SPOKANE, Wash. – The United States Department of Justice will be holding a government-to-government tribal consultation session Oct. 4 – 5, at the Northern Quest Resort in Spokane, Wash.

The first day of the consultation will focus on violence against Native women. DOJ will solicit recommendations from tribal leaders on enhancing the safety of Native women and strengthening the federal response to crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

The second day will be devoted to consultation on DOJ grant funding for tribal governments. DOJ officials would like to hear feedback from tribal leaders about their experiences with the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, the new coordinated tribal grants application process utilized by the Department for Fiscal Year 2010, and solicit recommendations for how the process could be improved for Fiscal Year 2011.

DOJ will be hosting a series of scoping calls with interested tribal leaders to develop the agenda for the upcoming consultation session.

Tribal leaders will receive a formal invitation to the consultation in the upcoming weeks that will include additional information about the specific agenda items for the consultation. Information about the consultation will also be available at www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov.

Questions or concerns can be directed to: OVW Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs, Lorraine Edmo,lorraine.edmo@usdoj.gov, (202) 307-6026.