An on-going agreement between the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and the Ho-Chunk Nation has proved to be beneficial over the years when it comes to law enforcement.

The county-tribal agreement was recently awarded a $31,298 state grant to help the sheriff’s department patrol and respond to law enforcement situations on Ho-Chunk lands in the county. The Ho-Chunk Nation — which does not have its own law enforcement agency — and the county have applied for and received the grant since about 1996.

Jackson County Sheriff Duane Waldera said the agreement between the county and the tribe has been a good relationship. He said the agreement allows the sheriff’s department to assist the Ho-Chunk Nation while keeping the county safe.

“For many years, it’s been a very good arrangement and collaborative effort,” Waldera said. “It’s been very resourceful.”

In 1953, the federal government granted criminal jurisdiction over Ho-Chunk Nation members who commit crimes on tribal land in Wisconsin. While the Nation does possess police powers, it does not have a police department and therefore relies on sheriffs’ departments.

There are about 1,110 Ho-Chunks living in Jackson County, according to the Ho-Chunk Nation Division of Enrollment, and the 1,400 acres of tribal land include Sand Pillow Village and Indian Mission communities; there also are Ho-Chunk homesteads in other parts of the county.

Waldera said the sheriff’s department normally has a deputy specifically patrolling the Ho-Chunk lands, but the department responds to calls to the Nation as it would to any other part of the county. Waldera noted the sheriff’s department has been seeing an increase in calls across the county — 24,144 calls last year compared to 21,137 in 2006 — and said the grant money helps to ensure the 18-person patrol division can cover the Nation lands. This year’s grant, up about $500 more than requested, helps pay the wages of a full-time deputy.

The agreement between the county and tribe has also lent itself to culture and diversity training. Cecelia Kraus, a member of the Ho-Chunk Law Enforcement Committee for Jackson County, said the sheriff’s department has been willing to better understand the Ho-Chunk culture in order to offer the best protection.

“I think that it’s gotten better,” Kraus said. “We offer training on family structure … and they get to know more about the Nation, the lands and our ordinances and our housing.”

Waldera said the sheriff’s department management also attends regular Ho-Chunk meetings.

“We try to interact with the Ho-Chunk and understand their way of life and vice versa,” Waldera said.

The relationship between the Ho-Chunk and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. Kraus said it is unlikely the Nation would look to implement a Ho-Chunk law enforcement agency in the near future.

Waldera said some day he would like to see the sheriff’s department have a particular deputy assigned to Ho-Chunk lands but noted more funding would have to be there as well.

“At this point, the funding is not there, so we try to do the best we can,” Waldera said.

In awarding the 2009 County-Tribal Law Enforcement Grants on Dec. 15, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen stressed the importance of mutual agreements counties and tribes have together.

“This cooperative grant program has helped tribes and county law enforcement officials to identify areas that need more law enforcement focus on tribal lands,” Van Hollen said. “By funding cooperative program plans, these grants allow funding of targeted law enforcement services.”

For 2009, $708,400 in grants was dispersed to 19 programs, which is the largest number of cooperative plans funded in the 21-year history of the program. In addition to Jackson County, county-tribal grants that benefit Ho-Chunk Nations were also given in Juneau, Monroe, Sauk, Shawano and Wood counties.

Some grants are awarded to programs that have a tribal police department although most typically help pay for services that sheriffs’ departments provide. The money can be used to cover the costs of patrol, investigation, K-9 units, crime prevention and information technology. Criteria used in awarding the grants are Native American population and crime and unemployment rates.