D
E

PA
RTMENT OF JUSTIC

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United States
Department of Justice

DHS/DOJ Fusion Process Technical Assistance Program and Services

Tribal Participation
in Fusion Centers

As the national, integrated network of fusion centers
continues to be implemented, it is important to understand
the role that tribal representation can bring to fusion
center efforts. Many state and major urban area fusion
center jurisdictions include tribal land. To fully maximize
fusion center effectiveness, centers should include tribal
representatives in their information and intelligence
collection, analysis, and sharing efforts. The guidance
identified in the Fusion Center Guidelines, National Strategy
for Information Sharing, and Baseline Capabilities for State and
Major Urban Area Fusion Centers can assist fusion centers in
successfully integrating tribal entities into the center.

National Strategy for
Information Sharing
The National Strategy for Information
Sharing (NSIS) (October 2007) mandates
the inclusion of tribal governments in the
Information Sharing Environment (ISE).
This implies a mandate for inclusion of
tribal representation in fusion centers. As
first “preventers and responders,” they are

seen as critical to efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks
and for responding to any attacks that might occur. To do
this, they must have access to and share information that
enables them to protect our communities. The NSIS goes
on to say that tribal governments are best able to identify
threats that exist within their jurisdictions and are full and
trusted partners with the federal government in efforts
to combat terrorism. Therefore, they must be a part of an
information sharing framework that supports an effective
and efficient two-way flow of information enabling officials
at all levels of government to counter and respond to threats.

The NSIS draws on Guideline 2 of the Presidential
memorandum creating the Program Manager for the
Information Sharing Environment. This guideline states

that tribes should be afforded appropriate opportunities
to participate as full partners in the ISE through a common
framework related to the sharing of terrorism information,
homeland security information, and law enforcement
information between and among federal departments and
agencies of local, state, and tribal governments as well as
private sector entities. Again, this implies a mandate for
inclusion of tribal representation in fusion centers.

The NSIS calls for enabling tribal governments to gather,
process, analyze, and share information and intelligence.
Amidst discussion of roles and responsibilities, it states
that tribal governments have specific responsibilities in
relation to the establishment and continued operation of
state and major urban area fusion centers. These roles and
responsibilities were developed in partnership with local,
state, and tribal officials and represent a collective view. The
NSIS encourages tribes to take steps to ensure that state and
major urban fusion centers achieve and sustain a baseline
level of capability.

Fusion Center Guidelines
Guideline 4 of the Fusion Center
Guidelines calls for the creation of a
collaborative environment for the
sharing of intelligence and information
among local, state, tribal, and federal
law enforcement. In a discussion of
Information Flow, the guideline states,
“With the establishment of fusion

centers around the country, it is important to have a clear
understanding of who should receive and disseminate
information and how it flows both vertically and horizontally
among all local, state, tribal, and federal government
agencies and private entities. Successful counterterrorism
efforts require that local, state, tribal, and federal law
enforcement agencies, along with public safety and private

Fusion Center
Guidelines

Developing and Sharing
Information and Intelligence

in a New Era

Guidelines for Establishing and
Operating Fusion Centers at the
Local, State, and Federal Levels

Law Enforcement Intelligence,
Public Safety, and the

Private Sector

United States
Department of Justice

A companion CD has been
developed in conjunction with the
Fusion Center Guidelines report. This
CD contains sample policies, checklists,
resource documents, and links to Web
sites that are referenced throughout the
report. For copies of the resource CD,
contact DOJ’s Global at (850) 385-0600.

The fusion center resources are also
available at DOJ’s Global Web
site, www.it.ojp.gov/fusioncenter,
DHS’s Web site, and the Homeland
Security Information Network (HSIN).

Issued
August 2006

For more information about the
Fusion Center Guidelines, contact
DOJ’s Global at (850) 385-0600.

For more information about DOJ’s
initiatives, go to

www.it.ojp.gov.

