Consultation on the FY 2025 Tribal Set-Aside From the Crime Victims Fund | Day 1 | 10/23/2024

LEBRETIA WHITE: Thank you, Jana. And greetings and welcome to everyone who've joined the Office for Victims of Crime consultation for our FY 2025 Tribal set-aside from the Crime Victims Fund. Again, I'm LeBretia White, the Office for Victims of Crime’s Tribal Division director. And I consider it a privilege to lead a growing team of 17 committed deputy directors, Tribal affairs specialists, and grant management specialists, all responsible for the administration of the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside program.

We work in partnership with Tribes to provide support to Tribal grantees who work daily to serve crime victims and their families. I am honored to serve as your consultation facilitator. And please know your attendance is appreciated. We look forward to hearing the testimonies from Tribal leaders or their designees.

All right, so at this time, I will introduce the director of the Office for Victims of Crime, Kristina Rose, who will provide opening remarks. Director Rose was appointed to the position of director of the Office for Victims of Crime by President Joe Biden and sworn in on July 12th, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Director Rose spent nearly 20 years at the US Department of Justice, serving in various roles, including deputy director of OVC as well as the deputy director and acting director at the National Institute of Justice, and chief of staff at the Office on Violence Against Women. Director Rose, we are delighted to have you share opening remarks at this time.

KRISTINA ROSE: Thank you so much, LeBretia. I'm very happy to be here. And I'm honored to be here with all of you to receive your feedback about the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside from the Crime Victims Fund, or as we call it, the TVSSA program. And I'm grateful for this opportunity to address the critical issues that are facing Tribal nations. Today's government-to-government meeting supports President Biden's commitment to strengthening nation-to-nation relationships, and it's rooted in the federal government's respect for trust and treaty responsibilities and the desire to strengthen Tribal sovereignty and advance Tribal self-determination by ensuring that Tribal nations have greater autonomy over how they invest their federal funding.

So, thank you to the Tribal leaders with us here today for your leadership and your advocacy. I'll talk more about this shortly, but your critical feedback in prior years has been vital to making the TVSSA program what it is today. We're honored that you're joining us in this important conversation. And thank you to the TVSSA program grantees who've joined us today for supporting victims and survivors, for supporting their family members and their loved ones. The work you do is hard and it's heartbreaking at times, and I'm sure it can often seem overwhelming, and there are certainly not enough of you, but you continue to show up and do the work.

We're grateful for your commitment and for your compassion. I do want to thank LeBretia and the entire OVC Tribal Division for listening to and advocating on behalf of all of the grantees in the administration of the TVSSA program funding. You have some wonderful advocates on your side at OVC. I specifically want to thank Janet Routzen, Tanya Miller, Kimberly Woodward, Woodard, excuse me, and Mary Atlas-Terry for preparing the framing paper and the FY '24 Tribal set-aside annual report ahead of this consultation. These two documents are thorough resources, so I'm only going to provide a brief history of the program with a focus on FY '24. So, as many of you are aware, in 2018, Congress authorized a set-aside from the Crime Victims Fund for grants to Tribal communities to enhance services for victims of crime. And since FY '19, the set-aside has been 5% of the CBF cap. As a reminder, the CBF cap is the amount of money that Congress authorizes OVC to spend in a given fiscal year. The amount of funding under the set-aside varies from year to year based on the congressional authorization. For example, the set-aside totaled about 133 million in FY 2018, but it decreased to 95 million in '23 and to 67.6 million in FY '24. Actually, I want to go back and correct something I just said. It's not based on the congressional authorization, it's based on the congressional appropriation.

So, Congress has not yet passed an appropriations bill for the Department of Justice for FY '25. However, the president's proposed budget suggests a cap of 1.5 billion and the House and Senate marks suggest an obligation of 1.9 billion. So, 5% would be 75 billion for the Tribal set-aside or 95 million for the Senate marks. I'm going to correct something I just also said. The Senate mark is the only one that suggests 1.9 billion, not the House mark. So that's my fault. I apologize. 5% would be 75 million for under the 1.5 billion under the President's budget and 95 million if we get the Senate mark amount, which is 1.9 billion. So, I apologize for that. But both would be an increase from last year. So based on your feedback, in 2020, OVC began administering the TVSSA program using a population-based administrative formula, which allows us to administer the program as a non-competitive formula program. And this has helped to reduce administrative barriers. And we are so grateful for the input that you provided us that allowed us to do that. In FY '24, 250 Tribes signaled their intent to apply for the TVSSA funds and they submitted their population certificates, just shy of the highest amount we received in FY '23.

However, 50 Tribes that initially submitted population certificates formally withdrew their applications or did not complete the application process. This is not new. OVC has encountered similar attrition rates in the previous fiscal years. The reasons for not completing their applications varied. Some Tribes realized new funding was not needed to continue their victim services programs, others opted to apply as a member of a consortium, other cited staff turnover or insufficient time to complete the application or confusion about the application process. Ultimately, 199 Tribes were awarded TVSSA program funding, for a total of 59 million. This represents a slight increase from the 2,012 applications received in FY '23. Because OVC received fewer applications than expected, we redistributed more than 8.3 million of unclaimed set-aside funds to the remaining Tribes by adding an equal amount of funds to each award. Now, we did not do this in FY '23, but a variety of factors informed our decision to do so in FY '24, including the relatively low award amounts for FY '24 applicants and wanting to avoid further delays in the award-making process by running the formula again to redistribute the funds.

We welcome your feedback on this change, and we encourage you to let us know if this change had an impact on your victim services program. Award amounts ranged from $219,402 to $441,000, $441,989. And I'm pleased to say that 10 awards were made to Tribes that had not previously participated in the TVSSA program. We allocated the remaining TVSSA program funds, which amounted to about 1.4 million, to support other Tribal programs and activities which you can find in the final report. All in all, OVC committed all but just $118 of the total Tribal set-aside funding from the CBF, and that is pretty good. And that brings us to FY '25. As you probably know, we're phase of the FY '25 TVSSA program, and that will go on until January- Federally recognized Tribes, including those that previously received a TVSSA award in '24 or earlier, are invited to submit your populations- Will be placed in the chat. For those of you who have not yet submitted your population certification or who have not sought funding in the past, I want to share some of the unique features of the TVSSA formula program, many of which were implemented after consultations like the one we're having today.

