The top federal official for Native American affairs says new laws have helped improve a legal system that left tribal communities especially vulnerable to violent crimes.
But challenges remain.
Kevin Washburn, head of the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs, spoke Wednesday at a meeting of some 75 federal prosecutors and tribal law enforcement officials held in Santa Ana Pueblo, north of Albuquerque.
Washburn says the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act and 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act gave tribes new authority to address crimes within their jurisdictions. He also says the Obama administration's effort to close tribal justice gaps is unmatched.
Still, Washburn says, detention centers on reservations are understaffed, and jury trials for Native Americans take place in federal courts sometimes hundreds of miles from the community where the crime occurred.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.