Quapaw Courts Probation Officer Project

Project Purpose: 

The purpose of the project is to increase the capacity of the Quapaw Tribal Courts by allowing the Tribe to hire and equip a new Probation Officer to help address related community needs. The new position will be commissioned by the Quapaw Marshals Department and be funded through the grant for a five-year period. The grant funded project will increase the Tribe’s capacity to handle probation cases and help address the numerous problems encountered within the community. It is also in line with the goals and objectives of the related Department of Justice programs that proactively address the most serious Tribal Law enforcement and other justice system needs.

Population to be Served: 

The Quapaw Nation has a 98.43 square mile (63,000 acre) primary jurisdictional area (with a total population of 31,175) service the cities of Quapaw, Miami, Peoria, Commerce, Cardin, and Picher in Ottawa County, Oklahoma.  This area also headquarters seven other federally recognized Indian tribes: Miami, Peoria, Ottawa, Eastern Shawnee, Modoc, Wyandotte, and Seneca-Cayuga.  The Tribe also has multi-jurisdictional agreements with 10 regional municipalities spanning three states. Within the Tribes primary jurisdictional area, there are 26 schools, eight Tribes, six casinos, and five companies that employ over 1,000 individuals.

Activities to Achieve Goals and Objectives: 
The Quapaw Nation will use the grant to pay for personnel costs and equipment; implement community justice strategies focusing on crime prevention, community involvement, and partnership creation; and hold quarterly Tribal Justice Advisory Board meetings to ensure successful coordination to achieve the goal of increasing the capacity of the Tribal justice system departments to improve services that better meet the community’s needs. The demand for Quapaw Court services has drastically increased from the impact of the Lawhorn Decision in October of 2021.