OVK Tribal Court Project

The Organized Village of Kake, the federally recognized tribe for the Tlingit people of Kake, Alaska, will create a tribal court as part of the tribe’s more comprehensive efforts to address the need to heal from historic and intergenerational trauma. This will create a tribal court to help address issues of violence, property destruction, and substance-related crime in the Village of Kake. Because there is currently no state or tribal court in Kake, there is also a huge gap in tribal codes that will be necessary for a functioning court. The codes that exist for Kake’s Circle Peacemaking and Domestic Violence programs need to be enhanced to address issues related to mental health, substance abuse, property crimes, and crimes against persons. Similarly, court and due process policies and procedures, and a court clerk manual, need to be developed. Staffing for a tribal court will involve adding a court clerk position to the existing court administrator position that is being funded through a BIA grant. Establishing a tribal court in Kake will also require creating a secure court space in a tribally owned building, which includes cameras and metal detector equipment. The service area and beneficiary population for this tribal court project are the 550 residents of the rural and remote Tlingit community of Kake, Alaska, located in the panhandle of Southeast Alaska.