BROWNING — Preparing for the worst was the goal of a training event held on Tuesday in Browning that focused on active shooters and human trafficking, among other emergency preparations.
The Blackfeet Tribal Gaming Commission hosted a training at the Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning for the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) — along with the Blue Campaign, which is focused on active shooter and human trafficking training.
It’s all in an effort to start the conversation on reservations.
“We are grateful that the Blackfeet Nation and the Blackfeet Tribal Gaming Commission invited our agency to collaborate with them and other federal partners to provide two days of wonderful training on emergency preparedness,” said NIGC Vice Chair Jeannie Hovland, who is a member of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe.
The NIGC is a federal agency under the Department of Interior that is tasked with the responsibility of regulating all Class 2 gaming on tribal lands — such as the Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning.
Around 200 participants came out to participate, ranging from law enforcement departments to tribal members from around the state. The goal of the training is to create a collaboration between Tribes about safety in order to create awareness.
“But what we are saying is to be prepared if that were to ever happen, that the tribes had the most recent resources and trainings that we know that are available across all federal agencies,” Hovland said.
Not only were there conversations about active shooters but also an introduction to a new human trafficking awareness kit called the blue campaign.
According to an article by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are around 4,200 missing and murdered cases that have gone unsolved.
Michael Camal, a senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security explained that having access to tools like the blue campaign can help communities like on reservations.
“The first step towards addressing any issue is to understand what it is. And that's what this new tool kit will do. And the more we talk about this issue, the more it gets brought into the spotlight and the better chance that we have at protecting current victims and also preventing it from ever occurring in the first.”
