KANSAS CITY, KAN. - Barry Grissom, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, will take part in the 2013 Indian Country Conference June 11 and 12 in Sloan, Iowa.
The conference will focus on domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian Country.
“Nearly half of all American Indian women have been physically assaulted, raped or stalked by a partner - and more than one in four have been raped," Grissom said. “We have much work to do to assure that women and girls in tribal communities are kept safe."
The conference in Iowa will bring Grissom together with the U.S. Attorneys for Nebraska and the Northern District of Iowa, as well as victim service providers and law enforcement officers from across the Midwest.
Grissom is a member of the Justice Department’s Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS). The NAIS is made up of U.S. Attorneys whose districts contain Indian Country or one or more federally recognized tribes. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian Country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General of the United States regarding public safety and legal issues that impact tribal communities.
Last week, the Justice Department issued a national report showing a 54 percent increase in Indian Country criminal prosecutions since Fiscal Year 2009.
“Across the country, U.S. Attorneys have been focused on fighting crime in Indian Country and reinforcing the bond between federal and tribal law enforcement, which also strengthens the faith that people have in their criminal justice system," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
In Kansas, Grissom’s office works with four federally recognized Indian tribes: the Kickapoo, the Prairie Band Potawatomi, the Iowa and the Sac and Fox.
A tribal liaison from Grissom’s office meets regularly with tribal police and leaders of the four tribes in Kansas, as well as local law enforcement officers and state prosecutors who are responsible for investigating and prosecuting state crimes on the reservations in Kansas.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