First and foremost, this is a non-competitive program. We are not asking Tribes to compete for this funding. It's a population-based formula program. Tribes tell us which population they will serve, whether it's enrolled members, residents of a specific community, reservation, or village, or a different group that you've identified. The population numbers for the formula come from you, not from the government. Applicants can choose the project period for annual awards to be anywhere from 12 to 60 months. Applicants have the option to complete a checklist or an interview instead of writing a traditional program narrative. We've offered this option for a couple of years. And during the FY '24 application period, five Tribal Division staff conducted 31 in-person interviews in Alaska as well as provided technical assistance.

Additionally, OVC staff hosted 47 virtual interviews with other applicants in Alaska and the lower 48. Allowable expenses include culturally-specific victim services, which can include traditional arts, ceremonies, and food as a part of a ceremonial healing response to an individual who has undergone trauma and seeks to become realigned with the community and restored to health and balance. Through this grant program, you have the option to spend funds on construction expenses. We currently have 45 TVSSA program-funded construction projects underway and we funded 19 new construction projects in FY '24.

Grantees are using their construction funds to support a diverse range of projects, including the construction of tiny homes or modular buildings to house male victims, to house male victims of crime, renovations of an existing building to serve as a domestic violence shelter, and renovating a garage to be used for victim services office space and a forensic interview room. Grantees can now use their funds to address the needs of families of missing persons. We believe this change creates an opportunity for Tribal communities to direct much needed funding toward the loved ones of missing or murdered Indigenous persons, generating awareness and creating systemic change to help remove barriers. We also removed the 3% cap on how much funding grantees can use to support efforts in individual missing persons cases.

So, I encourage you to submit those population certifications with one note of caution. While we have begun this first phase of the FY '25 TVSSA program, please remember that Congress has not yet passed an appropriations bill for DOJ for FY '25. Until Congress passes such legislation, we will not be able to confirm that OVC is authorized to set-aside funds for TVSSA in FY '25 or how much the set-aside might be. So, before I close out, I want to share some efforts underway at OVC to support our Tribal grantees. OVC's Tribal Division has continued expanding, and we now have 18 staff members including four new grant managers and two deputy division directors.

Five grant managers work remotely, including two who are based in the Midwest and in South Dakota and Alaska. The growth and commitment of this team is what allows OVC to support almost 900 active grants awarded to 315 individual Tribes, Tribal designees, or consortia. The Tribal Division is leading an inter-agency effort to develop and implement a key recommendation from the Not Invisible Act Commission report about assisting Tribes in leveraging federal victim services to close gaps in services and response.

We are preparing for the National Indian Nations Conference which is scheduled December 10th through 13th, 2024, on the reservation of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians near downtown Palm Springs, California. Registration is now open. So, I hope to see you all there. If you are coming, please take note that ahead of the conference we're hosting an in-person listening session for our TVSSA grantees the morning of December 10th. Information about joining that session is on our website and we're dropping a link in the chat now. With that, let's begin the testimony portion of today's consultation. Please know we've heard your concerns regarding the burden with annual applications and multiple reports. We hope that the proposed approach in the framing paper will address those concerns. And as always, we welcome any feedback.

As I close my remarks, know that we are also ready to receive your comments and recommendations on any other topics related to OVC's Tribal programming, whether it's the needs of your communities or any other issues related to crime victimization in Indian country that you believe should be addressed by DOJ. I'm going to turn it over to LeBretia again to queue up the testimonies from our Tribal leaders and Tribal leader designees. But I want you to know that I have to check out of my hotel right now in New Orleans, but I will log back in once I find a nice, quiet, private place to work elsewhere in the building. And then I may need to log off a little bit early to make my flight to my next destination. But I am grateful to be with you today and I look forward to seeing many of you in December. Thank you. LeBretia.

LEBRETIA WHITE: Thank you so much, Director Rose, for your remarks, your ongoing support of the OVC Tribal Division in our efforts to bring high-quality services and supports to Tribes. To all of you who have joined today's consultation, please know the Office for Victims of Crime places the utmost importance on engaging with Tribal leaders through our consultation. As Director Rose stated, we will be moving very shortly into hearing those testimonies.

However, before we do proceed with hearing from Tribal leaders and/or their designees, I'd like to take a few moments to review just a few slides with you on the two issues documented in the fiscal year 2025 TVSSA consultation framing paper. All right. So, we'll go ahead and get started with that. And again, this is a brief presentation which will highlight two issues noted in the framing paper and provide an overview of a proposal to adjust the TVSSA award and grant administration process in the future. The first of the two issues framed for the consultation is OVC's proposed changes to the administration of the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside program.

And the below questions were proposed. And hopefully you've had an opportunity to peruse those, take a look at those in our framing paper. So, in my next slide, I want to share a little bit more about this particular issue as it relates to OVC's proposed strategy, which is aimed to further reduce the burden to Tribes in applying for annual awards and to look at a way to also consolidate reporting across a defined five-year grant cycle. This strategy will be supported by having Tribes submit a full application in year one of a five-year project period and to submit a population certificate and a letter of intent to continue their TVSSA program, as well as a budget modification that would relate to the available funds in that given year. And again, our pop cert process will continue with this proposed strategy, but it will allow Tribes who apply in that first year of a five-year project cycle or grant cycle to receive supplemental awards in years two through five. We'll move to our next slide. To receive feedback and take next steps to potentially carry out this strategy, our proposed plan includes the following: Today, hosting our consultation. But also, as Director Rose mentioned, we'll be hosting a listening session at Indian Nations and probably some additional listening sessions that may be attached to grantee gatherings as well to receive additional feedback on this proposed plan.

We have already begun working with our Office of Justice program leaders to look at options for potentially modifying some of our policy and procedures to streamline the TVSSA application process. We also will be looking at, if not in fiscal year 2026, it could be 2027, depending on feedback we receive today and in future listening sessions. So, the actual start of this proposed plan is not at this time specifically identified. But we'll be looking to post a notice of funding opportunity, which now replaces the terminology for solicitation, for a five-year grant cycle. We also want to inform TVSSA grantees and Tribes annually that they continue to submit their population certificate for funding. And as Director Rose mentioned, our funding does tend to change from year to year, so the population certification process remains important in determining the allocation for each Tribe. And so, with this proposed plan, a full application would be submitted in the first year of the five-year cycle. And in the subsequent four years, Tribes would have less information to make available to us. And also, the really unique component to this plan is for that five-year period of receiving funds, Tribes will have one grant number. And so, what happens with that is Tribes would not have to submit multiple reports for each year that they're awarded funds as currently exists.

