 

This pilot project also involved delivering training and technical assistance in tribal communities to improve the capabilities of tribal officers. This was important because the skills of investigators, supervisors and first responders in regard to endangered, missing, abducted and/or exploited children are perishable skills. 

In most cases, tribal officers do not have access to specialized training in this area 

outside what is provided by the Amber Alert Technical and Training Program 

(AATTP) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). 

A key concept of this training is to recognize the cultural aspects of tribal communities, and to engage the community in the efforts to recover the missing child. We 

partnered with First Pic Inc. out of Gambrills, MD to provide cultural experts to 

assist in this area. 

The pilot program was highly successful. The participating tribes demonstrated 

that with access to their State AMBER Alert plans, the right tools, technology and 

training they could provide the same level of service to their communities as their 

state and local counterparts. 

Senate bill 772 would provide tribes the opportunity to undergo an assessment of 

their capabilities and identify gaps in service delivery so that they could develop 

plans that fit the needs of their specific tribe and give them the tools needed to 

bring AMBER Alert to their community. It would provide Congress with an assessment of those capabilities and the status of AMBER Alert programs serving tribal 

communities across the county. The results would also be used to guide training and 

facilitate technical assistance activities for tribal communities to help develop and 

sustain AMBER Alert programs that would remain in place through changes in tribal administrations. 

I would stress that needs and challenges among the tribes vary. Just like the 

States, there is no ‘‘one size fits all solution’’. 

I would encourage you to work with the Department of Justice to ensure that 

there is an appropriate focus on this initial assessment of tribal needs. States have 

had an opportunity to participate in the federal-state AMBER Alert partnership for 

more than a decade. The tribal experience has been much more limited. 

I applaud the Committee for considering this strong piece of legislation. There is 

no substitute for making sure that the statute specifically recognizes the tribal 

needs and works within a framework that understands the unique challenges facing 

Indian tribes. 

As a practitioner who has worked in Indian Country for over 30 years and an investigator who has conducted child abduction investigations, I am acutely aware of 

the need for tribes to have the ability to implement AMBER Alert in their communities. 

Senators, I was at Shiprock in New Mexico just days after the abduction and murder of Ashlynne Mike. I have gotten to know her family and other members of the 

Navajo community who were impacted by this tragedy. 

I spoke to her mother Pamela before this meeting. The message that she gave to 

me for you was to express her hope that Ashlynne’s legacy would be the establishment of a law to bring AMBER Alert to tribes and prevent other Native families 

from experiencing the terrible pain that comes with the loss of a child. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this vitally important issue. I would 

be pleased to answer any questions that you may have and provide any additional 

information that may assist the Committee. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Clement, welcome. 

Mr. CLEMENT. Senator, thank you very much for the opportunity 

to share a little bit with you this afternoon. If it pleases the Committee, I will be speaking regarding Senate Bill 825. I do not know 

if Ms. Crotty would like to speak to the Amber Alert bill prior to 

that. 

Senator MCCAIN. Yes. Ms. Crotty, welcome. This is not a hearing. It is a listening session. Mr. Clement, I think we will hold 

yours if that is okay. I love Alaska, but I think it would be important for other members of the Committee to hear your views on 

that legislation as well. 

Welcome, Ms. Crotty. 

10 

STATEMENT OF HON. AMBER KANAZBAH CROTTY, DELEGATE, 

23RD NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL 

Ms. CROTTY. Ya ́’a ́t’e ́e ́h (Hello) 

I am Amber Kanazbah Crotty with the Navajo Nation Council. 

I want to thank Senator McCain for inviting the Navajo Nation 

to testify on this very important matter and to voice our support 

for your bill, S. 772, the Amber Alert in Indian Country. We believe 

it is paramount and time that Indian Country is eligible for this 

Federal funding that not only would provide training but sustain 

Amber Alert in Indian Country. 

I would like to extend our greatest gratitude to the Committee 

as other members join us. Senator McCain, I want to make sure 

that you are especially appreciated for sponsoring this bill. 

When we talk about Ashlynne, clanwise, Ashlynne is considered 

our daughter. Pamela and Gary have been very generous in continuing family and kinship relations so not only do we talk about 

what happened to Ashlynne and how our hearts were broken after 

she was abducted and taken, but we remember her light, we remember her smile, her giggles and in her quiet way, how she provided the beautiful harmony of her xylophone. 

Senator, it is very hard to be able to talk about Ashlynne and 

not think about what were her final moments in life and then look 

at leadership and say how can we help as leaders. I deeply and at 

the core values of my being appreciate the Senate Bill 772. 

When Ashlynne was taken and abducted and little Ian was 

found, he tried his best to describe what had happened to them. In 

all that confusion and chaos, we are concerned that Navajo Nation 

at the time simply did not have the right communication plan and 

the right protocol to issue the Amber Alert. 

Currently the Nation is finalizing a solid communication plan 

working with our partners, our Federal partners, our State partners and forcing the Navajo Nation to not only finalize but to coordinate all of our resources. 

What has come to our attention and continues to provide deep 

concern to myself is at this time, Navajo Nation continues to rely 

on the State entities to issue the Amber Alert. For example, recently in the State of Arizona on the Arizona side of our Nation, 

a child was taken. 

The abduction met the protocol of the Amber Alert but when our 

dispatcher called the New Mexico State side, however New Mexico 

State analyzes what this case would be, it was not considered an 

Amber Alert and was just considered a person who was endangered. 

At this point, Senator, those are some of the issues we have 

when Navajo Nation has to rely on other States to determine the 

status of our children. As a Nation and a community, we ultimately 

want to have the responsibility that if any child abducted, we understand that every minute counts and the more time that passes, 

it can be very difficult to recover that child. 

As we move forward to establish the Amber Alert system and 

creating this communication plan, we are looking at the software 

that can be uniquely used on Navajo. Not only are we within three 

States of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, but we also have to coordinate with 11 different counties. 

11 

I do want to mention there is also a very serious need in terms 

of not only fully implementing an Amber Alert system on the Navajo Nation but once that alert is activated, then an issue on Navajo 

Nation is the necessary infrastructure. 

The Navajo Nation spans over 27,000 square miles which is 

roughly the size of West Virginia. It has vast differences between 

cellular towers which results in numerous areas of dark zones. 

Senator, you will be provided additional information where in our 

estimates, nearly 40 percent of the Navajo Nation has some type 

of either dark communication or lack of cellular service. If we have 

this non-existent cellular service coverage, how can we alert our 

people of a child abduction if we are not reaching all of our Navajo 

Nation citizens. 

This is an issue that we and many other tribes are still addressing in this mode era. As a Nation that functions within our government, it is in the best interest that our people implement and manage its own Amber Alert system. 

I can say as a mother and a community member, when we receive the call through the school system notifying parents to pick 

up their children, that type of fear that resonated through the community really put pressure on not only leadership but to make sure 

we have the infrastructure we need, that we have the alert system 

in place and are taking every step possible to protect and recover 

our children. 

