Interior Department announces reforms to Native American detention program

The Bureau of Indian Affairs on Monday announced a series of reforms to its correctional program after a four-year period that saw 16 inmate deaths.

Reforms announced to the Bureau’s Office of Justice Services (OJS) include geographically positioning the bureau’s Internal Affairs investigators in locations that allow quicker responses, as well as monthly briefings to the OJS director on investigations of in-custody deaths. It would further update any existing law enforcement and detention handbooks to reflect new policies.

“We will not shy away from acknowledging the past and taking ownership of the path to improve conditions in our facilities,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a statement. “The reforms we are announcing today represent a new chapter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as we move toward organizational culture change.”  

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, has announced several initiatives aimed at improving tribal relations and addressing historical wrongs. Last September, she announced an investigation in conjunction with tribal leaders into the legacy of federal boarding schools, where generations of indigenous children were forced to cut their hair and renounce their language and culture.

However, the initiatives also come amid controversy over the announcement last week that Darren Cruzan, the former assistant director of Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, will be hired as a private contractor to review in-custody deaths. Cruzan would be charged with investigating a number of deaths that occurred during his own tenure at the Interior Department, according to an NPR investigation.

“Regardless of the assurances of a clean selection process for Mr. Cruzan, the appearance of conflict and favoritism cannot be ignored,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Az.) said in a statement Thursday. “The investigation into deaths that occurred in BIA detention centers demands a fully independent investigation. Tribal citizens’ lives must be protected and we need answers as to why they weren’t in this case.”