All of that reporting will roll up into one report because all of those funds over the five-year period would be under one grant number. We would also post a new NOFO, notice of funding opportunity, annually for other federally recognized Tribes to request awards during that cycle. As you know, each year we do gain additional Tribes who express interest and make application for TVSSA funding. And then lastly, we'll notify all Tribes of the option to submit their TVSSA population certificate as well as... So, we'll actually complete that certification process as well as information on how to submit a new application as applicable. And for our next slide, want to share with you some of the intended impacts of this plan. As I've already probably alluded to, it would definitely reduce the burden for the annual application process that's currently in place. Tribes will not have to submit individual performance project and fiscal reports for each annual award.

Again, one report for funding during that cycle would be sufficient, whether it's a quarterly or a semi-annual report that's required for each grant, for that grant. The OVC Tribal Division staff, in collaboration with TTA providers, will also help Tribes and continue to support with those processes for submitting an application or a letter of intent modifying budgets accordingly. And then the next slide, I share some additional intended impacts if we were to move forward with this strategy and plan. Each year, the allocation would remain available for expenditure by the Tribe through the end of the five-year grant cycle.

The request for project period extensions will likely be reduced because of the, this new way of potentially awarding grant funds. Unobligated funding available on the grant in year five of the project period could be extended. Currently, we are able to, under special conditions, receive approval to extend grants up to a 72-month period. And then Tribes would not be required, again, to submit annual applications to receive the TVSSA formula allocation. And so, an abbreviated process to request those funds all aimed to reduce burden and make for more streamlined award process. And in my next slide, I want to share with you a table that's similar to the one that's in the framing paper. It summarizes the application and reporting schedule for the proposed plan to complete an application in year one, population certification, letter of intent, and budget mod in the four subsequent years of the grant cycle.

And in the next slide, it addresses our second issue that was proposed for this consultation, and it's related to our request for feedback on the need to increase American Indiana and Alaska Native victims of crime access to their states' crime victim compensation funds. And I'm certain that you've already had an opportunity to review the questions associated with issue number two. But just wanted to have an opportunity to share some of the highlights of that new proposed strategy and plan. And I hope the review has been helpful.

Now to proceed with hearing from our testimony presenters. We are honored to have several Tribal leaders and Tribal leader designees registered to speak at this consultation over the two days. And let's see our first speaker today, presenter, who is Samantha Thornsberry of Cahuilla Band of Indians Tribal Council. All right. Council Member Thornsberry, welcome. You can now unmute your line. Please begin your testimony when you are ready by repeating your name, Tribal affiliation, and title. If you are a Tribal leader designee, then we ask that you also state the name of the Tribal leader on whose behalf you are offering testimony.

SAMANTHA THORNSBERRY: I am Samantha Thornsberry, Tribal council for the Cahuilla Band of Indians. I'm the program director for the Cahuilla Consortium. And I'm going to start with my testimony now. Hello, my name is Samantha Thornsberry. I'm from the Cahuilla Band. My Tribal homeland of the Cahuilla Band is in the mountains of Southern California near the rural community of Anza in Riverside County. I'm currently serving as a Tribal council member for the Cahuilla Band, and I also worked for the Tribe as the program director of the Cahuilla Consortium Victim Advocacy program.

The rural communities of the four Tribes that comprise the Cahuilla Consortium and who we serve include the Cahuilla Band of Indians, the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, and the Torres Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla Indians. These Tribal lands and communities encompass four vast rural reservations, with members residing both within rural reservation boundaries and in the adjacent urban areas in each direction. Before I get started with my testimony, I'd first like to start by thanking those who are here. I always appreciate that we hold space for conversations that will assist us in enhancing access in administering the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside funding for Tribal nations across Indian country. So, thank you for allowing me to provide some input on behalf of my Tribe and my program. In preparing for today's consultation, I did read the OVC Fiscal Year 2024 Crime Victims Fund Tribal Set-Aside report. And I was reminded in that report of how far the Tribal set-aside programming has come and how the input from previous consultations has helped to improve the flexibility of the application process, has made access to the funding more available to many Tribes who completed the application's two-step process in a non-competitive approach.

It was also positive to see that Congress has authorized 5% of the crime victim funding, more than the original 3% from 2018. And most importantly, the full amount of funding is being dispersed to the grantees, with no funding being left on the table. And these are all positives that I wanted to start out with and recognize. But, and you knew there was a but coming. However, I am compelled to bring to this conversation that the overall crime victim funding amounts, as referenced on the table on page six of the OVC fiscal year 2024 report, illustrates the fluctuation of funding through the years since 2018 and the dramatic decrease that makes up the 5% that goes to the TVSSA funding, which has impacted programs who have become somewhat reliant upon TVSSA funding each year. As I said last year, the initial grants provided our program funding to establish infrastructure, staffing, and a robust programming.

But as funding amounts have lessened, there's been some scrambling to figure out how to maintain this level of programming. So, at the end of the day, 5% is better than 3%, but not when the overall crime victims fund has dwindled and goes elsewhere. As we all know, Native Americans and Alaska Natives experience crime at rates far higher than other ethnic groups, yet the funding is dispersed disproportionately. To address this equity issue, our request is to increase funding to Tribes and Tribal programs who continue to provide aid and advocacy for not only those included on our population certifications, but also assist other Native Americans and Alaska Natives who live in our territories and our service areas.

In summary, my point on this is that our programming helps more than those counted on our population certifications. Moving on to the issues outlined in the framing paper dated August 2024, I'd like to provide some thoughts on the two issues presented. Issue number one: Changing the administration of TVSSA funds to decrease the burden on Tribes. I believe the process has improved, but it's still burdensome. Submission through two portals first initiated in grants.gov, then moving the application over to JustGrants leaves room for problems and confusion. As Tribal leadership has expressed, turnover in key position positions often means that accessing these portals and providing new access to new staff can be a barrier. On more than one occasion, I have scrambled to reassign the AOR to click the button to move the application to the JustGrants portal. Equally so, reporting in two portals, whether it's quarterly or semi-annual into the PMP, then moving over to JustGrants, just leaves space for access errors to occur.

When JustGrants was rolled out, the promise was that the portal would be a hub for documents and would reduce the duplication of uploading certain documents, assurances, et cetera. But the reality is that the portal is confusing and has not reduced any duplication. In fact, access and assignation of roles or users logging in, and just general navigation within the portal, I'm talking about JustGrants, is a true barrier. Regarding the application's two-step process, we are very pleased with the flexibility in the application process. Choosing to go the checklist route for the past two application has worked great for us. Also, being certified and given a potential base award, like an estimated amount, after step one has been useful in drafting a budget that is much more aligned with what the actual award amount will be, which means less time revising and redrafting the budget later. Again, any additional dollars awarded after the fact simply means that no funding was left on the table, and we always support that. As for the idea of the five-year award period under a single award with annual supplemental funding, it seems like a streamlined approach, a time saver, lessening the resubmission of the resolutions, assurances, et cetera, which we would be in favor.

