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Past Projects

 

Since 1996, the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) has participated in the creation of innovative programs and resources.  Below is just a small sampling of TLPI's work. If you are interested in working with TLPI to replicate or extend similar work, please visit our Current Projects, Fee for Service, and Request Technical Assistance pages for more information. 

Tribal Coalitions Sexual Assault/Sex Trafficking Technical Assistance Project

HUD Tribal Legal
Code Program

TLPI completed a Tribal Coalitions Sexual Assault/Sex Trafficking Technical Assistance Project with the overall goal of increasing the knowledge and capacity of tribal coalitions to address sexual assault and sex trafficking in tribal communities.

 

The project – funded by the Office on Violence Against Women – included the TribalCoalitions.org website which was created to provide tribal coalitions with quick access to information and resources their advocates need to address sex trafficking and related issues – including a comprehensive Victim Services Directory.

TLPI has developed a comprehensive Tribal Legal Code Resource to assist Indian Nations in the development of the legal infrastructure needed for housing and community development. The Tribal Legal Code Program includes a revised Tribal Housing Code.

Task Force on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence

National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes

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TLPI provided technical assistance to the Attorney General's Task Force on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence:

 

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TLPI operated the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes under Children’s Bureau grants from 2009-2014. TLPI provided T/TA for tribal Title IV-B grantees and prospective grantees designed to improve child welfare systems and to support states and tribes in achieving sustainable, systemic change that results in greater safety, permanency and well-being for children, youth and families. The following are a few NRC4Tribes accomplishments:
 

 

Indian Nations Conference

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Starting in 2002, TLPI has coordinated and hosted a series of seven National Indian Nations Conferences which bring together victim advocates, victims, tribal leaders, service providers, and federal/state agency representatives to share knowledge, experiences and ideas for developing programs that serve the unique needs of Indian country crime victims. Information and resources from prior conferences can be accessed at ovcinc.org.  

NAICJA Administrator

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​​TLPI served as Administrator for the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) from May 1998 – December 2000. TLPI provided the lead role in all NAICJA activities including;

 

  • Development of the Initial NAICJA Website

  • Design and delivery of NAICJA’s annual conferences

  • Design and delivery of the NAICJA Violence Against Women (VAWA) grants.

  • Design, development, and establishment of the National Tribal Justice Resource Center under Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grants.


Following the establishment of the National Tribal Justice Resource Center, TLPI also designed and developed the Initial National Tribal Justice Resource Center Website, including the initial searchable database of tribal court opinions and tribal codes.

Co-Occurence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence 

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Under a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), TLPI conducted a research project that served as an initial inquiry into the issue of the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment in Indian country. Using a mixed method approach, this investigation sought to identify those practices that seem to be moving toward Native-specific promising practices, and to develop recommendations for further action in Indian country. This project culminated in 2011 with a final draft report, OVW approval is still pending, entitled Responses to the Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence in Indian Country: Repairing the Harm and Protecting Children and Mothers.

Office on Violence
Against Women 
Technical Assistance 

TLPI provided a series of tribal domestic violence technical assistance programs for Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grant recipients. Components included:

 

  • Tribal code development and implementation

  • Violence Against Indian Women course for tribal colleges

  • Coordination and communication among OVW tribal technical assistance providers

 

Activities included regional trainings, onsite technical assistance, development of resource materials and workbooks, and online reference materials. This project focused on the safety of Indian women and children, while helping strengthen the ability of tribal justice systems to hold offenders accountable for violent behavior.

Project Peacemaker: 
Tribal Legal Studies

Tribal Youth Program 

TLPI worked with the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, Turtle Mountain Community College, and other tribal colleges to:

 

  • Develop, pilot, and implement Tribal Legal Studies curricula for tribal colleges

  • Formalized the design, development, and printing of Tribal Legal Studies textbooks

  • Formalize the design, development and printing of instructor guides for each of the nine Tribal Legal Studies courses

TLPI provided the OJJDP Tribal Youth Program (TYP) training and technical assistance from 2010-2015 under subawards from the Education Development Center, including: 
 

  • TYP webinars

  • Onsite and conference presentations

  • Developed, pilot tested, and provided juvenile code development/enhancement T/TA utilizing TLPI’s Tribal Juvenile Justice Code Resource including tribal juvenile code virtual communities of practice (VCPO) and T/TA presentations

Tribal Court CASA

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From 1996-2009, TLPI has been working with the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association to provide training and technical assistance for the development and enhancement of tribal court CASA programs which provide volunteer court appointed special advocates (CASAs) for abused or neglected Indian children.

 Children's Justice Act Training and Technical Assistance 

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From 2000-2009, TLPI provided training and technical assistance to tribes receiving Office for Victims of Crime Children’s Justice Act funding directed at improving system and community response that will result in reducing trauma to tribal children who are victims of child abuse, especially child sexual abuse victims.

SANE/SART Training and Technical Assistance

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​From 2011-2014, TLPI served as the training and technical assistance provider for the SANE-SART (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner/Sexual Assault Response Team) initiative of the Office for Victims of Crime. The primary goal of the project was to work closely with three tribal demonstration sites to support and enhance their capacity to provide effective and sustainable, high quality, victim-centered multidisciplinary services and support for adult and child victims of sexual assault through the development of a SANE-SART demonstration project.

 

Tribal Court Assistance Program: Outreach to California Tribes and South/East Tribes

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TLPI received limited subawards through the Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Institute from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to provide Tribal Court Assistance Program (TCAP) training and technical assistance for two specific geographic groups of tribes and tribal courts including both (1) training and technical assistance for TCAP grantees and (2) capacity building for non-TCAP grantees.
 

 

Violence Against Indian Women Resource Development 

Tribal Sexual Assault Resource Development 

TLPI developed a series of Violence Against Indian Women resources under a series of Office of Violence Against Women grants, including:

 

 

TLPI developed a series of Tribal Sexual Assault resources under a series of Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grants including,

 

 

See also our Violence Against Indian Women resources brochure.

HUD Tribal Legal
Code Program

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We have developed a comprehensive Tribal Legal Code Resource to assist Indian Nations in the development of the legal infrastructure needed for housing and community development. The Tribal Legal Code Program includes a revised Tribal Housing Code.

Hopi Appellate Program

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The Hopi Appellate Program worked in conjunction with UCLA Native Nations Law & Policy Center and the Hopi Appellate Court to provide a clinical program which trains and supervises law students to serve as law clerks for the Appellate Court of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona.

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