DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04080
title: Evaluation of the Tribal Strategies Against Violence (TSAV) Initiative in Four Tribal Sites in the United States, 1995-1999
title: Archival Version

description: This study evaluated the Tribal Strategies Against Violence
 (TSAV) Initiative. The TSAV was a federal-tribal partnership, lasting
 from 1995 to 1999, designed to develop comprehensive strategies in
 tribal communities to reduce crime, violence, and substance abuse.
 This study involved four of the seven TSAV sites: the Chickasaw Nation
 in Oklahoma, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana, the
 Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan, and
 the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. A survey
 of TSAV stakeholders at the four sites was conducted in the summer and
 fall of 1999. The objectives of the survey were to gauge TSAV
 stakeholders' perceptions about the following: (1) the serious crime,
 violence, and quality of life issues in each community and the extent
 to which the local TSAV initiative had addressed those issues, (2) the
 intent and ultimate outcomes of the TSAV program, (3) obstacles to
 successful implementation of TSAV activities, and (4) decision-making
 processes used in planning and implementing TSAV locally. Offense data
 were also gathered at the Fort Peck site for 1995 to 1998 and at the
Grand Traverse Band site for 1997 to 1999.
description: This study evaluated the Tribal Strategies
 Against Violence (TSAV) Initiative. Designed by the United States
 Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the TSAV was a
 federal-tribal partnership designed to develop comprehensive
 strategies in tribal communities to reduce crime, violence, and
 substance abuse. The TSAV initiative had three official objectives:
 (1) improve communities' ability to comprehensively address issues of
 crime, violence, and drugs, (2) promote community-based program
 development involving the active participation of youth, community
 residents, educators, spiritual leaders, businesses, social services,
 criminal justice representatives, and elected officials, and (3)
 develop an effective culturally sensitive program model that can be
 replicated by other Native American Communities. Each of the seven
 sites that received TSAV funding developed a specific set of goals to
 further these overall objectives. Each site had a core team that
 consisted of approximately five people who held formal planning and
 oversight responsibility for the local TSAV initiative. This study
 involved four of the seven TSAV sites: the Chickasaw Nation in
 Oklahoma, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana, the Grand
 Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan, and the
 Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. TSAV funding
 was awarded to the Fort Peck tribes in 1995 and to the other three
 sites in 1996. For all four sites TSAV funding lasted through August
 1999. This evaluation had the following goals: (1) document how TSAV
 approaches had evolved at each of the four TSAV sites, (2) document
 how each site had implemented its comprehensive strategies, (3)
 analyze and report how differences in local cultures, physical
 environments, or government structures at the sites may have affected
 implementation at the sites and may or may not have implications for
 the potential success of TSAV in other American Indian communities,
 and (4) provide useful evaluation findings for tribal and United
 States Department of Justice (DOJ) decision-makers and other criminal
justice stakeholders.
description: Part 1 contains data from a survey of TSAV
 stakeholders at all four study sites that was conducted in the summer
 and fall of 1999. The survey used a questionnaire consisting of 207
 items addressing 16 topic areas. The objectives of the survey were to
 gauge TSAV stakeholders' perceptions about the success of TSAV
 initiatives and the remaining crime, violence, and quality of life
 issues in each community. The questionnaire was adapted from one used
 by the Comprehensive Communities Program, another Bureau of Justice
 Assistance initiative. Part 2 contains data on crimes committed at the
 Fort Peck site. These data were collected for the fiscal year 1995
 through the fiscal year 1998 from the tribal court, which had
 facilities in the towns of Wolf Point and Poplar, and from the Wolf
 Point Police, a city police force that operated within the Fort Peck
 Reservation's boundaries. Offense data for 1999 were not obtained
 because they were not available at the time the site was visited in
 October 1999. Wolf Point Police Department data overlap with the
 tribal court data because from 51 percent (in 1995) to 67 percent (in
 1996) of the Wolf Point cases were referred to the tribal court. Part
 3 contains data on crimes committed at the Grand Traverse Band site
 for the fiscal years 1997, 1998, and 1999. These data were collected
 from the Grand Traverse Band's police department. Crime data were not
 available for the Turtle Mountain or Chickasaw Nation sites. The data
 were provided to ICPSR as Microsoft Excel files. ICPSR has converted
 the data to PDF format and distributes the data and documentation
as one PDF file.
description: Variables in Part 1 include the major crime and
 violence problems in regard to both juveniles and adults, quality of
 life issues, the extent to which the local TSAV initiative had
 addressed crime, violence, and quality of life issues, the
 effectiveness of the TSAV program in certain key areas, obstacles to
 successful implementation of the TSAV program, the extent to which
 there was conflict between different TSAV partners, how conflict was
 typically resolved, and what respondents thought should be done
 differently in the TSAV program. Part 2 contains detailed information
 on offenses committed by both adults and juveniles at the Fort Peck
 site for the fiscal years 1995 to 1998. These data are divided into
 offenses reported by the tribal court and those reported by the Wolf
 Point Police. Part 3 contains detailed offense information for the
 Grand Traverse Band site for the fiscal years 1997 to 1999. Data are
 provided in the following categories: alcohol or drug-related
 offenses, automobile-related offenses, weapons offenses, crimes
 against persons, domestic offenses, juvenile offenses, major offenses,
other offenses, and property offenses.
description: Response Rates: Part 1: Of the 93 potential respondents identified
 at all four sites, 67 (72 percent) returned surveys. At the Chickasaw
 Nation site 18 of the 23 (78 percent) surveys were returned. At the
 Turtle Mountain site 11 of 24 (46 percent) surveys were returned. At
 the Grand Traverse site 20 of 24 (83 percent) surveys were returned.
 At the Fort Peck site 18 of 22 (82 percent) surveys were returned. In
 addition, the degree to which individual survey items were completed
 varied from site to site. Questions nine through twelve, in
 particular, were problematic. The number of responses to those
 questions was far less than for most other questions, probably due to
 the time required to answer them. The majority of respondents did not
 answer those four questions, and responses to those questions are not
included in this dataset. Parts 2 and 3: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Part 1: Several Likert-type scales were used. Parts 2 and 3:
None.
description: A list of 35 potential respondents was developed for each
 site and the Core Team members were asked to identify those
 respondents who would be most familiar with the local TSAV initiative.
 Between 22 and 24 stakeholders, including TSAV staff, were identified
as survey respondents for each site.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Survey Data
DS2: Crime Data for the Fort Peck Tribes
DS3: Crime Data for Grand Traverse Band
description: Part 1: Individuals involved with implementing the TSAV
 programs at the four sites involved in this study. Part 2: Adult and
 juvenile offenses committed by tribe members at the Fort Peck
 site. Part 3: Adult and juvenile offenses committed by tribe members
at the Grand Traverse Band site. Smallest Geographic Unit: None