I was going to say that our only concerns would be about the funding levels and what that looks like and also that our population fluctuates from one year to the next, but Ms. White kind of addressed that in the opening slides. So not having done this before, but it seems like a great streamlined approach that would be, you know, reduce the burden. I like the fact that... Right now, I think I am actually reporting on about six OVC grants, so it is time consuming and at times it feels duplicative. So, I like the idea of being able to re-certify our populations each year and do the letter of intent. I just have a concern without knowing what, you know, are we going to get less? Is there a possibility of getting more? That kind of thing.

Under issue number two, increasing access to crime victims' compensation funds for American Indian and Alaska Native victims of crime, I can speak to what we've seen and what does not work for our survivors regarding barriers to accessing victims' compensation funds. First, reimbursement for relocation, which is one of the greatest requests that we have, simply does not work as many do not have the resources to relocate themselves, then wait for reimbursement. Also, some of our survivors do not maintain a bank account. So, providing any kind of receipts or the backup documentation for reimbursement is usually a no-go.

Also, the application process is not timely. We have only experienced one application that was pushed through as emergent, which was for a child's burial. Generally, the process is fill out the application and wait, which is difficult when a person must relocate or find therapy or any other really emergent need. On this note, I want to say finding a provider for services related to medical or therapy needs is often difficult because the reimbursement rate is lower than the providers will accept. Or if you do find a provider that will accept that reimbursement rate, there's a wait list to receive the services, which, again, is not timely. For application eligibility, we would support allowing for advocacy programs to provide a letter or a statement in lieu of a police report number on the application maybe to at least get it started.

Our local law enforcement does not seem well educated or well versed on application process, and we've actually experienced problems trying to explain and getting law enforcement to complete their portion of the application when asked to. So, I don't know if this is some kind of mandatory education for law enforcement, but that seems to be a barrier in our area. In closing, I just wanted to bring up funding for MMIW/MMIP under the TVSSA application. I think it still needs some revision to include more flexibility regarding the work that's needed to assist victims and survivors of MMIW and MMIP. I would have liked to have developed a plan in our 2024 application to really delve into the hiring of trained professionals who could conduct searches for the missing, but this was not allowable. So, the reality is that you have families and community members searching for their loved ones themselves. The very act of doing that is creating a trauma for the family and the community, but it might be that very act that brings their loved one home. We have to do more, and we have to do better to support our families and our communities.

When it comes to MMIW/MMIP. By not allowing funds to be spent on every faucet of a missing person's case means that we're not doing enough and all that we can, and the burden then falls on the survivor's family and their community members. And there's all sorts of concerns and, I think, trauma that can arise from that. I was appreciative, appreciated to see that the allowance for advertising a missing person, that, you know, we showed some flexibility there, but I think there's more that we could do in the way of making spending on MMIW/MMIP flexible.

So, in closing, again, I'd just like to say thank you, again, for allowing me to speak on behalf of my Tribal community and those that I represent. In Cahuilla, we always say [Speaking in Native Language]. We use it almost interchangeably, like, to say thank you, but really means that this is good. And I feel like OVC has allowed our organization to do good work for our people, and for that I'm very appreciative.

LEBRETIA WHITE: Thank you so much, Council Members Samantha Thornsberry, for your remarks. Our next speaker, we're going to return to Dr. Juana Majel-Dixon, and she is with-

JUANA MAJEL-DIXON: I'm good.

LEBRETIA WHITE: Okay. She is good to go. All right. Thank you so much.

JUANA MAJEL-DIXON: You know-

LEBRETIA WHITE: If you can just restate your name and your title, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much.

JUANA MAJEL-DIXON: I'm traditional legislative council for the Pauma-Yuima Band of Payomkawichum or Luiseno Indians, and I also serve... I'm traditional leader and I'm a traditionalist. And I pretty much come from that position almost all the time and governs from that position in doing this work. And I have collected, among the 2022 crime data things and what was being said by Samantha, I have the documentation of how things are in our country, and I'll forward that to you. But I also included the missing and murdered in California, where I am. In the southern part where we are, it's kind of like we have 144 square miles that we cover.

In the Tribe, I would say, certainly, it's an asset to have the TVSSA, but I agree with the principles that you were saying, Samantha, in terms of the the go-to stuff that we need to do and we have to think outside the box. And I'm okay with that and I think that's really what you are asking us to do as well. In so doing, we end up having a journey that we have to take as Tribal leaders from where we come from. When I look at what's going on, I think to myself... When I look at the data, I sometimes worry about the fact that we don't have everything there. When we think about what is being asked of us, I sometimes often get frightened by what's being done.

But in the budget process, I agree, we're beginning the journey to be more robustly attending to what the Tribes need and how that works. And I get the extension to the five years. In doing the work we do, it can take that kind of time. But if we also include the real, true needs of what our people need, it becomes a journey for you. And I want to make sure that we cover that in the recommendations that we give in the funding. When we look at the fact that we have, some of the strongest things we have going on is: How do you address the need of 589 Tribes and the variations of the design of who they are? Pauma is unique in that we're absolute sovereigns, we're very traditional. Our lands aren't owned by any one individual, it's owned by the people. And we still have our clan structure, which makes it very different in some of the ways that people have to navigate.

We also enter into mutual agreements, whether we call them MOUs, full faith and credit, in collaborating with our counterparts, whether it be as, you know, the Not Invisible Act. And I know Cathleen will probably speak to this too, as well as you, that we learned that the Homeland Security has seven representatives we have to go through when dealing with a victim. And if there are any part of the missing and murdered and/or trafficking, which is so huge in our world, we have at this moment, in this corridor of our world... Because we have to understand... And where we are from, from the Rio Grande to New Mexico, Arizona, and us, and kind of like get to where the foothills of where Nevada starts, we have, and Paiutes up in Bishop, we have that tri-state area that is along the maquiladora along the Mexican border. And knowing that we have the cartels that are going as far as the 11 northern states, we have the cartels, that what you are doing as OVC is outside the box of any other department or program because of the ability to do that.

