Central Montana Times

U.S. Senator Steve Daines has sent a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) expressing concern about reports that Montana’s BIA detention facilities are turning away detainees and requesting information about the facilities’ contract status and operating bed space. The letter also highlights the BIA’s current practice of sending tribal members from Montana to out-of-state detention facilities.

"Recently, leadership from the Fort Belknap Indian Community indicated that the BIA has only been accepting individuals into custody who commit 'serious offenses.' This poses a significant public safety risk as those who are arrested for offenses not deemed as 'serious' are released back into the community or kept in protective custody until they no longer pose a threat to the public or law enforcement officers," Daines stated.

He added, "I am also concerned with the BIA’s current practice of contracting with out-of-state detention facilities to house tribal members from Montana. I have received reports of detainees from Montana being transported to a facility in Oklahoma, a distance of over one thousand miles, due to facility constraints across multiple reservations in Montana."

Read the full letter here.