Six more Washington tribes are gaining access to national crime information databases, the US Justice Department announced Monday.
The move greatly expands their ability to investigate crimes and coordinate with law enforcement across the country during investigations involving sex offenders, firearms, and protection orders.
The tribes include the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the Jamestown S'Kallam Tribe, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
They are joining the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information, which allows them to access and exchange a wide range of crime data.
“Getting those numbers has been very difficult, not only for our tribal nations, but for anyone,” said Earth-Feather Sovereign, founder of the group Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington.
The organization has been trying to raise awareness of what they say is a crisis on reservations, where women have gone missing at an alarming rate. A lack of reliable crime data often complicates the investigations, Sovereign said.
“We are making progress and our community is beginning to heal,” she said.
Washington tribes already in the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information include the Suquamish Indian Tribe, the Tulalip Tribes, the Makah Indian Tribe, the Lummi Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Chehalis, the Lower Elwha Tribal Community, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Quinault Indian Nation, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
