DEVILS LAKE – Sen. John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led federal, state and tribal officials on Friday in marking the opening of the U.S. Indian Law Enforcement Advanced Training Center and Proclamation signing ceremony at Camp Grafton.

Classes will include advanced courses on complex subject matter, such as missing persons investigations, drug interdictions, forensics and the Bridge Program. The Bridge Program allows local or state trained officers to become federally certified, providing additional law enforcement to Indian country. The opening of the new training center will help address law enforcement needs in Indian country, especially in the Great Plains area where staffing vacancies account for 62% of all BIA law enforcement vacancies.

“This new law enforcement center started as an idea at a Committee field hearing on public safety in tribal communities that we held in Bismarck last year. Now, after our efforts to secure the funding needed to operate these courses, this center is a reality. Tribal law enforcement officials will have access to important training here in the Great Plains, closer to the communities where they live and serve,” said Hoeven. “This center will provide tribal law enforcement in the Great Plains area with the necessary training and skills to serve and meet the challenges in their communities, including investigating illicit drug crime and missing or murdered Indians. I appreciate the Trump Administration’s continued commitment to Indian Country, especially Secretary Bernhardt and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Sweeney. Further, we welcome the partnership between the Department of the Interior and the State of North Dakota, working with Governor Burgum and Adjutant General Dohrmann, to find the right location. By bringing all levels of government together, tribal communities across the region will benefit from this center.”

“This is a historic day for North Dakota and the safety of our people, our communities and our state. Providing this specialized training closer to home will create more opportunities for North Dakota tribal members and others to enter and complete law enforcement training and increase the supply of much-needed BIA and tribal police officers in our state and region,” Burgum said. “Camp Grafton’s well-deserved reputation as one of the region’s premier training centers, thanks to our exceptional North Dakota National Guard, makes it an ideal location for this high-level training academy. We’re deeply grateful to Sen. Hoeven, Maj. Gen. Dohrmann, Scott Davis, the Department of Interior and BIA, and our tribal nations for their passion and commitment to making this academy a reality. We especially thank the chairs of the five tribal nations with whom we share geography for their ongoing collaboration and partnership built on understanding, mutual respect and a shared desire for safe communities.”

In addition to Hoeven and Burgum, the following officials were in attendance:

· North Dakota National Guard Major General Alan Dohrmann

· North Dakota U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley

· Chairman Douglas Yankton, Sr., Spirit Lake Tribe

· Chairman Mike Faith, Jr., Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

· Chairman Mark Fox, Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation

· John Tahsuda, counselor to Secretary Bernhardt, U.S. Department of the Interior

· Mark Cruz, deputy assistant secretary for Policy & Economic Development, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

· Charlie Addington, director of Law Enforcement, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior