The tale of unsolved serial rapes on the Fort Apache Reservation shows justice in chains.

Something has to change. Those who live on the reservations cannot be quiet about delayed and botched investigations like this one. They must speak out. They must make the rest of the country aware of what's happening in areas that are called sovereign Native American nations yet remain dependent on the federal government for justice when major crimes occur.

The federal government stonewalled The Arizona Republic's efforts to get information about crimes on the reservation. It took more than two years to get 3,300-plus pages that Republic reporter Dennis Wagner used to chronicle colossal failure and chilling disregard for young victims.

Federal agents did not launch a serious investigation until 20 months after the first of at least 17 sexual assaults on teenage girls. The community was not warned that a rapist dressed as a police officer was loose.

After the Bureau of Indian Affairs finally got involved, several suspects were arrested. The public was told the case was solved. But the suspects were exonerated and are now suing because they were swept up in investigations so flawed it is hard to believe they took place in 21st-century America.

The BIA closed its case even though the perpetrator was never found.

Federal law requires that major offenses on reservations be investigated by the FBI or BIA. But the FBI has few agents assigned to reservation crimes, and BIA law enforcement has been called a "black hole."

Tribes can investigate crimes, but tribal police tend to be poorly trained and lacking in modern investigative tools. Tribal courts cannot impose significant sentences. If federal prosecutors are absent, unenthusiastic or inept, the criminal wins. Criminals know this.

Crime data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show that Native Americans are victims of violence at more than double the national rate. Rapes or attempted rapes happen 2 �1/2 times as often to Native American women.

These statistics are the most recent, but they are a decade old. They reflect a system that has not focused the timely pursuit of justice on the reservation, even though the feds assert authority there.

Last year, President Barack Obama called the situation "shocking and contemptible." He opened a dialogue with tribal leaders and got U.S. attorneys more engaged with tribal leaders.

Dennis Burke, U.S. attorney for Arizona, recognizes that our state, which has 22 Native American tribes, has to be a key player. He has assigned more federal prosecutors to reservations and made other changes.

Washington's desire to improve its response is welcome, but as former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said, the idea that the federal government has to handle serious crimes on reservations is problematic in itself.

Experts say these jurisdictional issues, as well as a lack of resources, mismanagement, complacency and incompetence are all to blame.

Lack of awareness is also a contributing factor. Most people who don't live on reservations have no idea what goes on there.

That's why those who do live on reservations need to speak up and demand reform of a system that does not serve justice.