About GlobAl

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Global Justice
Information Sharing Initiative (Global) serves as a Federal
Advisory Committee to the U.S. Attorney General on critical
justice information sharing initiatives. Global promotes
standards-based electronic information exchange to provide
justice and public safety communities with timely, accurate,
complete, and accessible information in a secure and trusted
environment. Global is administered by the U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Lessons Learned
Information Sharing

www.LLIS.gov
ncirc.gov

Tribal Participation in Fusion Centers

sector entities, have an effective information sharing and
collaboration capability. This will ensure that they can
seamlessly collect, collate, blend, analyze, disseminate, and
use information and intelligence.” Without participation in
fusion centers, it will be difficult for tribes to be a full partner
in the flow of information envisioned in the Fusion Center
Guidelines.

Baseline Capabilities for
State and Major Urban
Area Fusion Centers
The Baseline Capabilities document
mandates that fusion centers identify
and incorporate local and tribal law
enforcement, homeland security, or
other discipline analytic centers that do

not meet the definition of a fusion center but are within the
fusion center’s geographic area of responsibility and develop
and maintain coordination procedures and communications
methodologies. In response to federally generated alerts,
warnings, and notification messages and/or significant
events, the fusion center shall support or facilitate the
identification of actions that were taken by local, state, and
tribal authorities and the private sector and report those
back to the appropriate federal agency.

The document calls for leveraging and/or coordinating with
the JTTF and other local, state, tribal, federal, and private
sector information sharing and counterterrorism efforts;
leveraging databases, systems, and networks available from
participating entities to maximize information sharing; and
planning for future connectivity to other local, state, tribal,
and federal systems under development. This can best be
accomplished with the participation of tribal representatives
in fusion centers.

DHS Tribal Homeland
Security Grant Program
(THSGP)
DHS is encouraging tribes to prioritize the
allocation of THSGP grant fund resources
so they can participate in and/or share

information with those DHS and FBI jointly designated State
and Major Urban Area fusion centers.

Additional Reasons for Including Tribal
Representation in Fusion Centers
There are more than 2,300 tribal law enforcement officers
nationwide in 171 tribal police agencies and 37 Bureau of
Indian Affairs agencies, for a total of 208 agencies associated
with the 564 federally recognized tribes in the United States.
If properly utilized by fusion centers, these resources can be
leveraged to aid in achieving counterterrorism, all-crimes,
and all-hazards objectives. Many tribes do not have the
resources required to dedicate individuals to full-time work
in fusion centers, but strategies that employ part-time
involvement or remote participation through Fusion Liaison
Officer training could strengthen the baseline capabilities of
fusion centers.

By participating in fusion centers, tribes can contribute
to the safety of officers and general public safety and
could aid in protecting the 260 miles of international
borders, resulting in countering illegal drug activity and
human trafficking that takes place across those borders.
Significant critical infrastructure and key resources are
present in Indian Country. Participation in fusion center
activities could improve the chances for protecting dams,
transportation routes, waterways, and power lines, as well
as other resources that are critical to the country. Including
tribal representation in fusion centers would enable a more
timely response to events through the use of mutual aid
and compacts with tribes that might have more resources to
better protect and serve.

Planning exercises by extremists are sometimes conducted
in very remote areas. Many of the tribes have very large land
masses where these types of exercises could take place. In
addition, there is growing concern that criminal offenders
are traveling to and from different reservations for criminal
activity, and many fear that this will grow. Information
sharing programs among tribal police and local, state, and
federal governments are needed to reduce this threat. Tribal
participation in fusion centers could help with this issue.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2008-DD-BX-K479 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in collaboration with

the U.S. Department of Justice’s Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics,

the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the SMART Office, and the

Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official

position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Issued 02/10

Bureau of Justice Assistance
U.S. Department of Justice

FISCAL YEAR 2010

TRIBAL HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM

GUIDANCE AND APPLICATION KIT

DECEMBER 2009

U . S . D E P A R T M E N T O F H O M E L A N D S E C U R I T Y