Cherokee Nation Purpose Area #3 - Tribal Justice Systems

Cherokee Nation (CN) is a federally recognized tribe which is located throughout 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma. With this funding, Cherokee Nation Office of the Marshal (CNOM) will hire an Adult Justice Services Probation Intake Officer and a Juvenile Justice Prevention Specialist and training. CN has been flooded with hundreds of cases involving child abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, dating violence, stalking, identity theft, nonviolent crimes, justice involved juveniles, cold cases, and missing or murdered persons which leads to public safety concerns. Without collaborative efforts, the status quo of the system will remain; reoccurrence of these types of crimes will continue to negatively impact citizens lives. CNOM seeks to provide professional adult and juvenile law enforcement services, effective partnerships, quality technical assistance, and evidenced based solutions. This project will address supervision needs, improve recidivism rates, decrease crime, reduce illegal drug abuse, and increase collaborative response to crimes throughout the reservation.
CNOM criminal jurisdiction spans tribal workplaces, clinics, hospitals, businesses, housing additions, restricted individual allotments, tribal cemeteries, casinos, and trust lands. There are eight CN health clinics, two Indian Health Service hospitals, and ten casinos. The large jurisdiction creates unique challenges in ensuring the supervision of justice involved adult and juvenile individuals in Cherokee communities. Properties that are not on trust lands are still part of the criminal jurisdictional responsibility as of March 11, 2021, Hogner Decision, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decision that the CN reservation boundaries had never been disestablished. CNOM does not have adequate staffing to meet the gaps created by an expanded criminal jurisdiction the Hogner ruling created. This project will provide CNOM Adult Justice Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice with personnel and training best suited to reducing recidivism, detention, and incarceration within the CN reservation.