I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2740 

To protect Native children and promote public safety in Indian country. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2021 

Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself and Mr. COLE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To protect Native children and promote public safety in 

Indian country. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Youth and 

5 Tribal Officer Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 

9 2.5 times more likely to experience violent crimes 


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1 and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape 

2 or sexual assault crimes than people who are not 

3 American Indians or Alaskan Natives. 

4 (2) The vast majority of American Indian and 

5 Alaska Native victims, 96 percent of female and 89 

6 percent of male victims, report being victimized by 

7 a non-Indian. 

8 (3) According to a 2010 Government Account9 ability Office report, the Offices of the United States 

10 Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52 percent of 

11 violent crimes that occur in Indian country. 

12 (4) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and 

13 Alaska Native women have experienced violence in 

14 their lifetime. 

15 (5) According to the Centers for Disease Con16 trol and Prevention, homicide is the third leading 

17 cause of death among American Indian and Alaska 

18 Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and 

19 the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian 

20 and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years 

21 of age. 

22 (6) On some reservations, American Indian 

23 women are murdered at more than 10 times the na24 tional average. 


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1 (7) Tribal prosecutors report that the majority 

2 of domestic violence cases involve children either as 

3 witnesses or victims, and the Department of Justice 

4 reports that American Indian and Alaska Native 

5 children suffer exposure to violence at some of the 

6 highest rates in the United States. 

7 (8) Childhood exposure to violence has imme8 diate and long-term effects, including increased rates 

9 of altered neurological development, poor physical 

10 and mental health, poor school performance, sub11 stance abuse, and overrepresentation in the juvenile 

12 justice system. 

13 (9) Violence against children and crimes associ14 ated with dating violence and domestic violence in15 crease the number of instances of trauma in Tribal 

16 communities, which— 

17 (A) affects health outcomes; 

18 (B) reduces educational attainment; 

19 (C) hinders economic growth; and 

20 (D) undermines public safety. 

21 (10) Domestic violence calls are among the 

22 most dangerous calls that law enforcement receives, 

23 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform 

24 Crime Report shows that police officers, including 

25 Tribal police officers, are assaulted when responding 


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1 to disturbance calls more often than under any other 

2 circumstances. 

3 (11) The complicated jurisdictional structure in 

4 Indian country— 

5 (A) requires a high degree of commitment 

6 and cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and 

7 State law enforcement officials; and 

8 (B) when that cooperation breaks down, 

9 results in a significant negative impact on the 

10 ability to provide public safety to Indian com11 munities. 

12 (12) The Indian Law and Order Commission, 

13 established by Congress to review Federal criminal 

14 justice policies and practices in Indian country, 

15 issued a report in 2013 entitled ‘‘A Roadmap for 

16 Making Native America Safer’’ that recommends the 

17 restoration of the inherent authority of Tribal 

18 courts. 

19 (13) Restoring and enhancing local, Tribal ca20 pacity to address violent crimes provides for greater 

21 local control, safety, accountability, and trans22 parency. 

23 (14) Tribal communities should be able to pro24 tect themselves from dating violence, domestic vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2740.IH H2740

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1 lence, child violence, and violence committed against 

2 members of the Tribal justice system. 

3 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF NATIVE CHILDREN AND TRIBAL 

4 COMMUNITIES. 

5 Section 204 of Public Law 90–284 (25 U.S.C. 1304) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘DO8 MESTIC VIOLENCE’’ and inserting ‘‘DOMESTIC

9 VIOLENCE, CHILD VIOLENCE, AND VIOLENCE

10 AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘means 

13 violence’’ and inserting ‘‘means covered con14 duct’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘means violence’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘means covered conduct’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘where the violence oc19 curs’’ and inserting ‘‘where the covered 

20 conduct occurs’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘domes22 tic violence’’ and inserting ‘‘tribal’’; 

23 (D) in paragraph (6)— 


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1 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘DOMESTIC VIOLENCE’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘TRIBAL’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘domestic violence’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘tribal’’; 

6 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and 

7 (7) as paragraphs (12) and (13), respectively; 

8 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

9 through (5) as paragraphs (6) through (10), re10 spectively; 

11 (G) by inserting before paragraph (6) (as 

12 redesignated by subparagraph (F)) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) CAREGIVER.—The term ‘caregiver’ 

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the parent, guardian, or legal custo17 dian of the child; 

18 ‘‘(B) the spouse or intimate partner of a 

19 parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the 

20 child; 

21 ‘‘(C) any relative of the child, including a 

22 parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, step23 parent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, 

24 half-brother, or half-sister; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a person who resides or has resided 

2 regularly or intermittently in the same dwelling 

3 as the child; 

4 ‘‘(E) a person who provides or has pro5 vided care for the child in or out of the home 

6 of the child; 

7 ‘‘(F) any person who exercises or has exer8 cised temporary or permanent control over the 

9 child; or 

10 ‘‘(G) any person who temporarily or per11 manently supervises or has supervised the child. 

12 ‘‘(2) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means a person 

13 who has not attained the lesser of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the age of 18; or 

15 ‘‘(B) except in the case of sexual abuse, 

16 the age specified by the child protection law of 

17 the participating tribe that has jurisdiction over 

18 the Indian country where the child resides. 

19 ‘‘(3) CHILD VIOLENCE.—The term ‘child vio20 lence’ means covered conduct committed against a 

21 child by a caregiver of the child. 

