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The Mountain West News Bureau’s investigation of tribal jails has won a third journalism award, gaining recognition in the 2022 National Native Media contest.
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The Public Media Journalists Association selected the bureau's investigation of deaths at tribal jails as the best nationally edited news coverage for 2021.
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The goal of the Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee is to get input from tribal leaders on Department of the Interior issues impacting Indigenous communities before policy is made.
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Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau said the New Belen Wasteway, a Bureau of Reclamation project that routes agricultural runoff back to the Rio Grande, is an example of an investment in water infrastructure that has huge impacts on surrounding communities.
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The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced reforms to its criminal justice system Monday, including more training on how to perform death investigations. That follows a Mountain West News Bureau and NPR investigation into more than a dozen deaths in tribal jails. There are also ongoing questions about the firm hired to review the deaths for BIA. Some Congressmen have been critical of the BIA’s choice because the firm was led by a former agency official.
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Lawmakers are pushing for a "do-over" of an Interior Department contract to review tribal jail deaths awarded to a former official. Nearly half of the deaths he was to review occurred on his watch.
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Willy Pepion had a cracked skull, and guards at the federal jail on the Blackfeet Reservation dismissed his pleas for help. He died in his cell. Three hours went by until anyone noticed.
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"The corrections officers are basically holding these lives in their hands with their decisions."
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The National Congress of American Indians has urged the federal government to place medical personnel in its tribal jails, arguing that the current situation "exacerbates the already challenging problem of health disparities for American Indians."
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After months of repeated written questions and public records requests from NPR and the Mountain West News Bureau, Interior Department officials said they now plan to contract with an outside agency to examine the troubles plaguing tribal detention centers.