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Law
BIA accused of mismanaging detention facilities


The poor condition of jails on the Navajo Nation is due to Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanagement, a tribal leader said.

Navajo Nation council delegate Hope MacDonald-Lonetree said the BIA has not provided enough funding for the tribe to operate the jails. She said the end result is that prisoners are not treated humanely.

Inmates filed a class action suit, in tribal court, against the tribe and obtained a consent decree that requires the facilities to maintained under certain conditions. The decree requires the tribe to avoid overcrowding, a difficult task for the largest tribe in the nation. According to statistics, the tribe has 104 jail beds for a reservation population of more than 100,000.

Get the Story:
BIA blamed for breaches of 'humane' jail decree (The Gallup Independent 10/4)

Inspector General Final Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Inspector General Interim Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Department of Justice Jail Reports:
Year 2002 | Year 2001 | Year 2000 | Years 1998-1999

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