What I'd like to look at is the, how do we expand that in a robust manner? The other thing, too, that we thought about is that it oversees recommendations to outreach to the Tribes is a good thing that is continuum. And I visit the website often and I show other leaders what that is and why that becomes important. Even though I'm sitting outside, every now and then, you'll hear a microphone go off. I'm up in Nevada at the moment in... I attended our Southern California Tribal chairman's meeting, which is all week long, and we talked very strongly about this and the impact of Public Law 280. When you look at Public Law 280, it's not something Tribes automatically have to be a part of. If you look at the history of the documentation, which I can send you, is that those states that were impacted have a variation of how they will deal with that that OVC needs to know and understand.

In the triad of it all, you're looking at what is federal response, what is that state's response, and, first and foremost, what is the Tribal response? And when you're looking at TVSSA in terms of Tribal victims' funds, the accessibility to what they need under Indian health through our co-collaborators under Tribal Law and Order Act, along with Department of Justice, along with Department of Interior. And we have to be able to blend that in such a way in the language that you provide of what TVSSA is doing so that we end up capturing what is necessary for the Tribes. And TLOA allows for services to not only the victim, but the children and the perpetrator. And that that becomes essential to what we're doing when you look at what our footprint is and what we have to navigate.

And I'm more than willing and I will give you my all too, with the other folks who will be speaking, how do we make that happen? How do we do it collectively together and by the regions we represent? In my corner of the world, I think about what we're doing, and I marvel at the fact that Tribes who are absolute sovereigns have learned to come together to speak as sovereign to sovereign. And when America doesn't teach that to its young and not even the workforces that are, whether it be a cop response, a federal, FBI response... I mean, had they not taken... For an example, we had a couple of leases taken, and they left one phone behind, how we could communicate with them, and kept another one with them.

And in a 280 state, we couldn't get them to respond, Homeland Security. We knew that the cartels were involved. When we ended up, they took the phone, driving around into Agua Caliente, which is in Palm Springs and then went further north into Arizona. And as soon as they went to Arizona, it tripped federal. Then we spoke to the programs that our former assistant secretary had done in terms of homeland security along with trafficking, along with what the interior was going to do in terms of helping out victims. When that triggered federal and the police, local police just kind of looked at it, they assigned officers to different reservations, so they're the ones we talk to and visit with. But at the same time, if they're not included in that, it's the Tribe dealing with, suddenly, a county response, a state response, local sheriffs, that kind of a thing, and Border Patrol, because where we are, we're in that 100-mile marker of international border line.

Additionally, being on the Pacific Coast, all along the Pacific Coast, all the way up to Alaska and down, we have to deal with a 100-mile marker of maritime law, and we have 27 military installations here. When you can that footprint around us where a lot of that trafficking and organization is occurring, to find a safe build, if not acquire the facility, you know, to turn into a place for safety for the women and the children and males they could just as harm as well. In Indian country, you have both, you have all of the above. And the thing is, is that we have no ability to address the need in the manner we need to. So we go to HUD, we go to Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment, you know, we look for FEMA, we look at other places to bring this money together. The Tribes are boots on the ground. They're doing their work to find what they have to find to put together. It's a collaborative model that was designed in TLOA that we haven't really done in the Tribal Law and Order Act.

Speaking with Merrick Garland, the AG's office, he knows that. We have a meeting with him, we have a meeting tomorrow or the next, I can't remember, in Phoenix, in which we're going to have a two-hour session talking about these very things. But at the same time, when leadership, you have to understand as absolute sovereigns, they're also attending to their people, which is not secondary to OVC or not the priority when the needs of the people are greater. Even though the value in how the money has been available, it's still measured to what is equitable and part of the trust and responsibility, which we, out of respect, as sovereigns, do not call the federal government on unless we really, really absolutely have to.

And I commend OVC for modifying its response to Tribes in its very structure in the fact that we were right now at tail end of instituting our criminal jurisdiction in a 280 state. Now, Tribal lands are not 280 lands, they're not 280 Tribes. That just does not exist. That's just what the law is. And the State of California has never chosen to implement that until recently only because I think politically it's a smart thing to do for those politicals that are in the state that want to gravitate higher to higher positions, whether it be... I mean, even for our governor considered to be the run for the next president, you know, all of a sudden now we have a statewide ICWA. And we're saying that ICWA is a Tribal federal law, it's not a state law and you can't mutate into something else. And that's the problem we have as the states become more robust in doing what they're doing in working with our Tribal courts. There's no double jeopardy when we have them before a Tribal court and dealing with their attorneys, whoever they are, and/or dealing with the state, county, or federal court.

A lot of people don't understand what it takes for us in measure to put together what needs to be done. So, the collaborative model that we're looking at doesn't mean the 477 funding. You have 200 and, what, 89 Tribes as part of the 477, which Department of Justice, the AG assigned off on. And I had long conversation with them saying that, "You did not... You have to understand they're getting $91 million." I mean $289 million, right? And they have 281 Tribes. You know, you put that together to do this work, under that, they're getting maybe $90,000, you know, and the money's gone. And so, it's like the 477 is designed with, is it 7 or 11, I can't remember now, for sure seven different departments, and that money will go to that Tribe who was signed up for it. And majority of them are in Alaska, which makes sense with the TVSA work that we have to do. That helps them in having it in that manner because the state is so hostile. But if you don't know that on a larger scale as Tribal leaders, we can't take our eyes off what's going on around other Tribes and how they navigate through that. But when you're looking at California, at our 144 square miles that we're talking about, and we look at it nationally, they're comparative. And I will send you my crime data.

We have over 2,000 missing and/or murdered. We have close to 800 trafficked Tribal relatives. That's just in the county of San Diego. We've included Riverside and San Bernardino, which are the two northern counties that include the reason why have 144 square miles. You know how our people intermarry with other Tribal people from other reservations. And in my world, you know, you don't ignore that. But also, you don't ignore the fact that if they marry non-Indians, they can't even live with us unless they agree to be governed by our laws, and they have to say so. And, you know, America is not prepared to realize that it's not the same as you travel with a passport, it's just that you're choosing to live, and you'll be governed by our laws.

Now, that's not done anywhere except in Indian country. And when you know that you can see how the TVSSA becomes a valuable instrument that needs to blossom and grow robustly. And yes, we do need to persuade Congress during an election year. We're going to become invisible for the next nine months. We're going to be hit pretty hard. You know, and the outcome of that is not necessarily favorable. You know, Trump wants to take everything we have, and Kamala doesn't really acknowledge that relationship of sovereign-to-sovereign in Tribes, she's not had a very good history with that. But that's our business. So that's what we deal with.

