Public Comments

Status: Original and derived artifacts are available for this document.

Download: pdf

tll trl
ヽ一一一´

The Navajo Nation Dn.Buu NyCnrru paesroexr
Yideeskri 4d i Nitsdh{kees

Subm

Think for lhe Future

itted via emai I to : b i spra. comm en ts (d o i p. u s d o i. g ov

August 28, 2026
Mr. Steven Perry
Bureau of fustice Statistics
999 North Capital Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20531
Dear Mr. Perry,
On behalf of the Navajo Nation, I offer the following comments to the Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJSJ regarding the Reinstatement of the Census of Tribal Court Systems (CTCS) in
response to the Federal Register Notice published on fune 29,2026.
The Navajo Nation (Nation) is the largest tribal nation in the United States, with over 400,000

enrolled members and a land base of more than 27,000 square miles with three states
spanning our lands - Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah - comprising a total land area larger
than the state of West Virginia.
In 1868, the United States entered into a treary with the Navajo Nation, pledging to provide
healthcare, education, agricultural support, and to promote the general welfare ofthe Navajo
people. Consequently, the United States Government is both legally and morally obligated by
this treafy - and the sacred trust responsibility - to assist the Navajo Nation in confronting
the numerous difficulties our people encounter, including safeguarding our people and the
land held in trust for them.

It is in the spirit of our government-to-government relationship with the United States,
rooted in the Treaty of 1868, that the Nation provides BfS with the following comments
regarding the CTCS.

Tribal courts in Indian Country are generally funded or operated by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs' Office of Justice Services (OfS). On the Navaio Nation, the tribal court system is
operated by the Nation under a contract with OJS authorized by P.L. 93- 638, the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act. These contracts are known as "638 contracts."

Post Office Box7440. Window Rock, Arizona 86515 . Phone: (928) 871-7000. Fax: (928) 871-4025

O)S is underfunded by more than $3.5 billion as of FY21 (the most recent year the BIA has

released data forJ. Of that $3.5 billion in unmet needs, $1.5 billion is determined to be the
unmet need for tribal courts. The remaining $2 billion in unmet needs is calculated for tribal
law enforcement and corrections services. These are all critical program areas that are vital
to the safety and well-being oftribal members, visitors, and the strength ofthe United States
- not to mention a trust obligation of the United States.

Funding is appropriated to the BIA and then allocated to OJS, split between these critical
program areas, and then finally trickles down to the 638 contracts for tribal courts. At this
point, the available funding becomes unsustainable to operate a comprehensive civil and
criminal court system.

The underfunding of tribal courts means fewer personnel, including judges, and this
understaffing results in large backlogs ofcases. Equally as important, the underfunding of all
these public safety and justice programs under the BIA means that limited funding is
available for operations and maintenance - or replacement - of judicial facilities.
Underfunding operations and maintenance directly results in derelict buildings that must be
replaced. On the Navajo Nation, the Window Rock District Court - the district court of our
Nation's capital community - had been operating out of the conference room of a modular
office facility for close to a decade after the circa-1950 BlA-owned building it was housed in
was declared unsafe for work in 2018 and condemned. Luckily, the Navajo Nation built a new
facility for the Window Rock District Court, which opened at the beginning of 2026, but
similar stories exist for tribal courts across Navajo and across Indian Country.
The Navajo Nation appreciates that BJS is working to compile data on the staffing, functions,
caseloads, civil and juvenile justice matters, and operations of tribal courts. This data
collection will help ensure that lawmakers and federal agencies are making informed, datadriven decisions that will help support the fulfillment of the federal government's treaty and

trust responsibilities to tribes. The Navajo Nation recommends that BfS also include
questions designed to collect data on the status and condition oftribal court facilities to help

lawmakers understand the challenges with the facilities these courts occupy, and how those
challenges impact the staffing and operations of tribal courts, and in turn, case backlogs.

It is critical that BJS continue to conduct the CTCS regularly to help convey trends in tribal
court systems. As noted above, the CTCS helps support informed decision-making, and
regularly conducting this census will help demonstrate if reforms instituted at the federal
level are resulting in real change in Indian Country. The Nation also encourages BfS to
disseminate reports on tribal matters, like the CTCS, to all tribal leaders when they are
2

approved for public release.
In closing the Navajo Nation offers the following recommendations:
1. Inclusion in the CTCS of questions on court facilities to ascertain the impacts on the

staffing and operations of respondent tribal courts.
2. Regularly conducting the CTCS.
3. Direct dissemination to all federally recognized tribal leaders of tribally focused BfS
reports.
Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this rnatter furtller,please do nOt hesitate

to reach out to MI■ Ammon Ranger,Acting Executive Director of the Nav可

Washingon Omce,at〔 202)682‐ 7390 or宙 a emailto [email protected].И ね
yOu〕

.

Sincerely,

r.

uu Nygren,

THE NAVA,O NAT10N

3

o Nation

′
(thank