Chickaloon tribal police urge Alaska recognition, cite VAWA changes and federal training

Chickaloon Native Village leaders told the Alaska House Tribal Affairs Committee on April 20 that their tribal police department has built personnel, training and information-system capacity but remains without state commission from the Alaska Police Standards Council, a gap officials said is hindering enforcement and regional partnerships.

The tribe’s police chief, Donna Anthony, told the committee she returned to Chickaloon to help rebuild a department that now has a police chief, lieutenant, sergeant/detective, patrol sergeant, victim specialist, program manager and police administrator and that the tribe is actively recruiting and sending officers to police academies. "I am here today because of this grant, the Office of Violence Against Women’s grant through the Department of Justice," Anthony said, describing federal grant funding, new equipment and staff training that underpin the department’s operations.

Tribal public-safety advocates told legislators the department has obtained an FBI-originating agency identifier (an ORI), has access to the Department of Justice Tribal Access Program (allowing near‑instant FBI background checks and fingerprinting), and uses Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APPCN) systems to share protective‑order and incident data. They also described memoranda of agreement with state and local agencies, plans to add STARLINK backup communications to patrol vehicles and an effort to expand tribal courts, detention and rehabilitation programs.

Why it matters: chief Anthony and tribal partners said lack of state recognition limits their operational authority, complicates arrests on state highways, slows evidence and prosecution handoffs and requires them to wait for state or federal partners for some criminal investigations. Anthony described a 2020 Alaska Police Standards Council letter that the tribe says removed state authority for some tribal police functions; she asked legislators to consider statutory recognition so tribes meeting Alaska Police Standards Council criteria could receive state commission.

Committee exchange and next steps Committee members asked how recognition by the Alaska Police Standards Council would change the department’s authority and whether the council has reversed its 2020 letter. Anthony said the council has not reversed that guidance and that she was advised recognition would require legislative action: "If the legislators will recognize tribal police, it will be added, and then we will have state commission," she said. Representatives asked for the council letter; Anthony agreed to provide the committee a copy.

Tribal leaders described coordination with the Department of Law and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, an ongoing BIA inspection scheduled in June to consider a BIA special law enforcement commission, and MOAs that permit tribal courts in Chickaloon to adjudicate misdemeanor-level matters for tribal citizens and to provide court services to nearby villages. Anthony said training choices are driven by grant funding: recruits sent to the Fairbanks academy cost about $12,000 per trainee; sending recruits to the U.S. Indian Police Academy (FLETC) is often significantly cheaper for the tribe because tuition is covered and the tribe pays travel costs.

A range of public-safety needs Tribal officials and committee members repeatedly raised drugs and violent crime as immediate concerns. Anthony described efforts to coordinate with the Postal Service, DEA and the Alaska State Troopers on drug trafficking and said the department’s inability to operate with state commission forces tribal officers to rely on state or federal agents to finalize prosecutions in many cases: "Without state recognition, it's very difficult," she said.

What was not decided The committee did not hold a vote or issue formal direction on statutory changes. Committee members and tribal leaders agreed to continued engagement: Anthony invited legislators to visit Chickaloon, provide the committee with the 2020 Alaska Police Standards Council letter, and continue discussions with Department of Law, BIA and Alaska Police Standards Council staff about pathways to recognition.

Ending Tribal leaders asked the committee to consider treating tribal police like other specialized municipal or campus forces (for example, Alaska Railroad or university police) if the tribes meet Alaska Police Standards Council standards. They said they seek training, oversight and accountability consistent with state standards to build public trust and expand local public-safety capacity.