Evaluation of the Tribal Strategies Against Violence (TSAV) Initiative in Four Tribal Sites in the United States, 1995-1999 : Archival Version

• Main Authors: Nichols, V. Richard, Holappa, Ted, Litchfield, Anne
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research 2005
• Subjects: Indian; assiniboine
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3886/icpsr04080; http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/studies/4080

This study evaluated the Tribal Strategies Against Violence (TSAV) Initiative. The TSAV was a federal-tribal partnership, lasting from 1995 to 1999, designed to develop comprehensive strategies in tribal communities to reduce crime, violence, and substance abuse. This study involved four of the seven TSAV sites: the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. A survey of TSAV stakeholders at the four sites was conducted in the summer and fall of 1999. The objectives of the survey were to gauge TSAV stakeholders' perceptions about the following: (1) the serious crime, violence, and quality of life issues in each community and the extent to which the local TSAV initiative had addressed those issues, (2) the intent and ultimate outcomes of the TSAV program, (3) obstacles to successful implementation of TSAV activities, and (4) decision-making processes used in planning and implementing TSAV locally. Offense data were also gathered at the Fort Peck site for 1995 to 1998 and at the Grand Traverse Band site for 1997 to 1999. : This study evaluated the Tribal Strategies Against Violence (TSAV) Initiative. Designed by the United States Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the TSAV was a federal-tribal partnership designed to develop comprehensive strategies in tribal communities to reduce crime, violence, and substance abuse. The TSAV initiative had three official objectives: (1) improve communities' ability to comprehensively address issues of crime, violence, and drugs, (2) promote community-based program development involving the active participation of youth, community residents, educators, spiritual leaders, businesses, social services, criminal justice representatives, and elected officials, and (3) develop an effective culturally sensitive program model that can be replicated by other Native American Communities. Each of the seven sites that received TSAV funding developed a specific set of goals to further these overall objectives. Each site had a core team that consisted of approximately five people who held formal planning and oversight responsibility for the local TSAV initiative. This study involved four of the seven TSAV sites: the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. TSAV funding was awarded to the Fort Peck tribes in 1995 and to the other three sites in 1996. For all four sites TSAV funding lasted through August 1999. This evaluation had the following goals: (1) document how TSAV approaches had evolved at each of the four TSAV sites, (2) document how each site had implemented its comprehensive strategies, (3) analyze and report how differences in local cultures, physical environments, or government structures at the sites may have affected implementation at the sites and may or may not have implications for the potential success of TSAV in other American Indian communities, and (4) provide useful evaluation findings for tribal and United States Department of Justice (DOJ) decision-makers and other criminal justice stakeholders. : Part 1 contains data from a survey of TSAV stakeholders at all four study sites that was conducted in the summer and fall of 1999. The survey used a questionnaire consisting of 207 items addressing 16 topic areas. The objectives of the survey were to gauge TSAV stakeholders' perceptions about the success of TSAV initiatives and the remaining crime, violence, and quality of life issues in each community. The questionnaire was adapted from one used by the Comprehensive Communities Program, another Bureau of Justice Assistance initiative. Part 2 contains data on crimes committed at the Fort Peck site. These data were collected for the fiscal year 1995 through the fiscal year 1998 from the tribal court, which had facilities in the towns of Wolf Point and Poplar, and from the Wolf Point Police, a city police force that operated within the Fort Peck Reservation's boundaries. Offense data for 1999 were not obtained because they were not available at the time the site was visited in October 1999. Wolf Point Police Department data overlap with the tribal court data because from 51 percent (in 1995) to 67 percent (in 1996) of the Wolf Point cases were referred to the tribal court. Part 3 contains data on crimes committed at the Grand Traverse Band site for the fiscal years 1997, 1998, and 1999. These data were collected from the Grand Traverse Band's police department. Crime data were not available for the Turtle Mountain or Chickasaw Nation sites. The data were provided to ICPSR as Microsoft Excel files. ICPSR has converted the data to PDF format and distributes the data and documentation as one PDF file. : Variables in Part 1 include the major crime and violence problems in regard to both juveniles and adults, quality of life issues, the extent to which the local TSAV initiative had addressed crime, violence, and quality of life issues, the effectiveness of the TSAV program in certain key areas, obstacles to successful implementation of the TSAV program, the extent to which there was conflict between different TSAV partners, how conflict was typically resolved, and what respondents thought should be done differently in the TSAV program. Part 2 contains detailed information on offenses committed by both adults and juveniles at the Fort Peck site for the fiscal years 1995 to 1998. These data are divided into offenses reported by the tribal court and those reported by the Wolf Point Police. Part 3 contains detailed offense information for the Grand Traverse Band site for the fiscal years 1997 to 1999. Data are provided in the following categories: alcohol or drug-related offenses, automobile-related offenses, weapons offenses, crimes against persons, domestic offenses, juvenile offenses, major offenses, other offenses, and property offenses. : Presence of Common Scales: Part 1: Several Likert-type scales were used. Parts 2 and 3: None. : Response Rates: Part 1: Of the 93 potential respondents identified at all four sites, 67 (72 percent) returned surveys. At the Chickasaw Nation site 18 of the 23 (78 percent) surveys were returned. At the Turtle Mountain site 11 of 24 (46 percent) surveys were returned. At the Grand Traverse site 20 of 24 (83 percent) surveys were returned. At the Fort Peck site 18 of 22 (82 percent) surveys were returned. In addition, the degree to which individual survey items were completed varied from site to site. Questions nine through twelve, in particular, were problematic. The number of responses to those questions was far less than for most other questions, probably due to the time required to answer them. The majority of respondents did not answer those four questions, and responses to those questions are not included in this dataset. Parts 2 and 3: Not applicable. : Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Survey Data DS2: Crime Data for the Fort Peck Tribes DS3: Crime Data for Grand Traverse Band : Part 1: Individuals involved with implementing the TSAV programs at the four sites involved in this study. Part 2: Adult and juvenile offenses committed by tribe members at the Fort Peck site. Part 3: Adult and juvenile offenses committed by tribe members at the Grand Traverse Band site. Smallest Geographic Unit: None : A list of 35 potential respondents was developed for each site and the Core Team members were asked to identify those respondents who would be most familiar with the local TSAV initiative. Between 22 and 24 stakeholders, including TSAV staff, were identified as survey respondents for each site.