That's not something you may say or agree to because you have your own worldview on that. But the thing is we don't have much of a choice. But that's been our history with America and the work that we do in the political schema of things. But in what you do, the work you do, the extraordinary work you do as the careers, the people are making this happen, I commend you. You have a lot of things you have, there's a lot of hoops you have to jump through. There are ways that I think that we could collectively maneuver the OVC programs because when you're looking at the laws and the court cases that have occurred, Walt versus Lara, you look at Duro, I mean, you look at these different cases that have set the precedent of the governance of the sovereigns. You need to be mindful of them when you also look at the fact that we're dealing with how to improve OVC.

We have the cases, we have the law, just opportunity to leverage that. And in our political relationship, as you know, with the 535 members of Congress, as sovereigns with America, every single congressional leader, House or Senate, is our representative. Now, nobody else has that in America except us. So, when we have to go persuade them to do things, we're dealing with the entire body. And I know in your work with, as a federal program and entity with the Department of Justice, you have to not only deal with that, you also deal with the inter-departmental stuff that goes on with DOJ. But TLOA required and was an MOU and understanding that DOJ, DHHS, and DOI had to have a collaborative model. Now, the Tribes are doing it, but it's not necessarily happening at the federal level.

We will assist and do to leverage that so that you have a more robust response, so that when we go to ask for the funding, that's necessary that we're able to do so. So, the thing is that the trust relationship that we have, when you look at the Constitution, it starts with: "We the people." And who is the first sovereign they mentioned? Us. So, we're in the constitution. They don't teach this to the young, who grow up to say that ignorance of just not knowing. I can't fault them for their ignorance, but I do have a hard time talking to Congress leadership not gaining the knowledge, so you end up working with the teams to do so. You have honored us yourselves, and those of you who are on this call, to be a part of that. Yeah, we have concerns.

You know, we know you can't do it all, but you're one of the groups, one of the agencies, OVC has the base to look at the experience of crime victims in our Tribal communities. And when the language that you give us for Tribes doesn't include Tribal... And please don't ever use Native America again. We do not recognize ourselves that way. That's something Congress came up with, it started with Alaska because they needed it to be said that way. But that's not what the lower 48 means. We are sovereigns, and it was put in there as Tribes, just Tribes. And now we have agreed, through the years, to use American Indian or Alaska Natives.

But Native American, anybody born in America is a Native American. You're harming us with that language. Do not use it anymore. And and you have to, you have to change it. I don't care what Congress wants. If we have to go literally persuade them, I'll carry the load, I'll walk up there and meet with everyone to stop it. And the ones who started it, you know? But the thing is that's my job with you, as a Tribal leader and as a traditionalist, to clearly make it clear. And we need facilities to meet the needs of our people, which are and pretty large. You'll be astounded by my stats, and you can check them. I'll give you data that you can check so you can prove me right or wrong. I don't care however you look at it. But in that work that we do, in my experience with the Tribe victims programs, it has been robust and good, but it's limited.

We can work through those limitations, we can hold them accountable. It's like with the 477 funding that fits program that is in there, it's probably the only one that might make sense to be a part of that. But nothing, absolutely nothing out of OVW should be taken out whatsoever or challenged by that program, 477. And when you think about the fact that they don't get very much money yet they have all those seven departments in that, you know, the Department of Justice, Department of Interior, Department of Health, we go down the list, agriculture, water, the whole nine yards, and so I put it in a bucket or a barrel, goes to the Tribal leadership, and there's no.. And the mechanism, similar to what you were sharing with us and what to look at and how to report, be accountable, there really isn't an accountable system.

So, what's to stop the money that's going to help our victims from being swallowed up with nobody in the regulations. And I've read the regs, don't hold accountable for those things they say they're going to do, when what you would have done normally... I don't want to say normally, though normally is what we come to. But the language, or the regulatory language of OVC requires us to be pretty succinct in how we're going to do that, but there isn't enough money. I commend you for even getting any money to the Tribes. It was not an easy thing to do, and you carried the load. When we did the Not Visible Act, it became very clear there was going to have to be more. Now, that's our job as sovereigns to make that happen, along with you. And, yeah, you're going to have careers, so they're going to move in and out and not have the working knowledge. But the thing is when they don't teach this to their young, it isn't until Americans, citizens of America get out of high school, go to college, and they have to pick and choose to learn more about us. They don't require it K-12, well, okay, 3rd grade to 12th grade, you know?

And when you raise the generations of children who do not have this information, it's harmful to us when I think about the fact that we have had to deal with the assistance and coverage of each nation. Talk to us, collaborate with us, bring us together as a body. California is so big like Alaska. We have northern Tribal channels, central travel channels, and southern Tribal channels. Right now, when you look at the data we have, we're dealing with over a million federally recognized Indians primarily because of the relocation program, which you have to pay attention to. There is no such thing as an urban Indian that didn't come until the relocation program came. And because of that, we have over 300,000 federally recognized Indians in our corridor, but the other 700,000 are all relocated, who are going through horrific changes that's going on.

And then we have DHS who's not collaborating, working very well with one another in their transition, so that impacts us. And when you don't know the other departments of this country that are federal working with us don't treat us right, whether it's housing, health, education, whatever they are, agriculture, all of the above, it has a tremendous rippling effect on everything we do. I live in a fruitful land. You know, I live, I'm surrounded by mountains, and we are the stewards of the southern forest. We also have, you know, about 30,000 acres in in orange trees and all the citrus that you can imagine, all the other things we have. Plus, we have a field garden, which we serve 27 nonprofits so that we could make sure they have those where we don't waste what we grow.

Now, when the Tribes are doing that, you're not celebrating how well we are with those around us, we take care of. We have our relatives from the north. Say we have the wild mustangs, we want to bring them down to the cattle, the US government won't let us transport them, they won't let us transport our goods. The state government would require taxes, which they're not supposed to do. So, I mean, when you think how that might even be with just the human side, the same thing occurs. But OVC has broken the ceiling, they've cracked it open in such a way. And I commend you for that. But we have a chance to do a better job to look at it from the perspective that Samantha was talking about. If you live on an island, you have an entirely different circumstances going on and you have to transport by sea or by water or by oceans, so entirely different.

And you have to think about that. And if you're on an island, how do you take care of them in a robust manner that protects them? In addition to that, you're looking at those who are in a state that's just basically hostile. When you look at the Dakotas and you realize that they're not supporting politically what's happening in this election year and they carry the majority of the vote, it's going to have a ripple effect on the world, and TVSSA is going to be more needed than you can imagine. When we look at the Tribe Victims Fund and it's compensation, that commission you want do, absolutely. When you look at the crime victims response to Congress, we have test of time.

