KDLY/KOVE

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) – The U.S. Interior Department’s

assistant secretary for Indian Affairs says the federal government

and tribal law enforcement officers cannot simply arrest their way

out of the problems that plague Indian country.

     Former prosecutor and law professor Larry Echo Hawk says the

solution to keeping children safe and tackling the escalating crime

rate in Indian communities is the creation of healthy families. He

gave the keynote speech Tuesday at the start of a three-day

national symposium focused on the protection of children in Indian

Country.

     He says giving the next generation the tools to avoid avenues of

crime will help end the cycle.

     Organizers say the symposium is the first of its kind. Some 300

federal and tribal officials are attending the event.