Crime & Courts

Rounds requests Interior Department, AG address crime on tribal lands

SDPB | By C.J. Keene

Published March 25, 2025 at 7:36 AM CDT

Many rural roads were impassable following a pair of winter storms hit South Dakota in December 2022. This photo shows a freshly cleared path on the Pine Ridge Reservation on Dec. 23.

South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds has requested the issue of violent crime be addressed on the nation’s reservations.

Via a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, the Senator has requested the creation of the Violent Crime Reduction Commission specifically for tribal trust lands.

This came after several tribes addressed concern about violent crime conditions on tribal land. Rounds describes the situation on Great Plains reservation communities as a quote “public safety crisis.”

Historically, reservations have seen higher-than-average rates of violent crime than the larger US while contending with understaffing of law enforcement services.

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Rounds requests Interior Department, AG address crime on tribal lands

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