Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $1,250,000)
The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance (TCCLA) grants program, authorized by 25 USC 3651, et seq., enhances tribal court systems and improves access to those systems. In general, the TCCLA program provides for direct legal services for indigent defendants and respondents in tribal justice systems. More specifically, the TCCLA program provides civil legal assistance services for Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, and tribal justice systems, pursuant to the federal poverty guidelines; criminal legal assistance services for Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, and tribal justice systems, pursuant to the federal poverty guidelines; and deliver national or regional scope advocacy training and technical assistance to tribal justice systems.
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) will use this award to help enhance civil tribal court systems and improve access to those systems. NARF will subcontract funds in this grant to the members of the National Association of Indian Legal Services (NAILS) organization. NAILS is an organization of programs that serve the civil and criminal legal needs of client-eligible individual Indians, and smaller Indian tribes who cannot otherwise afford legal representation. Indian Legal Services (ILS) programs serve a vital role in the administration of and access to justice for Indian people in Indian Country. These programs both provide legal representation to individual Indian people and to tribal governments, and assist with the development of tribal courts through the provision of their legal expertise and resources.
With this funding, the NAILS consortium will provide representation for an additional 1810 cases on behalf of individual tribal members, and 59 additional cases or projects on behalf of tribes and/or tribal courts, for a total of 1869 new cases. This project will enable each program to provide timely and effective legal advice or representation to tribes or their members in a manner that enables each program to tailor its goals and activities to best fit the most pressing local priorities within that program's services area(s).
CA/NCF