I appreciate, Senator, your vision in initiating this discussion, 

not only with the Navajo Nation but recognizing that every child’s 

life is of value, that every child deserves the right to be rescued, 

that every child deserves the right for their community to be able 

to look for them, to get them home safe and this will prevent future 

possible abductions. 

The vast majority of Indian Country is rural. We understand the 

barriers and concerns that come with ensuring protections for our 

children. We want to voice our support for this bill and hope that 

you can ensure this legislation is passed in a bipartisan manner. 

We appreciate, Senator McCain, your leadership, your outstanding partnership and the work of Cindy McCain. I appreciate 

the work in terms of human trafficking because the topic right now 

is Amber Alert. We have a vast number of children who are missing from the Navajo Nation and we are concerned about their 

whereabouts. 

We appreciate the time. Thank you, Senator. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Crotty follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. AMBER KANAZBAH CROTTY, DELEGATE, 23RD NAVAJO

NATION COUNCIL

Ya ́’a ́t’e ́e ́h (Hello) Chairman Hoeven and Vice Chairman Udall, Senator McCain, 

members of the committee, and staff. I am Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah 

Crotty and I serve as a member of the 23rd Navajo Nation Council. I am here on 

behalf of the Navajo Nation to respectfully voice our support for Senator John 

McCain’s bill, S. 772, the AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. We would like to 

extend our sincerest gratitude to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Senator McCain for sponsoring this bill and allowing me to provide testimony on an important issue that affects our Native American children in order to increase protections for them. 

The Navajo Nation has several public safety needs that are critical to maintaining 

and improving safety protocols, and none more important than the vital need to imVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
12 

plement a comprehensive AMBER Alert system. In May 2016, we lost an 11-yearold Navajo girl by the name of Ashlynne Mike near the area of Shiprock, N.M., due 

to an abduction that ultimately ended in a fatal tragedy. The events that led to her 

demise not only devastated our Nation, but also led to an outcry by our Navajo people pleading with our leaders to implement our own AMBER Alert system. 

Currently, our communication plan protocol forces the Navajo Nation to rely on 

state entities to issue AMBER Alerts on our behalf, which has proved to be a 

lengthy and dangerous process. When a child is abducted, every minute counts and 

the more time that passes, the more difficult it can be to recover the child. As the 

Navajo Nation moves forward in establishing an AMBER Alert system, we are in 

the process of creating a communication plan unique to our Nation’s needs, which 

includes obtaining software that will allow us to send out mass communication to 

our local areas within Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. 

FEMA recently provided the Navajo Nation access to their Integrated Public Alert 

and Warning System (IPAWS), which would allow the Navajo Nation to issue and 

manage various emergency alerts, as well as AMBER Alerts. Once the nation obtains the mass communication software to issue alerts, we will still need additional 

resources to maintain the communication plan and train public safety and emergency management personnel. 

However, once the Navajo Nation has everything in place to issue any sort of 

emergency alert system, we still lack the necessary infrastructure to reach our Navajo citizens. The Navajo Nation spans over 27,000 square-miles of land, with vast 

distances between cellular towers and few Internet fiber optic lines, which has resulted in numerous areas of ‘‘dark zones,’’ or non-existent cellular service coverage. 

How can we alert our people of a child abduction if we are not reaching all of our 

Navajo citizens? This is an issue that we and many other tribes are still addressing. 

As a Nation that functions with our own government, it is in the best interest 

of our people that the Navajo Nation implement and manage its own AMBER Alert 

system. Although we appreciate the assistance of the states for their efforts in aiding with AMBER Alerts, we realize that we must be accountable and responsible 

to our people, and it starts with taking every step possible to protect and recover 

our children when they are taken. 

Bill S. 772 would provide the opportunity to not only the Navajo Nation, but to 

other tribal nations in critical need of an AMBER Alert system and an effective 

communication protocol plan. I appreciate the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 

and Senator McCain for initiating this discussion with tribal nations, and it is important that we keep this dialogue open in order to convey our needs to the Federal 

Government. The vast majority of Indian country is rural, and we understand the 

barriers and concerns that come with ensuring protections for our children, so we 

want to voice our support for this bill and hope you can ensure this legislation is 

passed. 

S. 772 would allow for grants that the Navajo Nation would greatly need to capitalize on its current emergency plan development by focusing on training and capacity building around the AMBER Alert activation communication protocol. These 

grants would assist in increasing the administrative capacity of the Navajo Nation 

Emergency Management Department and the Navajo Nation Division of Public 

Safety in enhancing their AMBER Alert activation protocol. A minute can be the 

difference between life and death; especially when a child is involved. 

The potential waiver of the federal share can be the foundation for increased opportunity for the Navajo Nation and tribes to create collaborative relationships with 

states on a government-to-government basis in issuing AMBER Alerts. The resources to create these much needed collaborative partnerships with the surrounding states and cities is essential in increasing the capacity of tribes to create, 

control and issue their own AMBER Alert warning. Additionally, these grants provide tribes the opportunity, and all involved in the activation of the AMBER Alert, 

to be accountable to not only the Federal Government, but to the Navajo people, as 

well. We look forward to continuing and strengthening this relationship of accountability between this esteemed body, the Department of Justice and its various agencies, the various states, and the Navajo Nation. 

I appreciate Sen. McCain for his leadership with this bill and thank the Senate 

Indian Affairs Committee the opportunity to provide testimony. Ahe ́hee’ (thank 

you)! 

Attachments 

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Senator MCCAIN. Thank you. 

Ms. Garry, you mentioned child sex trafficking. In your experience, on Native American reservations, is this an issue that is a 

growing problem or is it stable or is it being reduced? 

Ms. GARRY. Senator McCain, thank you for the question. 

I do not have information on the data and the numbers. 

Senator MCCAIN. What is your impression since you are involved 

in this? 


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19 

Ms. GARRY. I think as there is an increased awareness and increased training on the part of State and local law enforcement, it 

is being recognized more. If I had to gather a guess, I would likely 

say the number has been increased as a likelihood of increased reporting and general awareness about the issue. 

Senator MCCAIN. One of the aspects of this whole issue is the social networking which makes it so much easier to engage in these 

activities. I noticed you nodding your head, Mr. Walters. 

Mr. WALTERS. Yes, Senator. I think you speak to a very important aspect of the issue related to Indian Country. One of the 

things we have seen, both as it relates to some of the economies 

that have been boosted by petroleum and so forth in the Dakotans, 

the Balkans and others, we saw an increase of trafficking, especially of Native children in that time frame. 

Also, the spread of social networking and access to technology, 

we have seen a clear correlation between tribal communities that 

15 years ago had no Internet and no access to technology, and 

today they have cell phones and access. 

As you are aware, the use of technology to traffic and exploit 

children is significant. Our experience has been in cities like Phoenix, Albuquerque and other hub cities in Indian Country, if you go 

into some of the platforms used to advertise for trafficking, you can 

quite easily search and find Native Americans listed on there because there is a market where traffickers can make money, they 

will do it and will use Native children as a means of making that 

money. 

Senator MCCAIN. Did you want to say something else? 

