Federal Resources

The Office of Human Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs promotes the safety, financial security and social health of Indian communities and individual Indian people.

“Expert Working Group Report: Native American Traditional Justice Practices” (PDF, 35 pages) summarizes discussions and recommendations from a meeting about federal efforts to support the use of traditional Native American justice interventions to respond to criminal and delinquent behavior. The meeting was held in April 2013 and included 14 experts from multidisciplinary communities.

This website provides a one-stop shop for American Indians and Alaska Natives to access resources available from the federal government. Users can complete a prescreening questionnaire to determine their eligibility criteria for resources and programs and learn how to apply. Resource categories include youth, education, food, employment, loans, and environment. 

This resource highlights the story of Reth Duir, an Arctic Youth Ambassador and son of South Sudan refugees, who describes how he overcame his fearful attitude about the outdoors and his passion to connect people from across different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds to nature. 

This resource (PDF, 3 pages) serves as a framework to help tribes interested in creating or enhancing their own codes that focus on juvenile justice. This model code encourages the use of alternatives to detention and confinement while focusing on community-based, multi-disciplinary responses to juvenile delinquency, truancy, and child-in-need services.