Each December, the White House Tribal Nations Summit brings together leaders from the 574 federally recognized tribes along with the federal government to engage in government-to-government or nation-to-nation discussions about some of the most pressing issues facing tribal communities.
Among the speakers this year was Flandreau native, Alison J. Ramsdell, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota and Chair of the Attorney General’s Native American Issues Subcommittee.
The Subcommittee is comprised of about 24 U.S. Attorneys from across the country who have Indian country within their areas of responsibility. Ramsdell has been on the subcommittee since becoming U.S. Attorney in April 2022, she was appointed chair in August of this year.
The December 6th panel discussion that Ramsdell was part of involved the Department of Justice’s engagement with tribes throughout the nation, as well as the Department’s response to recently published recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission (NIAC).
Ramsdell discussed that it has long been a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of Indigenous persons reported missing.
The Department, she said, does so through the work of U.S. Attorney’s Offices (USAOs), which assign Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) to prosecute federal crimes occurring in Indian country.

Working with federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement, AUSAs prosecute a range of violent crime, including murder, assault, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, as well as drug trafficking.
USAOs further serve Indian country by convening monthly Multidisciplinary Team meetings to address cases involving child abuse with various community stakeholders, including law enforcement, social services providers, and medical personnel.
At the invitation of tribal leadership, local law enforcement, and school administrators, USAOs also conduct extensive outreach with tribal partners, from addressing tribal councils and assisting in training efforts to making presentations at school assemblies.
“A major focus for the Department of Justice as it relates to Indian country is addressing the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaskan Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of Indigenous persons reported missing,” said Ramsdell.
“In 2020, Secretary Haaland (Dept of Interior) and Attorney General Merrick Garland (Dept of Justice) established the Not Invisible Act Commission. The Commission’s purpose was to develop recommendations through the work of six subcommittees focused on improving intergovernmental coordination and establishing best practices for state, Tribal and federal law enforcement to bolster resources for survivors and victim’s families, and combating the epidemic of missing persons, murder and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, as specified under the law. That Commission issued its recommendations in November 2023, and both departments are now working to respond to those recommendations. Formal responses should be issued by the end of January 2024.”
Ramsdell also discussed the newly created MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places Assistant U.S. Attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the nation. The goal will be to assist in resolving cases where federal jurisdiction exists and bridge gaps in communication that sometimes develop between federal, tribal, state, and local partners when an Indigenous person is reported missing.
“I hope this annual summit demonstrates the federal government’s sincere interest in the challenges our tribal communities face, and the federal government’s commitment to helping communities overcome those challenges,” Ramsdell told the Moody County Enterprise.
“And I hope it reminds people here in South Dakota, whether in tribal or non-tribal communities, that the federal government doesn’t just exist in Washington, D.C. The federal government is comprised of career employees who live throughout our state and in nearly every one of our communities. This includes the U.S. Department of Justice, which is comprised of hundreds of employees across the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals, and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Through our unrivaled partnerships with tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, we work every day to keep South Dakota communities safe by relentlessly investigating and aggressively prosecuting federal crimes.”
Tribal leaders throughout the conference also had the opportunity this month to talk directly with senior Administration officials on implementation of key priorities, new policies, and other critical issues facing Tribal Nations.
Other new initiatives discussed included; the National Park Service collaborating with Tribes on a new theme study focusing on the Indian Reorganization Period, which provides historic context for specific topics in American history or prehistory as well as a valuation guide and a list of properties for study as future national historic landmarks; new steps to strengthen nation-to-nation relationships; a second annual report on Tribal co-stewardship of lands and waters; the White House Council on Native American Affairs launching an online clearinghouse of all federal funding opportunities available to Tribal Nations and Native businesses; a final rule to revise regulations that implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) which help return native american human remains, sacred objects or other items to Native American to lineal descendents and tribes; and the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations published a final report. The program has been a decades-long program to consolidate and return land to tribal ownership. Over the course of the program, nearly 3 million acres in 15 states have been restored to tribal trust ownership.
More information can be found on the conference and the initiatives at doi.gov.