Ms. GARRY. Excuse me, Senator McCain. I was just going to add 

that as the perpetrators and the offenders have begun to use technology to their advantage, State, local and tribal law enforcement 

have taken advantage of the increases in technology. 

With the Amber Alert Program, the National Center for Missing 

and Exploited Children does a wonderful Amber Alert secondary 

distribution system where they take advantage of the various social 

media that Mr. Walters was discussing, as well as partnerships 

with businesses, retailers in the area, wireless carriers, portable 

digital signs that we too are learning and trying to advantage of 

technology to combat not only the child sex trafficking issue but the 

issue of missing and abducted children. 

Senator MCCAIN. I appreciate those comments but everything I 

am hearing, not just on Native American reservations, is that the 

bad guys are using this technology to great advantage as Mr. Walters said. It is a growing issue. 

Did you want to comment on that, Ms Crotty? 

Ms. CROTTY. Thank you, Senator. 

In some recent reports from our partners at the USDOJ office, 

there have been at least two confirmations of Navajo young women 

being found in a sex camp in the Balkans. 

Senator MCCAIN. From where? 

Ms. CROTTY. In the Balkans, North Dakota. When we were given 

the key study on how they ended up there, they were certainly trafficked up to the area. When the perpetrators identified them, they 

specifically were looking for Navajo young women so that they can 

20 

market them as either Navajo, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic. 

We are seeing from the conversations that our young children 

are being targeted. They are using social media and there are pretty sophisticated rings that are either in our border towns. There 

are some reports that there may be possible connections right in 

our communities on Navajo Nation. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you. 

Ms. Crotty, an article in the Navajo Times claims that Navajo re- ceived a $330,000 grant in 2007. Half the money was unused. I 

want to make sure that if we get additional funding, that money 

is well accounted for and it is spent wisely. Will you make sure 

that happens? I can rely on you? I will hold you responsible. You 

will go to jail. 

Ms. CROTTY. I appreciate that, Senator. I am the person to get 

that done, so I appreciate that. 

I want to make sure that you, your staff and the individuals in 

the room know that more than half of that money was used for 

search and rescue. The other portion was returned. Current leadership, we are not overseeing that money. 

From that, we have learned with this comprehensive approach. 

We have already identified how using money, using Navajo Nation 

revenue, partnering and making sure access to Federal funding 

will sustain the programs. We can guarantee that. I appreciate 

that, Senator. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you. I will rely on you. 

Mr. Clement, just out of curiosity, you came from Juneau, Alaska, is that correct? 

Mr. CLEMENT. Yes, Senator. I came from Juneau last night. 

Senator MCCAIN. How long were you planning on staying? 

Mr. CLEMENT. I am leaving at 7:00 p.m. 

Senator MCCAIN. On behalf of many of us, I want to apologize 

for the inconvenience that you were subjected to. I hope we can 

have you back. I apologize but the fact is that because of disputes 

among us here in the U.S. Senate, you have been deprived of your 

ability to be heard on what I know is a very important issue to you 

and the citizens of Alaska. 

Mr. CLEMENT. I completely understand. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you for coming. We will welcome you 

back. Maybe when it gets a lot colder would be more appropriate. 

This is a listening session, as I continue to repeat, and I thank 

the witnesses. 

Senator Udall has arrived fashionably late. 

Senator UDALL. Fashionably late. It is Washington, right, Senator McCain? 

Senator MCCAIN. I want to thank my dear friend for coming. We 

were having a listening session, I want to emphasize. We were discussing this whole issue of Amber Alert. I know the Senator from 

New Mexico especially has been very, very interested and committed. 

Again, this is a listening session, not a hearing. I wonder if you 

and our other Senator would like to go ahead. The witnesses have 

testified and I have given an opening statement, so I would like to 

turn it over to you, Senator Udall. 

21 

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO 

Senator UDALL. Senator McCain, I appreciate so much your kicking this off and getting it going. I do not know whether you all 

know but Senator McCain, today we had a vote on the floor on a 

methane waste rule which Amber, you know the Four Corners area 

is under the biggest methane cloud in the world. You can see it 

from a satellite. 

He understands the whole issue of methane waste. He really 

helped us on that and was very courageous. 

It is a bit off topic here but some of these witnesses are living 

under that cloud. I know they would appreciate that you were taking care of that natural gas waste issue. I really appreciate; your 

help on that. 

Senator MCCAIN. I was not elected Mr. Congeniality again by my 

Republican colleagues. Thank you. 

Senator UDALL. You always have a great sense of humor. As Senator McCain leaves, he came into the House and Mo Udall, I think, 

was the chairman at the time of the Indian Affairs Committee. It 

was the Interior Department Committee but Indian Affairs was a 

part of it. 

These two partnered up, Mo Udall and John McCain, many, 

many years ago. We do not even want to talk about how many. 

Senator MCCAIN. It was during the during the Coolidge Administration. 

Senator UDALL. Nobody here even knows who Coolidge is. 

Senator MCCAIN. The finest man I ever knew in the United 

States Senate was Morris K. Udall. I might mention that Senator 

Udall’s father, Stewart Udall, served the longest period of time as 

Secretary of the Interior of anyone in history. He certainly shares 

the Udall family’s commitment to Native Americans as a worthy 

successor. I thank you, Senator. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you for being here. 

Thank you to everyone. As the Senator said, Senator McCain has 

been on this Committee a lot longer than I have. 

This is a listening session. We know that all of you have traveled 

long distances, some from Alaska and some from New Mexico. It 

is unfortunate that we hit a situation where we have this thing 

going on with the FBI and the President and all of that and we 

had some scheduling problems. I apologize to you. It is very unfortunate. 

Also, there is some media here that is filming New Mexico’s representatives, Congressmen and Senators, going around. I just 

wanted all of you to know that. 

I wanted, first of all, to ask about the Amber Alert that Senator 

McCain has been very much involved in. We had Ashlynne Mike 

and her little brother who were abducted. It was a horrible situation. 

Looking at this legislation, it pulls at your heart to hear this situation. Amber, I know and many of the others on the panel have 

the deep and strong feelings as to what happened. 

How do we get to the point that we can make sure something 

like that does not happen again? Do you think this bill does it? 

What are the other issues that are not covered by the bill? I am 

22 

going to ask that one question and then I am going to go to the 

Senator from Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto and have her start 

participating in this also. 

Mr. WALTERS. Senator Udall and Senator Masto, thank you. 

Having worked in the Amber Alert area and specifically in the 

Amber Alert in Indian Country since its inception. I think we have 

seen where there are two primary areas of focus that we need to 

address in order to bring tribes up so they can provide the same 

level of service to their children as those of us do not live on tribal 

lands. 

Resources and policy are what it boils down to, giving the tribes 

the resources they need to be able to quickly identify, assess and 

activate the Amber Alert systems. Time is absolutely a critical factor in all of this, as Ashlynne’s case proved and the resources needed to develop that plan so they can implement and get the public 

involved in finding that child as quickly as possible. 

The policy that goes in place is part of the training and so forth 

to make sure these programs are sustainable. We want to see a 

program that five, ten or fifteen years from now is still working in 

tribal communities so we do not put the work into it and then lose 

that traction. 

