Cherokee Nation Marshals Sgt. Mike Reese, left, and Deputy Bronson McNiel saved a patron at a restaurant in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in December 2014. Photo from Cherokee Nation

The Department of Justice has selected 10 tribes to participate in the first phase of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information.

The "User Feedback Phase" will allow the tribal law enforcement to access national criminal databases. They will be able to obtain and submit information as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.

“This innovative program will allow an unprecedented sharing of critical information between tribal, state and federal governments, information that could help solve a crime or even save someone’s life Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates said in a press release.

The 10 tribes selected are the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of Michigan, the Oneida Nation of New York, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, the Suquamish Tribe of Washington, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho, the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation of Oregon and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of Arizona.

Get the Story:
American Indian police departments to get access to federal criminal databases (The Washington Post 11/5)
U.S. to Share Criminal Records With Native American Police (The New York Times 11/6)

Federal Register Notice:
National Instant Criminal Background Check System Regulation (November 20, 2014)

Related Stories:
Director of FBI discusses Indian Country initiatives in testimony (10/22)
DOJ moves to implement key part of Tribal Law and Order Act (08/20)
DOJ seeks to open criminal databases to tribal governments (07/17)
Tribes seek access to criminal system in child placement cases (04/20)
County still lacks record of order in Tulalip Tribes domestic case (04/08)
Tribal courts seek greater access to state and federal systems (04/06)