US Atty Kurt Alme Highlights Native American Issues [AUDIO]

Violent crime, substance abuse, missing and murdered indigenous women. Those are just some of the topics that dominated a recent meeting involving US Attorneys from across the country as part of the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Native American Issues (NAIS).

Montana's US Attorney Kurt Alme is the vice chair of that subcommittee and joined us live on the radio to chat about what came out of the meeting. Specifically, Alme discussed additional national resources coming to Montana to help. Click below to listen.

According to US Attorney Kurt Alme's office:

The most common crimes investigated in Indian country include child sexual abuse, violent assaults, and adult sexual assaults, followed by homicide, other forms of child abuse, drug, and property crimes.  According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. Native women and girls suffer a high rate of violence, including murder.

“United States Attorneys nationwide are committed to improving public safety in Indian country and rural Alaska. The work of Attorney General Barr’s Native American Issues Subcommittee is focused on reducing violent crime, improving law enforcement resources, and combating the distribution of methamphetamine and opioids,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores, of the Northern District of Oklahoma and chair of the NAIS. “The disproportionate rates of violence affecting Native American and Alaska Native women is particularly troubling to me. With Attorney General Barr’s leadership, we will continue working with tribal leaders to find solutions to the epidemic of violence against indigenous women.”