By doing both of those, we feel strongly the pilot project proved 

the tribes are quite capable of doing this. 

Senator UDALL. Do any other members of the panel want to 

speak to that? 

Ms. GARRY. Thank you, Senator Udall. 

I want to echo the comments that my colleague, Jim Walters, 

made. Sustainability of these programs is critical. Given the turnover rate of staff in the field and on tribal reservations with tribal 

law enforcement, none of the officers at Navajo Nation are there. 

The officers who were there in 2007 and 2008 when the pilot 

project started are no longer there. 

Lesson learned, unless policies are developed, protocols are written down, unless a child abduction response team is put in place, 

when that tribal law enforcement officer leaves that knowledge 

leaves with him. 

I think Jim rightly stated that sustainability of these programs 

is critical. We would like to help the tribes develop plans so that 

they can not only active or initiate an Amber Alert but that they 

have the resources, the knowledge, the skills, the infrastructure, 

the training and the technology to intake a case, to manage that 

case through trial, if necessary, through prosecution, through return, through recovery and reunification. 

Senator UDALL. Yes. Council delegate? 

Ms. CROTTY. Thank you, Senator Udall and Senator Masto. 

I want to make sure you both recognize that you are part of the 

healing process for our Nation in the loss of baby girl because I 

know the focus here is on her and what happened. In the way we 

need to heal, our people need to know that we are in charge and 

have the ability to protect our children. 

When any individual tries to pluck one of our children from our 

community, they need to know we are able, are armed and have 

the ability to through the quickest and fastest means to get that 

23 

child back. I think as parents, as human beings, that is really the 

dream of all of us. 

I want to thank the Senators for being here. Even though we are 

at a listening session, it is very powerful to be able to say these 

words to you and convey how important it is for Navajo Nation to 

have access to sustainable funding that will not only enhance current services but allows the ability to dream and be able to put 

those dreams forward that we are able to protect our children and 

our community members rest assured that we will take quick action. 

I agree with Mr. Walters and Ms. Garry in terms of policy and 

financing but we did discuss earlier our challenges with infrastructure. Senators, at this point, we estimate nearly around half of our 

Nation is not covered by some type of cellular service or communication. 

Your offices will be provided a map that I can show you here. 

This red area is the area that has non-coverage. That is a huge 

issue we have in this modern era. We may think it inconvenient 

not to have cell service and make that text but when you are not 

able to provide that text, you are not getting the emergency text 

messaging that is required and needed. 

At this point, there are communities that struggle with these 

local communication plans and rely on either social media networks 

or individuals going out. 

Senators, I appreciate your time. I think this is a heavy, heavy 

issue that weighs on the hearts of all of us. As a Navajo Nation 

Council delegate, I am the Chairwoman of our Sexual Assault Prevention Subcommittee. 

Not only do we have stories like Ashlynne but there are other 

stories, maybe hundreds to thousands of Navajo victims of violence 

that have not been told. At this point, it is our children who are 

being targeted for different forms of violence. 

We spoke earlier about human trafficking of which we now have 

evidence on Navajo Nation. We must continue to advocate, make 

sure and reassure our people that we will have adequate public 

safety for them, including communication. 

I appreciate the opportunity. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you very much. I know culturally, it is 

very difficult to talk about these situations. We really appreciate 

your being here. 

Also, I know the Navajo Nation offices represented by their able 

Jackson Brossy, sitting right behind you and others also. Please 

give my best to President Begay. I welcomed him today on the floor 

on the methane debate where he put in his letter. Thank you. 

The Senator from Nevada, Ms. Masto. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you, Ranking Member Udall. 

Thank you for this conversation. I represent Nevada. Looking at 

the map you have here that covers Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, 

some parts of Colorado and similar to these States, we are geographically challenged when it comes to resources and services beVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
24 

cause we have a lot of rural communities and few urban areas. 

Most of our Indian Country and tribes are in rural communities. 

The challenge we have is making sure they have access to the 

Internet. One of the things we are pushing, rightfully so, is to bring 

in broadband to all areas of the State because I think that is important to address how we communicate and share Amber Alerts 

and when there are times of emergencies happening. 

I was the Attorney General of Nevada for eight years. The National Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children was in my 

office. We focused on doing everything we could to find missing 

children and then focused on participating as part of the Amber 

Alert system in the State of Nevada. 

That is why I want, first of all, to thank DOJ, thank all of you 

for what you have done to really bring the system to the level it 

is today but more needs to be done. When it comes to our Indian 

Country, part of that is bringing broadband there so I am curious 

about your thoughts on that and how we should be investing in 

broadband across the State. 

I also am curious and I know this. I get the sustainability. I 

think that is a challenge in Indian Country. Quite often, we see 

changes in tribal leadership. Every one or two years, there are not 

consistent policies always established that are followed. I wonder 

if you can address that and how we address the sustainability 

when it comes to training our law enforcement? That is number 

one. 

Number two, not all of the tribal communities in my State have 

law enforcement. They do not have the funding to have law enforcement, so how do we work with them to address emergencies 

like this and what do we need to do? 

When they do have law enforcement, how do we put protocols in 

place so that they are working with law enforcement from the contiguous communities they are working with? If there is a local city 

or county that has law enforcement which works side by side with 

our tribal law enforcement, what can we do to make sure their 

training protocols and policies are seamless when they are working 

together? 

I throw that out there and I am curious about your thoughts on 

how we address all of those issues. Just educate us here in the 

Senate on what we can be doing to address those issues. 

Ms. GARRY. Thank you, Senator. I will start and then Jim and 

the Honorable Crotty can jump in. 

We make sure the department offers training and technical assistance to tribes interested and anxious to set up Amber Alert programs, either their own or if they are interested in training and 

technical assistance to help them partner with a State or regional 

system. 

The last thing you want to do is have a tribe set up a standalone 

Amber Alert system with no partnership with the State and/or regional system because if an abductor would remove that child from 

the reservation across the street into an area that is off-reservation, that alert would not be going to that community. 

Even if a nation decides we need to have our own Amber Alert 

system, we still would strongly encourage them to partner with the 

State, other States and with regions. This is very important and 

25 

critical, not just to the Navajo Nation, but I think that is the most 

rare example with the Four Corners area. 

Fox Valley Technical College, the department’s training and 

technical assistance provider for Amber Alert issues, ensures that 

they work with the tribes. They will go on-site, do all needs assessment, identify gaps in services, help the tribal leadership, councilmen, the tribal chairman and tribal president, identify areas for 

improvement. 

They will ensure there is a process for documenting those policies 

and procedures, that they are current, efficient and effective so 

that when you do have turnover in those law enforcement positions, all the knowledge does not leave the building with that individual, that there are processes in place which can be carried over 

from administration to administration. 

We understand the issue of sustainability to be so important that 

Fox Valley offers, I believe, a block of training on just how to sustain programs. That is not just true for Amber Alert and not just 

in Indian Country, that is true for all programs. 

