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NON-FEDERAL MOMENT

MEDIA CONTACTS
COLT J. Garret Renville: (605) 268-0589, chairman@swo-nsn.gov
COLT Executive Director OJ Semans: (605) 828-1422, tateota@hotmail.com
NIWRC Communications: (202) 420-0601, media@niwrc.org

BILLINGS, Mont. — On February 25, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Montana ruled in favor of L.B., concluding that she is entitled to recover for the damages she suffered when she was raped by a federal law enforcement officer who responded to her call for help. The ruling follows a decade-long fight for justice after L.B. was assaulted in her own home on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

The ruling comes after the Court held a one-day bench trial on February 4. As the District Court stated in its Order, “[t]his case shines a light on the realities of being a Native American woman living on a reservation policed by the BIA,” noting the systemic violence that American Indian and Alaska Native women endure at the hands of Bureau of Indian Affairs officers. The Court also acknowledged the staggering rates of sexual violence committed by BIA law enforcement.

Further, the Court found that “Officer Bullcoming’s sexual assault of L.B. was not an isolated incident of sexual assault despite BIA policies to the contrary.” Ultimately, the United States is liable because “the United States furnished Officer Bullcoming with both the power and the opportunity to sexually assault L.B.” The Court ordered the United States to pay L.B. $1,611,854 in damages for the pain and suffering she endured as a result of the assault committed by a federal law enforcement officer in her own home.

“We applaud L.B. for her incredible bravery and perseverance,” said Lucy Simpson, Executive Director of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. “No Native woman should have to fight this hard in court for justice. Her victory sends a clear message—the United States can no longer ignore the reality that its BIA officers are perpetrating sexual violence against Native women. This must end.”

“The District Court’s analysis is thorough and comprehensive. The Court clearly captures the challenges many of our large land base Tribal Nations face, with insufficient law enforcement to keep our Tribal citizens safe,” said J. Garrett Renville, Chairman of the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) and Chairman of Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. “When federal law enforcement responds to our calls for help by sexually assaulting our women, that just means our women and our families will stop calling law enforcement for help— and they have. The system is broken, and the only way the federal government can fix it is to start taking responsibility for the actions of their own officers.  The United States should have settled this case long ago.”

This past summer, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment in the federal government’s favor and dismiss L.B.’s lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). COLT and NIWRC filed a joint amicus brief in support of L.B. and her appeal before the Ninth Circuit. 

“We were appalled that the Department of Justice, under Attorney General Merrick Garland’s leadership, continued for years to fight L.B. in her pursuit of justice,” said Mary Kathryn Nagle, attorney for NIWRC. “Thankfully, L.B.’s journey for justice has finally paid off—but we must ensure no one else is forced to suffer as she has. We call on Congress and the current administration to do all that it can to ensure that criminal jurisdiction is fully restored to all Tribal Nations and, to the extent that BIA police continue to police Tribal lands, they do so with full accountability as well as with sufficient resources and staffing to ensure the safety of our communities.”

About NIWRC

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in Tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen Tribal sovereignty. To learn more, visit niwrc.org.