The mississippi band of choctaw indians (the tribe) is a federally-recognized indian tribe located in neshoba county, mississippi

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians received a $829,999 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women under the Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorneys (SAUSA) program (CFDA #16.055). Through this 60-month award, effective October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028, the tribe will partner with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi to: 1) establish a formal memorandum of understanding; 2) select or retain a cross-designated SAUSA and tribal prosecutor to maintain active caseloads in both the tribal and federal justice systems; and 3) participate in required training and technical assistance. Funds will support the SAUSA's salary, fringe benefits, training, travel, and other resources needed to enhance the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, sex trafficking, and stalking cases in Indian country, with the goals of improving jurisdictional coverage, coordination between law enforcement agencies, and relationships between federal prosecutors and the tribal community.

For this project, the tribe is partnering with the united states attorneys office for the southern district of mississippi (usao). The tribe and usao have demonstrated a strong mutual interest in filling gaps in jurisdictional coverage; increasing communication and coordination between the tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies; establishing consistent relationships between federal prosecutors and the tribal community; and improving the quality of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking cases through training and best practices. Through this project, the partners will: 1) enter into a formal memorandum of understanding detailing the terms of their partnership; 2) mutually select or retain an agreed upon attorney to be cross-designated as both a sausa and a tribal prosecutor who will maintain an active tribal and federal caseload; and 3) participate in required training and technical assistance. Funds through this award will support salary and fringe benefits for the sausa position, training, travel, and other resources needed to support the work of the sausa.timing for performance of this award is 60 months.