You can often find a champion on the reservation or in a unit of 

local government that really gets the community excited and engaged but everyone, all the stakeholders, have to be at the table 

in order to ensure the sustainability of these projects. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you. 

Mr. WALTERS. Thank you, Senator. 

To echo what Ms. Garry said, in that process of developing a 

comprehensive child abduction recovery program in a tribal community, one of the key elements we have seen and has proven effective is each tribe is different. Each tribe has to be assessed its 

own capabilities. Your State certainly reflects that with tribes in 

urban areas and in very remote areas. 

One of the things we have found to be really successful was we 

then required the tribes becoming part of the program to pass a 

tribal resolution to get something that has tribal government get 

involved and make it the law of the land that we adopt and implement the policies of the Amber Alert. Each State and each tribe 

may be different. 

On the issue of tribes who do not have law enforcement of their 

own, a prime example comes from Senator Udall’s State, the Santa 

Domingo Pueblo north of Albuquerque does not have its own law 

enforcement. When we went into that community, we partnered 

with the New Mexico State police and the Bernalillo County sheriff’s department. They came in as partners with the tribe. 

Today, they have an existing agreement between the tribe, the 

sheriff and the State police. The sheriff went so far as to have an 

officer assigned as their liaison for these Amber Alert activities. 

If you can train together, partner on developing policy, and share 

the same goals of child recovery, we have seen that it can be very 

effective. It has shown true results with children being recovered 

as a result of that. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you. 

Ms. CROTTY. Thank you for the question, Senator. 

I want to state for the Navajo Nation in terms of our challenges 

with telecommunication or infrastructure, we are just beginning 

this assessment. Right now, the preliminary studies will cost nearVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
26 

ly $45 million for two-way radio communication, cellular coverage 

and broadband to be installed and implemented on the Navajo Nation to meet our needs. 

In terms of how do we partner and coordinate, that will always 

be the challenge. I think we are seeing the results right now of political maneuvering and what is prioritized. I think as a Nation, we 

are working on how to mandate the training; with the waves of different administrations at the tribal level, and making sure that 

Amber Alert and other emergency functions will not be cast to the 

wayside. 

I think that ultimately as leaders, we are accountable to our people. In these discussions, we are setting systems in place to have 

that accountability, that transparency to our people to make sure 

they know that we are working with our Federal partners in providing solutions. 

Now we are coordinating with non-profits and weaving these different programs into our institutions. With that partnership, the 

service expands, makes it stronger, and we have more people involved who are committed career-long individuals, who are committed to the process. 

It goes back to the reassurance that it is not just one person and 

one program, but collectively and with a very personal, spiritual 

sense of duty. For Navajo people, to protect our children is our 

duty. We do not have a choice. Our children were bestowed upon 

us through prayer, thought and ceremony. It is our ultimate responsibility to make sure every one of those children is taken care 

of and protected. 

I have heard that call and as a leader of Navajo Nation, that is 

what I represent. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you. 

I so appreciate your being here because it is one thing to talk 

about Amber Alert, but the other explains why we need it. In Nevada alone in one year, we had 8,000 child abductions, 8,000. They 

are either parental abductions, stranger abductions and I am glad 

you brought it up, sex trafficking issues that we saw in our State, 

an area that I focused on. 

Unfortunately, our children are falling prey and are victims. We 

need to do everything we can to ensure their safety. That is why, 

for my purposes, this Amber Alert system has been an incredible 

tool for law enforcement to protect those children from those abductions, to identify them immediately, try to get to get them the resources they need, and hopefully put them back in a comfortable 

environment where they came from or with their families, whatever it is, to try to get them those services. 

I think that is the side we do not talk about. We talk about 

Amber Alert, it is a great tool, but there is a human piece to this. 

That is why I am so glad you are here because you see that human 

side of it. You tell the story every day. That is what this is about 

for many of us. 

Thank you so much for this discussion. I really appreciate you 

being here. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you very much, Senator Cortez Masto for 

those very insightful questions and very good responses from the 

panel. 

27 

I am going to come back to the Amber Alert bill, S. 772. We also 

have, I think the other panelists may be interested as well, the 

other bill that is part of this listening session, S. 825, a bill to provide for the conveyance of certain property to the Southeast Alaska 

Regional Health Consortium located in Sitka, Alaska, and for other 

purposes sponsored by Senator Murkowski, with whom I worked 

very closely on the Interior Department appropriation. She is my 

chairman. 

Mr. Charles Clement is here today. He is the President and Chief 

Executive Officer of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Juneau, Alaska. I know you have not had a chance, Mr. 

Clement, to give an opening statement. If you would like to, that 

would be great. You can take up to five minutes or whatever you 

like. I have a health care question I want to ask you but I want 

to hear whatever opening comments you have. 

STATEMENT OF CHARLES CLEMENT, PRESIDENT/CEO, 

SOUTHEAST ALASKA REGIONAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM 

Mr. CLEMENT. Thank you so much, Ranking Member Udall. 

My name is Charles Clement. I am the President and CEO of the 

Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Southeast Alaska. 

First of all, I want to extend my appreciation to the folks to my 

right. I think the work they are doing is absolutely incredible. As 

a parent of two young girls, Alaska Native girls, I certainly appreciate the work they are trying to do. 

Being from Metlakatla, Alaska, which is the only Indian reservation left in Alaska, the work they are doing strikes to the heart of 

being a parent. Thank you very much. 

I do extend a thank you to the Committee for the opportunity to 

share a little bit about the work we are doing in Southeast Alaska. 

I specifically would like to recognize and thank Senator Murkowski. I know she cannot be here; she is in the Arctic today with 

I believe a contingent of Arctic leaders from around the world, 

along with Mr. Tillerson. I know they are doing good work on behalf of the State of Alaska and the government here in Washington, D.C. 

I would like to take up to five minutes to talk about Senate Bill 

825 which relates to the conveyance of certain properties. Southeast Alaska Health Consortium operates a hospital in Sitka, Alaska. It is a tertiary hospital. We are a receiving and referring hospital for an area of about 35,000 square miles. 

It is an incredibly large service area. It goes from Yakutat, Alaska on the northern edge of southeast Alaska to Metlakatla where 

I grew up. Again, it is mostly comprised of small islets. There are 

not roads; there is very limited ferry. Most of the travel happens 

by very small plane. 

Again, this is a referring center for all Alaska Natives and American Indians in that catchment area. In the packet I will submit 

to the Committee for the record is a map outlining all the villages 

we serve. There are quite a few and they are growing all the time. 

There is a great deal of challenges as related to our friends from 

Navajo. There is a great deal of challenges in delivering services, 

whatever they may be, when you have a large, disparate area like 

southeast Alaska or the Navajo Nation. Whether it is transporVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
28 

tation or telecommunications, I think we share some of the same 

struggles. 

The bill that is introduced is helping us work through the challenges of managing and operating a hospital on behalf of the HIS. 

We are Indian Health contractors, so we provide services for Alaska Natives and American Indians that would otherwise be provided 

by the Indian Health Service. 

We have been compacting with the Federal Government, specifically the Indian Health Service, since 1986. We are one of the oldest compactors in the Country and one of the largest compactors 

in the Country. 