I believe in, and I'll tell you honestly because the arrogance or their ignorance of not knowing about us as sovereigns, when we go to the Supreme Court Supreme, that mutates into the law of the land which doesn't apply to us. And when we're government versus federal government because of representing us, it becomes horrible for any missing or murder. When we have the actual perpetrators, we get question of how are we going to have governance over this when it ends up as a challenged case before the Supreme Court. So, we have many battlegrounds, as sovereigns, that we deal with, and I'll continue to do it as long creator gives me a breath, I'll continue to do it. And, you know, when you look at the simple needs of clothing and the fact that we're doing... You have to understand our relatives are in Mexico and our relatives are in Canada.

We don't recognize those borders, which is why we have the trilaterals so we could collaborate together. They speak my language, six different villages along the Baja side. The Kumeyaay have about seven different villages that do that, and we interact with one another, you know? And when you consider the fact that the country in Mexico is literally, literally on the, they're purposely murdering the Mayan people, and we can do nothing about it because it's international. But when you're in a sovereign-to-sovereign, those aren't the borders and understanding we haven't anymore. How do we help you do what we need to do in those circumstances? And when I think about the fact that the programs that we've been able to do and be resilient with, we celebrate that, we acknowledge you. It's not about being angry, bothered, and have to talk about it, it's about how do we effect change knowing the enormity of what that is now that you've gained a greater understanding?

I commend you for stepping up and listening to those things as the careers in the system. You have taken an extremely wonderful hammer to the glass ceiling that they put over on OVC. The same thing is done. And we have Tribal lands in which we separate our perpetrators out. They cannot even come onto our reservation, but we house them on other Tribal lands. And they're not, even if they're Tribal members in the family, they have to be escorted in and they have to tell us why they're there and how long they're staying. And they have to get permission of the people to do so. Now, that's Tribal custom and tradition. Others will do it differently. They may have the powers invested into legal counsel and Tribal counseling or a body of elders, however that is set up. But what gets hard always to combat is that you have 589 Tribes and 589 different ways. That is not unusual when you're dealing with the countries of the world.

So, when I think about the trilaterals and what they could do to make the difference, our relatives in Canada and Mexico are already benefiting from what we set out to do and what we are doing. And, you know me, I'll keep talking. But in the work of, when I look at how you have come and the listening sessions you have had and the feedback that you wanted, I'm always available to have a conversation to think outside the Tribal concepts to bureau concepts, to creating a new way of doing that. And, you know, because it's the same thing in that we don't use some words, you know? And for us, in a traditional concept, it's the mind, body, and spirit that is heard. And our people have languages that they speak that have no possessive words, like the words I isn't used, you know, we don't use those words, and we don't have words in our language. So, when the thinking is from the mind, body, and spiritual traditional concept, it doesn't stop the influence of what so many of our relocated relatives have had to go through.

And I'd rather get to the stats so you can work with them. I also think that the things you want to do too, of how you would improve the outreach to the Tribes, do it aggressively, do it profoundly. When we were... One of the examples we could give you is that we knew close to 300, 298 million was given to the federal Tribes in California. But if we used those funds, we ended up having to grandfather in state law because the state had control of the money. Tribes gave it to a nonprofit, just to take $100,000, and they grandfathered in relationships they had not intended to happen. The other Tribe got wind of it and gave their money back. So, there's always this sense, for us in California and other Tribes, that the federal government doesn't know how to be in a federal trust relationship. And that trust responsibility is real. And we don't call that because it's a breach of trust as long as we keep doing the things we are. We were never supposed to have grants. That was unheard of, that system of grantee. I get it's in the department, I get it's in the different programs, it's how you do business, but it's not what you do with sovereign-to-sovereign.

And that has to be considered in your thinking of where might to go differently, how might we approach this differently. In the regulations, it allows for the modifications to include that. But how many people really read the regulatory law? They read the law that was passed, and they don't go much further. I'm one of those who will read it. And I have no problem being corrected. You know, I'd rather be proven wrong on some of the things that I see because it just breaks my heart, you know? But, you know, I'm an ally and an advocate to make this work right. And I don't want to take all the time. You know I can keep talking and I can look at the way the effects are on our people. And the programming in the non-competitive process of the federally recognized Tribes, that has been probably one of the most humblest sovereign-to-sovereign thing that was done.

But does it get to where the money grows, you know? Because it gets crazy. As you know, with COVID, when they had to send back the prisoners from one reservation, they had to take all the elders out of the elder house so they could have a jail, you know? And it was like the moneys available to build a whole new facility for criminals in Tribes who are in 280 state, Tribes who are not in a 280 state, Tribes who don't have the land . Tribes collaborated together and said that we'll enter into a compact with you and we can take X number of prisoners. So what do they come up with? We now have 200 federal beds available to us. But it's the transporting what they don't understand, that to get that perpetrator to that facility means going through the state and all the roads they have and having permission to bring your Tribal police vehicle to transport that that perpetrator, that if you go interstate, you'll have interstate law. That has not been fixed. So we end up taking them home... And we don't stake them up, let 'em get fed by the animals, okay?

You might be thinking it, but we don't do that. But the thing is we have to do it differently constantly. And if we could stay on page with one another, we can effect changes. We don't have to think about the impossible as undoable. We have lived in this world so long as Tribal people. We're ready to do, we're ready to help you get there. And when I think about what you have done to date, I commend you, but we need to make it more robust and more useful in allowing the Tribes in their five-year period, or their structure, or that FY year, how to do it more simply because you already have the information. There must be a way to archive that that is accessible to your teams.

And when I look at the 477 funding, with all those federal departments, they have... And you know where you're at, the fiscal department you have to go through. She spoke to the fact that at OVC we have to go to grants.gov and then take it over and get it accepted, move it over to JustGrants. And that's the craziest thing. But if you don't get it right, you get in trouble because we still don't have your report. But it isn't for lack of trying, but we're getting there. I want us to continue to get there. And let's do the leverage to make that happen. And you guys are like Tribes, the federal system. You got your own federal lands, which is your finance and grants stuff. And your people who are on those lands have to work with the other Tribes inside of the federal system that are the federal programs. And we got experience with that. Let us help you get there. I don't want to turn away from the gifts you've given. There's more we can do, and how do we do that? You know, I could keep talking, but I thought I'd leave it at that and let others have a chance to speak. Are we good?

LEBRETIA WHITE: We are good. Thank you so much, Dr. Majel-Dixon, for your remarks. Much appreciated. At this time, our next speaker for today will be Tracy Charles-Smith, who's president of Dot Lake Village. President Charles-Smith, welcome. You can unmute your line. Please begin your testimony when you are ready by repeating your name, Tribal affiliation, and title. If you are a Tribal leader's designee, then we ask that you also state the name of the Tribal leader on whose behalf you are offering testimony. Thank you, President Charles Smith. We're ready for you at this time.

