Tribal courts could soon have easier access to electronic evidence such as emails and social media messages in criminal cases—a move that would be beneficial, among other things, in Internet crimes against children investigations. U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Mike Rounds of South Dakota introduced the bipartisan Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act as a way to give Tribal courts equitable access and better equip them to deliver justice for victims. “We know that criminals are using online tools to traffic drugs and commit other crimes in Indian Country,” Cortez Masto said. “What we also know is that Tribal courts struggle to get electronic evidence because tech companies won’t honor those Tribal warrants.” Rounds added that it’s important that Tribal law enforcement is able to do its job “without the federal government getting in the way.”
Indigenous female motorcyclists continue to rev up their engines—as well as their messaging—to raise awareness about the high rate of missing and murdered girls and women in Native American communities. This past July, the Medicine Wheel Ride motorcycle group from Phoenix partnered with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in Santa Barbara County, California, for a “We Ride for Her” event. Organized through the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic, the event featured a screening of the “We Ride for Her” documentary highlighting the motorcycle group’s work, which includes fundraising, assisting advocates searching for missing Native American girls and women, and raising awareness through annual rallies and rides. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians remains the only federally recognized Chumash Tribe in the nation.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted a proposal for an emergency alert that could help save the lives of missing and endangered Indigenous people. The new alert code would make it easier for public safety officials to use TV, radio, and cell phones to notify the public about missing Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The proposal was led by Native Public Media, a national organization supporting Indigenous radio and television broadcasters. The Indigenous groups comprise a significant portion of the missing and murdered cases in the United States, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In May, the FCC sought public comment on the proposal, and a final vote to create the new alert code within the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is pending.