When we look back to 1986 when we assumed services from the 

Indian Health Service, one of the main components of that service 

spectrum we inherited was the hospital at Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka. 

The hospital is about 75 years old now, originally built at the end 

of World War II by the Department of War. At the end of World 

War II, it was deemed a tuberculosis sanatorium. When we took 

over the services provided there, it was converted to a tertiary care 

hospital. 

As you can imagine, the challenges and the needs of delivering 

services related to operating a tuberculosis sanatorium are quite a 

bit different than trying to deliver health care in the 21st century. 

Every year, we make improvements on the hospital. We try to 

keep everything up to code. We work very diligently with the Indian Health Service to try to make sure we do everything we can 

to deliver health care to the level, extent and quality we feel our 

beneficiaries deserve. 

Again, it is a challenge. Something that was built by the Department of War looks like something built by the Department of War. 

It is a concrete structure, a Department of War military base, so 

it is a large concrete building, largely filled with asbestos. Trying 

to change things to evolve it to how health care is delivered in this 

day and age continues to be a challenge. 

We have partnered, I think very successfully since 1986, with the 

Indian Health Service. As I am sure everyone in this room knows, 

they relate to the provision of services to Alaska Natives and 

American Indians. In many ways, the BIA and IHS have their own 

struggles as well in terms of how to best meet the needs. 

It is incumbent upon us to try to get as creative as possible, 

working collaboratively with both our congressional delegation and 

the effected agencies to figure out how to solve these problems, to 

help resolve them on behalf of our beneficiaries. 

There are several opportunities whether it is the facilities replacement list, the joint venture program, or self funding anything 

going forward with regard to repair and replacing the facility. 

One of the big challenges is as we go through land disposal, 

which is turning the land over from the Indian Health Service to 

the local tribal organization, which is ourselves, it comes with a 

quit claim deed which basically limits the amount of things we can 

do and the interactions we can do with financing agencies. 

This bill is, I want to say exactly but for the technicians in the 

room, it is very, very similar to previous bills this Committee 

passed which have been enacted into law and relate to the transference being a warranty deed. 

29 

It gives us more latitude in terms of going out and working with 

partners, whether that is the Indian Health Service or private 

funding institutions, to go ahead and build and operate replacement facilities. 

At the heart of this bill, we are in the midst of a transference 

with the HIS. I think it is a very collaborative process and always 

has been. The IHS has said to us that we do have more options 

if we can get the Congress to agree we are better served by having 

a warranty deed. It gives us more flexibility in terms of the next 

steps. 

We have learned that we have to be prepared for a contingency 

and be creative in our approach to resolving these problems. This 

tries to put more tool on the table for us to help try to resolve those 

issues. 

Additionally, I would say we have reviewed the testimony HHS 

has provided for this Committee. There are several items brought 

up in that testimony. I think we believe that all of them can be 

worked through. They are issues related to time frames. We are 

flexible. We understand there is a need to get this resolved, so we 

are prepared for any opportunities that arise whether they are Federal, State or local opportunities, and development opportunities. 

We also understand that maybe they cannot work within the 180 

days we put forth and suggested. I think some reasonable compromise we have already vetted with the agency is very reasonable. 

There are some provisions about revisionary clauses. I think they 

vetted those in the past with the Committee and the bills that have 

passed went forward without any modifications to those. I think 

they feel they need to bring attention it. 

Ranking Member Udall, I do not want to belabor this. I think our 

bill is very similar if not exactly the same as at least six other bills 

around Indian Country that have been passed, vetted by this Committee, and previously enacted into law. 

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have whether 

health related or any other questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Clement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHARLES CLEMENT, PRESIDENT/CEO, SOUTHEAST ALASKA

REGIONAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM

Chairman Hoeven, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the Committee, I 

want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Charles Clement. 

I am the President and CEO of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium 

(SEARHC) and a member of the Metlakatla Tribe of Alaska. I bring you the greetings of our Board Chair, Ms. Kimberley Strong. I want to take this opportunity to 

thank our senior Senator from Alaska, Senator Lisa Murkowski, for her unwavering 

support for tribal health care providers in Alaska and for introducing this bill. I am 

honored to testify in strong support of the Southeast Alaska Land Transfer Act, S. 

825. 

SEARHC is an Alaska Native controlled non-profit tribal organization. We are authorized by the resolutions of 15 federally-recognized Alaska Native tribes to administer a comprehensive health care delivery system for the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian 

and other Native peoples of Southeast Alaska. This bill today is critical to our efforts to improve the care that we provide at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka, Alaska. We are developing plans to make critically needed upgrades to bring Mt. 

Edgecumbe into the 21st Century, but we need clear title to the land, currently held 

by IHS, in order to move forward with these upgrades. This is what S. 825 will accomplish. 

SEARHC was founded in 1975 and is one of the oldest and largest Native-run 

health organizations in the United States. In 1976, we first contracted with the InVerDate Mar 15 2010 13:20 May 31, 2017 Jkt 025531 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\25531.TXT JACK
30 

dian Health Service (IHS) under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDA) to take over management of the Community Health Aide Program serving our Tribes. In 1982, we expanded our contract to take over operation 

of the IHS Juneau clinic, recently renamed the Ethel Lund Medical Center, and in 

1986 we expanded once again to take over operation of the Sitka Mt. Edgecumbe 

Hospital. For more than twenty-years we have provided health care services to the 

people of our region under a Self-Governance Compact with the Indian Health Service executed under Title V of the ISDA. Today, our service area stretches over 

35,000 square miles, with no roads connecting most of the rural communities we 

serve. 

Through our compact we operate twenty-eight community health clinic sites and 

one hospital. We have 950 employees ranging from specialized doctors in Mt. 

Edgecumbe to community health aides in our village clinics. Again, the facility most 

relevant to today’s hearing is the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka. 

The Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital (S’ ‘axt’ Hit in Tlingit) is a 25-bed critical access hospital. We provide acute care, critical care, obstetrics, surgery, and perioperative 

care, as well as outpatient primary care and emergency services. At Mt. Edgecumbe 

we employ 458 individuals, including 25 doctors, 58 nurses, and 8 specialists. Last 

year we had 46,392 outpatient visits, performed 1,236 surgical procedures, had 502 

inpatient admissions, and delivered 57 babies. 

The Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital is critical to our ability to provide quality care 

throughout Southeast Alaska. SEARHC’s top priority is therefore addressing the 

aging condition of the Hospital. This is why this legislation is needed, so we can 

secure necessary resources and make facility upgrades required for a modern 21st 

century hospital. 

At 67 years old, the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital is the oldest facility in Alaska and 

one of the oldest in the Nation. It was constructed toward the end of World War 

II by the War Department and through the 1950s focused largely on tuberculosis 

treatment. The hospital is in poor condition and ill-suited to a 21st century model 

of health care dominated by primary and ambulatory care facilities. SEARHC has 

therefore developed plans to make the critically needed upgrades required to bring 

Mt. Edgecumbe into the 21st century. 