TRACY CHARLES-SMITH: My name's Tracy Charles-Smith. I'm the President of the Native Village of Dot Lake. And thank you for having me here and giving me the opportunity for testimony.

The Native Village of Dot Lake is a very small Tribe. We fluctuate between 160 to 180 Tribal members. And, you know, we're greatly appreciative of the funding we receive for victim services. You know, there is a need in our state for continued funding and, oh, you know, increase in victim services. With that being said, our TeeJuh Behavioral Health is now serving 21 different communities.

Our behavioral health encounters to date is 599 encounters. We had 450 outreach encounters. So, in additional to that, we're providing online domestic violence education classes, parenting classes, online and in-person DV women's groups. And, you know, things are expensive in Alaska. We do not turn away victims. We don't care where those victims are from.

But, you know, I'll give you an example. We had a victim show up in our village from Hoonah, Alaska. This victim was beaten. Our safe house was not safe, so we had to transport the victim and her children to a safe place. So, you transport 171 miles away and its summer. To pay for a hotel in Fairbanks during the summer, it's, the cheapest amount is probably $450 a night. So, you know, we're very grateful for what we're able to do. But, you know, I have to agree with Juana Majel. And you know, as a Tribe, we're a sovereign nation.

We're competing with nonprofit Native organizations that have this colonized world view that doesn't include our cultural values and does... You know, we're not included in their meetings or anything like that. They have taken this mean girl attitude and excluded us when we've asked to be a part of their programs, because we think that when we all work together for our people, the results will be better. In the State of Alaska, it's hard to get the state to recognize our Tribal sovereignty. And my Tribe is having to fight other Native organizations who want to steal my Tribal sovereignty and use that against me. So, we're very grateful, but we're helping so many people with funding based on our small Tribal population.

We're very thankful because we're thinking outside of the box and we're helping. We have victims writing to us and thanking us because, you know, they can't wait six months for an appointment. This one man lost six members of his family in three months, three to suicide. And he was in a dark place and was told he had to wait six months for an appointment. So, he said, "A lot can happen in six months. I could kill myself. I can OD. I can turn to alcohol. I can do a lot in six months."

And another thing I want to bring up is, you know, I have to agree with Samantha on the MMIW funding. You know, it's really heartbreaking when you see our Native families begging for funding. I mean, here in Fairbanks, a lady has been begging on social media for gas money to find her son in the river. We have loved ones that law enforcement wouldn't even spend two days looking for in a body of water near their village, but yet we see on the darn news that law enforcement spent a month looking for a white lady who was under the ice.

So, you know, I agree we need money to train our own people to be able to search for our own people because, you know, we want to find our loved ones and our family members. So, we're very grateful for the money, but we are a small Tribe and we're thinking outside of the box. We're not turning anyone away. We don't care, a victim is a victim. When somebody's hurting, we're going to help. So, thank you for this time and opportunity to testify.

LEBRETIA WHITE: Thank you so much, President Charles-Smith. We appreciate your testimony on this, on today. Our next speaker today will be Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Eastern Shawnee Haven grant program administrator and crime victim advocate with Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah. Welcome to our Tribal consultation, Ms. Andrews-Maltais. You can now unmute your line and begin your testimony when you are ready by repeating your name, Tribal affiliation, and title. And if you, again, are the Tribal leader's designee, we ask that you also state the name of the Tribal leader on whose behalf you are offering testimony.

CHERYL ANDREWS-MALTAIS: Good, afternoon, this is... Can you hear me? 
LEBRETIA WHITE: Yes.

CHERYL ANDREWS-MALTAIS: Okay, great. This is Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais. I'm the Chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah in Massachusetts. And I really appreciate the opportunity to speak at this forum today on consultation on the Tribal set-aside.

First, I'd like to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Majel-Dixon's comments, and thanks for the shout out on the island, as well as the president from Alaska and others that have spoken. I think one of the most important things that I want to communicate is that while we are very grateful for the funding that we received, what we have to do is really embrace the concept, principles, and fiduciary responsibility of the government-to-government relationship, respecting our sovereignty, and get away from grant writing altogether.

These set-asides funds really could or should be able to be utilized in a weighted formula fashion for those Tribes that are interested in providing these services. Because one of the problems is, is that these grant funding, which has been noted before, is not the way that a Tribal government or a sovereign nation should be dealing with the United States, particularly with their trust and treaty obligation and fiduciary responsibility to us.

But in addition, there might be the need to be able to accumulate funds in order to develop a program and have reliable, sustainable funding to keep those programs running as opposed to the stops and starts of many of the programs that we have. Initially, I mean, additionally, one of the other challenges that we face is that the reporting requirements that are required of all of these grants are overburdensome to most Tribes. And most particularly, the Tribes that need the money the most are the Tribes who do not have the resources, whether human or financial, to be able to get those reports in or be able to hire somebody to get the reports in. In addition, the level of detail that is required with these grants is unbelievable and it certainly is unnecessary.

And so we're urging the department to work with the Tribes as was previously stated, with really embracing the concept, intent, principles, and understanding of Executive Order 13175, that not only encourages, but also really expects that the federal agencies will be working with Tribes to honor our sovereignty and work with us to embrace the type of structure that we feel is best suited on how we administer the funds for their given purpose as Congress has intended; as well as the principles and the intent of Executive Order 14112, working with us to identify what is regulatory and policy and waive or change those regulations and policies to make it so that it's cognizant of who Tribes are and what Tribes are; as well as identify those statutory limitations so that we as Tribal leaders can approach Congress and work towards getting advocacy to change those laws as written in those statutes as written, so they actually incorporate Tribes in the forethought as opposed to including Tribes as an afterthought as we are in most of these programs and services that have come out that are outside of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

As not to take up too much time, I will conclude with that. And I'm happy to circle back if there's time at the end. Thank you.

LEBRETIA WHITE: Thank you so much for your testimony. We really appreciate that. Chairwoman Andrews-Maltais, thank you so much. But I want to thank all that have participated today, whether you listened or you shared testimony. We welcome written testimony whether or not you've given an oral testimony at the consultation.

The final screen will show where the written testimony may be sent. The deadline for submitting written testimony is November 25th. Again, the deadline for written submissions is November 25th. So, we're going to now move into our official closing for today's session. Again, thank you all who participated, and who joined us today. And as you go throughout the rest of your day, Ms. Chadwick and all others who've joined us, please go in a good way.