During an April 10 hearing by the House Committee on Natural Resources, tribal leaders sounded the alarm over the presence of cartels, which are engaging in drug trafficking and other criminal activities. Representatives of several tribes asked congress and federal agencies to provide additional resources and security to eliminate cartels from tribal lands. “It seems like [the feds] are more concerned about the immigrants coming across the border than concerned about what they’re doing here once they get here ... and to me more importantly, the first people of this country they’re coming into,” said Jeffrey Stiffarm, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), summarized the testimony, stating the Sinaloa cartel has targeted several Indian reservations to expand their drug-trafficking enterprise. On tribal land, cartels are able to expand their profit margins, selling fentanyl pills for as much as $100, compared to just $3 to $5 in urban areas. Other factors that make reservations desirable include the remote geography, scarce police presence, and jurisdictional complications between tribal police and local authorities, she explained. Just a week before the hearing, two residents of the Rocky Boy’s reservation were killed in what is believed to be a cartel hit. Vaughan also testified before the House committee, stating, “Expanded cartel operations in the United States is good for their local criminal partners, too, who help distribute and sell the illicit products. This is how they have infiltrated Indian Country crime networks.” Tribes are reporting a surge in sex trafficking, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and theft amid the influx of cartel members. Tribal leaders say that cartel operatives easily blend in with native communities, while some have even “married in” to become embedded within the community to recruit street-level dealers and control people through addiction and substance abuse. Cartel-related crime occurs on a daily basis, Stiffarm said, adding that cartels know that the Fort Belknap reservation police typically have no jurisdiction over non-tribe members. Vaughan attributes the rise in cartel operations in the U.S. to border security policies of the Biden administration, which she says has emboldened cartels “to import their tactics of intimidation of political leaders to create a safe environment in which to operate.” She added, “This is a disturbing development, and represents a genuine threat to American civil society.” Earlier in the year, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem warned lawmakers that Mexican drug cartels had gained a foothold on the state’s reservations and were carrying out murders there. Noem said, “We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels being there,” infuriating some tribes, who accused the governor of stoking fear and denigrating their heritage. Following her controversial comments linking tribal members to drug cartels, several tribes banned Noem from their reservation lands, with the latest action from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe announced the day tribal leaders testified before congress.Native American tribal leaders in Arizona and Montana are asking congressional lawmakers to secure America’s southern border, citing a recent rise in activity by Mexican drug cartels, which have created new safety threats.
