TITLE: Requesting that the National Congress of American Indians Support the Re-Opening of the Turning Point Program in Yuma, AZ
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the Pueblo of Santa Clara requires effective rehabilitation, education and treatment programs and incarceration facilities for convicted offenders; and
WHEREAS, the Pueblo of Santa Clara Tribal Court, like most tribal courts, does not have sufficient funding for a diagnostic/placement program for convicted offenders or sufficient funding to place convicted offenders in facilities appropriate to their needs; and
WHEREAS, incarceration without a purpose produces a feeling of dangerous separation between the returning convicted offenders and the community; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) has offered a solution for the need of a long-term rehabilitation program in a secure facility; and
WHEREAS, BIA-Office of Justice Services Deputy Director Darren Cruzan and the Emerald Re-Entry Services have design a seven-month-long rehabilitative program in a secure facility for convicted offenders and named it the Turning Point Program; and
WHEREAS, during the May 2014 Violence Against Women Act seminar at the Pascua-Yaqui facilities in Arizona, BIA Deputy Director Cruzan announced to the assembled tribes that BIA was “out of the incarceration business and into the rehabilitation business;” and
WHEREAS, Deputy Direct Cruzan invited the tribes to take advantage of the opportunity to place appropriate offenders in the Turning Point Program located in Yuma, Arizona; and
WHEREAS, Santa Clara Pueblo designated a former corrections professional and current tribal judge to visit the facility, the representative visited the Turning Point Program located in Yuma, Arizona, and found that the program was exemplary for convicted offenders who needed focused, sustained rehabilitation, education and treatment in a secure setting; and
WHEREAS, the Turning Point Program fulfilled Santa Clara Pueblo’s need for certain convicted offenders and the tribal court has sentenced those appropriate offenders to the program; and
WHEREAS, an average of four convicted offenders each day have participated in the Turning Point Program since May 2014; and
WHEREAS, Santa Clara Pueblo considered the Turning Point Program a great success for the convicted offenders of the community; and
WHEREAS, in July 2015, the BIA Southwest Regional Office notified Santa Clara Pueblo, and other New Mexico tribes, that the District IV correctional budget had been overspent and there would be no more placements allowed in the Turning Point Program; and
WHEREAS, Santa Clara Pueblo delivered a letter on July 31, 2015, to the Department of the Interior Assistance Secretary Honorable Kevin K. Washburn and BIA Director Michael S. Black requesting that guidelines be established for future placement in the Turning Point Program; and
WHEREAS, a copy of the July 31, 2015 letter was hand-delivered to BIA Southwest Regional Office William Tandy Walker during the Santa Clara Pueblo Self-Governance August 24, 2015 meeting and BIA Southwest Regional Corrections Program Specialist James Begay informed Santa Clara Pueblo that there were no plans to re-open the Turning Point Program for District IV tribes.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) supports the re-opening of the Turning Point Program for the Pueblo of Santa Clara, and any tribe, who wishes to take advantage of the opportunity to place convicted offenders in a secure facility while they are rehabilitated, educated and treated; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.