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Congress is directing a federal watchdog to examine the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ tribal jails program, which has come under fire for numerous deaths.
The directive is part of the nearly $1.7 trillion federal spending bill approved by Congress this week. It tasks the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General to follow up on previous investigations into the beleaguered tribal jails program, which officials have described as a « national disgrace. » The Interior Department oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
« The treatment someone receives while behind bars shouldn’t depend on where they go, and no one should have their life at stake or health concerns ignored just because of their criminal status, » Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a statement.
Merkley, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, tucked the directive into the spending bill after an NPR and Mountain West News Bureau investigation found last year that at least 19 inmates had died at the tribal detention centers since 2016. Several of them died after correctional officers failed to provide proper and timely medical care.
The investigation found myriad other problems, including severe understaffing, poor staff training and crumbling facilities.