The need for S. 825 is simple. Title to the parcel underlying Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital, and those parcels adjacent to the hospital, is currently held by IHS, our primary partner in this project. SEARHC needs to hold unencumbered title to the land 

where the upgrades will be made. The bill therefore directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to transfer approximately 19.07 acres of 

land located on the Mt. Edgecumbe campus to SEARHC by warranty deed. 

The warranty deed transfer can only be accomplished through federal legislation, 

so we ask for this Committee’s help and that of the entire Congress to achieve this 

result. In doing so we wish to call to the Committee’s attention that the bill is identical to legislative measures Congress recently enacted for the Yukon Kuskokwim 

Health Corporation, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Maniilaq 

Association. 

Last year the Senate Appropriations Committee directed IHS ‘‘to work with the 

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium to formulate options for facilities upgrades and ultimately a replacement facility at Mt. Edgecombe [sic] in Sitka. The 

plan shall be submitted to the Committee within 180 days of enactment of this act.’’ 

S. Rep. 114–281, at 91. S. 825 is a critical first step in the process of developing 

a comprehensive new plan for the delivery of health care across our massive service 

area. 

We understand that IHS may believe additional time is needed to effectuate any 

land transfer that Congress may authorize. While we are not wedded to the 180- 

day timeframe set forth in section 2(a) of the bill, we believe the transfer needs to 

happen promptly. 

The idea of a land transfer is not new. To the contrary, we have worked on this 

for years, and finally, thanks to this legislation, we can see the light at the end of 

the tunnel. To help move things along, over the past year we hosted Alaska Area 

IHS staff at the Sitka campus, we met at IHS Headquarters, and we tracked weekly 

progress through informal check-ins with agency staff. Our dedicated staff have 

spent hours and hours researching and tracking down the needed documentation 

and clearances to transfer the land. From tribal resolutions to site assessments, 

each requirement was carefully tracked and monitored. SEARHC also paid for contractors to conduct hazmat surveys and historic determinations of eligibility for the 

Sitka campus properties. We took the initiative to coordinate with outside agencies 

that may have a stake in the land transfer including the FAA, the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, the Alaska Historical Society, and the National Parks Service. 

31 

The agency’s apparent belief that several years, rather than several months, are 

needed to complete the transfer reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the bill, 

and that the land transfer will go forward promptly thanks to this new authorizing 

legislation. It is precisely to forestall several more years of delay under existing law 

that this bill has been introduced. 

We thank the Committee for its support for this measure and look forward to 

speedy approval of the bill so that desperately needed work can begin soon to upgrade this critical hospital. 

Attachment 


510a1.eps
32 


510a2.eps
33 


510a3.eps
34 

Senator UDALL. Thank you so much for sharing those comments 

with us. 

Recently, I have heard from several tribes about how funding for 

medical services at IHS facilities has increased over the last few 

years, mostly through increased billing revenue from programs like 

Medicaid. 

As you know, Medicaid funds have allowed the majority of IHS 

service areas to move from Medical Priority 1 care, what is called 

life or limb only, and because of these Medicaid monies, they have 

moved into Medical Priority 3 and 4, which are preventative care 

and primary care services. 

How has the State of Alaska’s decision to adopt Medicaid expansion affected your consortium? What is your opinion on that? 


510a4.eps
35 

Mr. CLEMENT. I am not sure it is an opinion. I think I can tell 

you that Medicaid expansion has affected us in a very positive way. 

To qualify that, I think it has been acknowledged around Indian 

Country that services by the Indian Health Service are funded at 

about 50 percent the level of need in terms of an ongoing, operating 

basis. 

It is incumbent upon tribal contractors, and even direct service 

tribes, to get creative to try to figure out how to fill the gap between the funding level where it is and where it is enacted and the 

rest of the needs. 

I would say more clearly, it has affected us positively. Has it 

given us everything we feel we need? No, absolutely not. I do not 

even think we expect to get everything we need, but I think we feel 

it is important to work with our partners, whether Federal or 

State, to try to get creative. 

We understand in the Alaska with the price of oil being what it 

is, these are very difficult financial times. We understand that the 

mood here in Washington sometimes can be uncertain and maybe 

not as forthcoming with some of the financial support we would 

otherwise like but it does not absolve us of the responsibility to 

work collaboratively with all of our partners to try to deliver the 

best possible care for our beneficiaries. 

Senator UDALL. Do you think Federal reductions or alterations to 

Medicaid and other third party billing sources would impact Alaska 

Native health? 

Mr. CLEMENT. I am sure it would. I could not tell you exactly 

how they would but I think it is a fact that Medicaid expansion has 

sort of helped us sustain and maybe grow in ways that prior to expansion, we could not have. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. 

You hit on something that is very important. I think all of the 

witnesses know that in the health care area, what you said, a 50 

percent level of need is where the services of the Indian Health 

Service are. 

For many of these tribes, the commitment was by treaty to give 

good quality, affordable health care. We are 50 percent off that. 

The thing that drives me crazy is if you go through the list of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Administration and you have a 

per capita number, they are way above the Indian Health Service. 

You would have the Medicare number up about 12,000 per capita, then you come down to Medicaid and Veterans and at the very 

bottom is IHS with a very small number. That is one of the things 

I am just dedicated to do everything I can in the appropriations 

process and the authorizing process, to make sure we push those 

dollars up so we get good quality health care for every tribe across 

the Nation. 

Thank you. I know for your consortium, that is exactly what you 

are trying to do with the limited resources you have. 

Delegate Crotty, you mentioned your current communication 

plan protocol forces the Navajo Nation to rely on State entities to 

issue Amber Alerts on your behalf which is a very lengthy process. 

Can you walk us through the steps the Nation would need to 

take in order to issue an Amber Alert in New Mexico, Arizona or 

Utah? 

36 

Ms. CROTTY. I appreciate the question. In working with our partners and technical team, the current process is when an incident 

is reported and the police department begins the investigation with 

the dispatchers, once this information is gathered, I want to state 

in terms of not only the communication gaps we see on the ground, 

but in terms of our public safety, it is an average from anywhere 

to a hour and a half to maybe three hours for a police officer to 

respond in some of our rural areas. 

When the initial report begins, we review the Amber Alert criteria recommended by the Department of Justice. When there is 

reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred, at this point, Navajo Nation will call the State agency that 

is responsible for Amber Alert. 

Then the dispatcher, the Navajo Nation dispatcher, if it is believe 

it involves maybe another State like Arizona or New Mexico, the 

dispatcher then will call directly to Arizona. The Navajo dispatcher 

the makes the second call to the Arizona dispatch. 

In the Four Corners area where multiple States are in close 

proximity, the Navajo Nation dispatcher will then call Utah dispatch. I did give a brief example that recently there was an abduction in Arizona that met the criteria, so when Navajo dispatch 

called Arizona, an Amber Alert was issued. When a Navajo dispatcher called the State of New Mexico, the State of New Mexico 

determined it was an endangered child. 

We are looking for consistency. We are also looking, at this critical time, to have a system that when one of our Navajo children 

is taken, immediately the community is notified and are aware. 

