More than two dozen U.S. Attorneys are in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week to discuss crime issues in Indian Country.

The Native American Issues Subcommittee at the Department of Justice. consists of 27 U.S. Attorneys from districts with significant Indian populations. The group advises U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey about Indian Country issues.

The NAIS is chaired by Gretchen . Shappert, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina,. The district includes the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.

Shappert and Diane J. Humetewa, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, will be talking to the media this morning as the Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds a hearing about prosecution issues in Washington, D.C. Both have defended DOJ's record in appearances before the committee.

Humetewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe, is the first Native women to serve as U.S. Attorney.

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