Initial Report and Recommendations - Alaska Department of Law

During the public testimony and the public comment period, one message wasoften repeated: Congress should restore the federal funding opportunities for tribeslocated within the boundaries of all municipalities listed in Public Law 108-199, section112(a)(2)(b). The Commission makes this recommendation because as a matter of stateand federal law, tribes possess undisputed civil jurisdiction for limited matters. A tribe'slocation should not be a barrier for accessing tribal court funding.“There is no equal access to justice in Alaska. Urban communities are able to usepolitical strength to ensure that their communities have police protection, fire protection, andwell-funded court systems. Rural communities are without police protection and rely almostentirely on a state trooper that visits the community when a serious crime is committed orthrough a regularly scheduled visit. Volunteer fire fighters do relatively well withsubstandard equipment, in most cases. Many of the people charged with breaking the law ina remote rural community have to be tried in urban courts outside their communities.”Edward K. Thomas, President,Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of AlaskaThe Commission noted the existence of two types of disparities in rural Alaskans’ability to seek culturally appropriate access to the justice systems. Some victims areuncomfortable participating in the state justice system because of cultural reasons,geographical reasons, or both. 130 Other victims are similarly uncomfortable accessingtribal justice systems because of relationships with the opposing party or with the tribalcourt administration or adjudicators; in a small community, the opposing party may be acousin or the presiding Elder may be a grandfather to the plaintiff. To begin to remedythese problems, the Commission recommends that training and technical assistance beprovided to judges and support staff in both the Alaska Court System and tribal courtsthat will better inform and instruct participants in both systems to be aware of andappreciate the cultural differences and implications of their actions in rural Alaska, thepopulation of which, as noted previously, is predominately Native. 131 In addition, theCommission recommends that the state collaborate more with tribal courts, 132 provideAlaska Native language translators throughout the Alaska Court System, and increasetraining on cultural competency 133 and effective diversion programs. 134 The tribes shouldalso establish guidelines for responding to conflicts between those who are adjudicated developed video capability so that a probation officer can supplement on-goingsupervision of offenders in rural communities. A teleconferencing procedure may work for certaincourt cases as well.128 Recommendation 49.129 The Alaska Court System’s Family Law Self Help Center is a currently available online resource. Thewebsite is www.state.ak.us/courts/selfhelp.htm.130 See, Supreme Court Committee on Fairness and Access Report, “many citizens believe that the justicesystem is unfair to ethnic and cultural groups.” At p. 49.131 Ideally, this would best be accomplished through a collaborative effort of the State, tribal, and Nativenon-profit regional organizations, with a coordinated training and technical assistance program.132 See Alaska Natives Commission Final Report, Vol. II, p. 61 (State and federal governments shouldcreate and utilize all possible opportunities for tribes to demonstrate their respective capacities toregulate tribal members).133 See, Supreme Court Committee on Fairness and Access Report, “[j]udges and court personnel do nothave regular cross cultural training about ethnic and cultural subgroups living in their areas.” Report atp. 58.134 Recommendation 50.Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission - Page 60