22 ‘‘(4) COVERED CONDUCT.—The term ‘covered 

23 conduct’ means conduct that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) involves the use, attempted use, or 

2 threatened use of physical force against the per3 son or property of another; and 

4 ‘‘(B) violates the criminal law of the In5 dian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian 

6 country where the conduct occurs. 

7 ‘‘(5) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov8 ered individual’ means an officer or employee of an 

9 Indian tribe, or an individual authorized to act for 

10 or on behalf of an Indian tribe or serving an Indian 

11 tribe, who is— 

12 ‘‘(A) authorized under law to— 

13 ‘‘(i) engage in or supervise the preven14 tion, detection, investigation, arrest, pre15 trial detention, prosecution, or adjudication 

16 of an offense or the sentencing, including 

17 the probation, parole, incarceration, or re18 habilitation, of an individual; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) serve as a probation or pretrial 

20 services officer; and 

21 ‘‘(B) carrying out an activity described in 

22 paragraph (11)(C).’’; and 

23 (H) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as 

24 redesignated by subparagraph (F)) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(11) RELATED CONDUCT.—The term ‘related 

2 conduct’ means a violation of the criminal law of an 

3 Indian tribe that is committed— 

4 ‘‘(A) against a covered individual; 

5 ‘‘(B) by a person— 

6 ‘‘(i) who is subject to special tribal 

7 criminal jurisdiction; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has committed criminal conduct 

9 that falls into one or more of the cat10 egories described in paragraphs (1) and 

11 (2) of subsection (c); and 

12 ‘‘(C) in the course of resisting or inter13 fering with the prevention, detection, investiga14 tion, arrest, pretrial detention, prosecution, ad15 judication, or sentencing, including the proba16 tion, parole, incarceration, or rehabilitation, of 

17 that person relating to that criminal conduct.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘domestic violence’’ each 

20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘tribal’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (4)(B)(iii), in the matter 

22 preceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, or dating 

23 partner’’ and inserting ‘‘, dating partner, or 

24 caregiver’’; 

25 (4) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

2 by striking ‘‘domestic violence’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘tribal’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik6 ing ‘‘AND DATING VIOLENCE’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘, DATING VIOLENCE, AND CHILD VIO8 LENCE’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘or dating violence’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘, dating violence, or child 

11 violence’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) RELATED CONDUCT.—An act of related 

14 conduct that occurs in the Indian country of the 

15 participating tribe.’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘domestic vio17 lence’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘tribal’’; 

18 (6) in subsection (f)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘special domestic violence’’ 

20 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘special 

21 tribal’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘pros23 ecutes’’ and all that follows through the semi24 colon at the end and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘prosecutes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a crime of domestic violence; 

2 ‘‘(B) a crime of dating violence; 

3 ‘‘(C) a crime of child violence; 

4 ‘‘(D) a criminal violation of a protection 

5 order; or 

6 ‘‘(E) a crime of related conduct;’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘child 

8 violence, related conduct,’’ after ‘‘dating vio9 lence,’’; and 

10 (7) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2014 

11 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 2022’’. 

12 SEC. 4. INCREASED INTERAGENCY COORDINATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior and 

14 the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to 

15 in this section as the ‘‘Secretaries’’) shall coordinate with 

16 the Attorney General to ensure, to the maximum extent 

17 practicable, that Federal programs to support tribal jus18 tice systems and to support provision of victim services 

19 for Indians are working effectively together to serve the 

20 needs of Indian tribes and Indians (as such terms are de21 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

22 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

23 (b) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL INDIAN FACILITIES

24 WITH NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE GRANT25 EES.—The Secretaries shall ensure that information for 


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1 contacting any toll-free telephone hotline operated by re2 cipients of a grant authorized by section 313 of the Family 

3 Violence Protective Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10413), is 

4 posted and readily visible in each publicly accessible Fed5 eral facility utilized by— 

6 (1) the Indian Health Services; 

7 (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or 

8 (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. 

9 (c) COORDINATION ON TRAINING FEDERAL INDIAN

10 PROGRAM EMPLOYEES TO RECOGNIZE AND RESPOND TO

11 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The Secretaries (acting through 

12 the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the Director 

13 of the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Director of 

14 the Indian Health Service) shall coordinate with the Direc15 tor of the Office on Violence Against Women of the De16 partment of Justice and the Associate Commissioner for 

17 the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the Department 

18 of Health and Human Services to ensure that training ma19 terials on recognizing and responding to domestic violence 

20 are available to tribal and Federal employees of— 

21 (1) the Indian Health Services; 

22 (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

23 (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior 

3 (acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Af4 fairs) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

5 (acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service) 

6 shall jointly submit a report to— 

7 (1) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Sen8 ate; and 

9 (2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (b) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The report re12 quired under subsection (a) shall include a description of 

13 the degree of effectiveness of— 

14 (1) Federal programs that are intended to build 

15 the capacity of criminal justice systems of Indian 

16 tribes to investigate and prosecute offenses relating 

17 to dating violence, domestic violence, child violence, 

18 and related conduct (as defined in section 204 of 

19 Public Law 90–284 (25 U.S.C. 1304), as amended 

20 by section 3(2)); 

21 (2) the required coordination activities required 

22 under section 4, including compliance with the post23 ing of domestic violence victim service access infor24 mation required under section 4(b); and 

25 (3) the interagency employee training material 

26 development required under section 4(c). 


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1 (c) TIMING.—The Secretary of the Interior and the 

2 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit the 

3 report required under subsection (a) by not later than 4 

4 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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