Journey Through Indian Country, part 4

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TeamworkMakes a Difficult Job Easier
“If you work with people long enough youestablish a dynamic that works for you.”— Louis St. Germaine, Navajo Nation
Louis St. Germaine, a long-time criminalinvestigator for the Navajo Nation, has worked closely with FBI agents over theyears and recalls the surprise many of them express when first coming to IndianCountry.
“Sometimes agents expect to see streetnumbers and paved roads,” said St. Germaine, who was born and raised on thereservation. “Out here, you make one wrong turn at an isolated place and go afew hundred feet and you can get very lost very quickly.”
“And when the sun goes down,” saidMalcolm Leslie, another Navajo criminal investigator, “in some places on thereservation you can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
From the most basic task of finding acrime scene to more complicated matters regarding language and culturalbarriers, FBI agents in Indian Country depend on their local, federal, andtribal law enforcement partners. And our partners rely equally on us—forexpertise, training, and other resources.
“I don’t think one can do without theother,” said St. Germaine. “Navajo Nation investigators—we’ve been here a longtime. We are familiar with the area, the crimes, and the people. The FBI iswell skilled in doing investigations. So we combine our talents, and it workswell.”
St. Germaine was one of the originalmembers of the first Safe Trails Task Force, which the FBI created in 1994 onthe Navajo Reservation and has since expanded to 15 locations around thecountry. The idea is to unite the Bureau with other federal, local, and triballaw enforcement agencies to combat Indian Country crime.
Through the task force and otherinitiatives, the FBI provides invaluable training and equipment to tribal lawenforcement. “It has helped us do our job,” St. Germaine said. “We arechallenged financially on the Navajo Nation. The FBI supplies us with vehiclesand other equipment. Without that contribution,” he added, “I think we would bein real serious trouble.”
“And without our tribal partners,” saidSpecial Agent Lenny Johns, who supervises our Santa Fe Resident Agency, “itwould be virtually impossible for the Bureau to accomplish its mission inIndian Country. Many times it’s just one FBI agent on the reservation dealingwith a complex crime scene. The tribal criminal investigators and evidencetechnicians are critical to the process of conducting interviews and collectingevidence. Without them, we’d get very little traction.”
“The FBI brings resources that we’re indire need of,” added veteran criminal investigator Leslie. “But they also bringknowledge.” Leslie has received a variety of FBI training, both in theclassroom and on the job at crime scenes.
Donovan Becenti, a Navajo Nation crimescene technician, has processed many crime scenes with the FBI’s EvidenceResponse Team (ERT) and has benefited from FBI training as well.
“The partnership is great,” Becentisaid. “ERT out of Albuquerque is where I’ve gotten most of my training. Withoutthem, I wouldn’t be where I am today as far as my skill level. And they alsoprovide equipment—evidence collection supplies and whatever else I need to helpget the job done.”
Becenti was recently presented with anFBI Director’s Certificate for his many years of helping ERT process crimescenes on the Navajo reservation. “When you work alongside someone for 12straight hours on a homicide scene in freezing fog and sub-zero temperatures,”he said, “it builds mutual trust and respect.”
TeamworkThrough CoordinationThe Indian Country Unit at FBIHeadquarters in Washington is charged with coordinating the Bureau’sinvestigative efforts and responsibilities on native lands across the country.
“Our mission is to develop and implementstrategies to address the most serious crimes in Indian Country and to supportour joint efforts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal lawenforcement,” said Special Agent Michelle Gruzs, chief of the unit. “We alsomanage the Safe Trails Task Force program, which supports a variety of trainingopportunities throughout Indian Country.
The unit has the additionalresponsibility of implementing portions of the federal Tribal Law and OrderAct. The 2010 law, designed to give tribal law enforcement greater control tofight crime in their local areas, also requires federal agencies working inIndian Country to report statistical information to Congress on an annualbasis.
“We’re making progress on thereservations because we have strong partnerships at the local, tribal, andfederal level,” said Gruzs, a former Indian Country investigator. “It’s allabout working together.”
Next:A zero tolerance approach.