Cherokee nation (CN) is a federally recognized tribe which is located throughout 14 counties in northeastern oklahoma

This $900,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.596 Tribal Justice Assistance) will enable the Cherokee Nation (CN) Office of the Marshal to hire an Adult Justice Services Probation Intake Officer and a Juvenile Justice Prevention Specialist. This funding aims to address the significant increase in 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 within the CN's 14-county reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. The grant will provide the CN Office of the Marshal with the personnel and training needed to enhance supervision, improve recidivism rates, decrease crime, reduce illegal drug abuse, and increase collaborative response to crimes throughout the reservation. The award period is from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2029.

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.