We do contact the Amber Alert coordinators, and then the Amber 

Alert is issued. Any tips or information is provided to the dispatchers or related to our officers. We now are beefing up our debriefing, the release of on the scene personnel and incident reports. 

We are learning if Navajo Nation can have the ability to identify 

these very unique, geographical areas and be able to be the ones 

to issue the alert working with the requirements, that is the step 

by step process. 

I think all of us in the room can agree that any additional step 

that should not or does not necessarily need to happen, if we have 

the power as legislators to remove it, that really should be the goal. 

As we are amending this PROTECT Act, it is hard for me to understand why Native Nations were not initially eligible for this 

funding when it was first appropriated. I think this is the time and 

you are in a vital position to correct previous wrongs and empower 

our people. I appreciate the question, Senator. Thank you. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. 

I have just one follow up. Is there full time personnel that continuously improves the current communication plan? If not, what 

is preventing the Nation from doing so? 

Ms. CROTTY. Thank you, Senator, for the question. 

The Navajo Nation has a Department of Emergency Management 

and they have a full time employed director, but this individual is 

not specific to Amber Alert coordination. Right now, this individual 

manages any emergencies that happen on the Nation. 

You can imagine, this individual also had to deal with the unfortunate San Juan River contamination and other issues. It is my 

37 

understanding that this Federal funding provides specific eligibility 

to have an Amber Alert coordinator. That is what the Navajo Nation needs. Our vastness and challenges really require us to make 

sure that our children are protected. 

Thank you, Senator. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. 

Hearing no requests for additional questions or additional discussion, sometimes at the end, panelists after you hear everything, if 

you heard anything and you would like to clarify in writing, we 

have a couple of additional questions people have asked that I hope 

you can maybe get back to us in writing if possible. 

I can just tell you both of these bills are very important to Indian 

Country. It is tremendously important that you have traveled all 

this distance from Alaska and New Mexico. We really appreciate it 

and look forward to educating the full Committee on what happened here. 

You saw a number of Senators. We will let them know everything that happened. We will work expeditiously on these very 

good pieces of legislation. 

Thank you very much. We really appreciate it. 

[Whereupon, at 3:50 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(39) 

A P P E N D I X 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF RADM CHRIS BUCHANAN, R.E.H.S., M.P.H., ASSISTANT

SURGEON GENERAL, USPHS; ACTING DIRECTOR, INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, U. S. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice-Chairman Udall, and Members of the 

Committee. I am Chris Buchanan, an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of 

Oklahoma and currently the Acting Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS). 

Prior to that, I was the IHS Deputy Director, leading and overseeing IHS operations 

to ensure delivery of quality comprehensive health services. I am pleased to have 

the opportunity to provide a statement for the record to the Senate Committee on 

Indian Affairs on S. 825, a bill to provide for the conveyance of certain property to 

the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium located in Sitka, Alaska. 

The IHS plays a unique role in the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS) because it is a health care system that was established to meet Federal trust 

responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). The mission of the 

IHS, in partnership with American Indian and Alaska Native people, is to raise the 

physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of AI/ANs to the highest level. The IHS 

provides comprehensive health service delivery to approximately 2.2 million AI/ANs 

through 26 hospitals, 59 health centers, 32 health stations, and nine school health 

centers. Tribes also provide healthcare access through an additional 19 hospitals, 

284 health centers, 163 Alaska Village Clinics, 79 health stations, and eight school 

health centers. 

S. 825 would provide for the conveyance by warranty deed of certain property located in Sitka, Alaska to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. 

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium 

The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) assumed responsibility for the provision of IHS-funded health care services in 1975 under the authority of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). The 

Federal property described in S. 825 is used in connection with health programs in 

Sitka, Alaska by the SEARHC. On November 17, 2016, SEARHC requested transfer 

of all Federal property located within the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital campus, including land, buildings, and appurtenances in Sitka, Alaska. 

The IHS informed SEARHC of its intent to fulfill SEARHC’s request. In order to 

fulfill the request, the IHS further informed SEARHC of requirements that must 

be completed to execute the transfer including but not limited to: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, environmental remediation of the property, HazMat survey 

of the buildings and historical consultation with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and the Alaska State Historical Preservation Office 

(SHPO). 

Due to on-going environmental remediation and consultation with ADEC and the 

Alaska SHPO, the parcels requested for transfer in S. 825 are not currently ready 

to be transferred within 180 days as stipulated. However, it is anticipated that Lot 

11B containing 10.68 acres identified by SEARHC for construction of a proposed 

health care facility may be ready for transfer by December 2017 at the earliest. If 

a warranty deed is executed under S. 825 for these selected parcels, the IHS will 

continue to work with the SEARHC and the State of Alaska to complete environmental remediation on the remaining portion of land requiring remediation in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)(3)). In addition, IHS will continue to work 

with the SHPO to fulfill its requirements under the National Historic Preservation 

Act (36 C.F.R. Part 800) for the transfer with an expected completion date of two 

years. 

IHS supports the transfer as furthering the Government-to-Government relationship that exists with American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. It is 

40 

important to emphasize that, as a normal practice, IHS does not transfer properties 

via the warranty deed mechanism. 

Warranty Deed 

We believe that reasons to use a warranty deed mechanism in future cases are 

limited. Traditionally, Alaska Tribes and Tribal Health Organizations (T/THO) have 

preferred to leave the title to facilities previously operated by the IHS with the Federal Government. 

The majority of the health care facilities used by the Tribes in the other 35 States 

are located on tribally owned lands. This warranty deed transfer would be the sixth 

of its kind in Alaska. IHS recently issued five warranty deeds authorized by Congress to transfer parcels of land to the Maniilaq Association, Alaska Native Tribal 

Health Consortium, and Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation previously transferred through a quitclaim deed. On other numerous occasions, properties have been 

transferred to T/THOs through quitclaim deeds. 

Although a warranty deed does not have a reversionary clause ensuring the property will continue to be used in support of federal health programs, we think retrocession of IHS programs is unlikely. We can count only four retrocessions since 

the 1975 enactment of ISDEAA. Three were only small program components which 

have been re-assumed by the Tribes. None of these retrocessions were in the Alaska 

Area. 

IHS believes there are technical issues with some of the bill’s language pertaining 

to environmental liability and the reversionary clause and would like the opportunity to work with the Committee to provide technical assistance on these matters. 

Environmental Liability 

Since 1975, SEARHC has managed the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital Campus and provided excellent quality health care to approximately 13,000 IHS beneficiaries. Between now and the time SEARHC assumed management of the campus, the IHS 

did not undertake any activities that may have resulted in environmental contamination. However, the current language in S. 825 will absolve SEARHC of any liability for environmental contamination during the period SEARHC controlled, occupied, and used the property. It does not include any provisions to absolve the agency 

of environmental liability during this period. This leaves the HHS responsible for 

contamination that may have been caused by SEARHC. The agency believes this 

could be rectified by including language to absolve the IHS of environmental liability subsequent to the time SEARHC controlled, occupied and used the property. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. Thank you. 

Æ