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Quapaw Nation strengthens justice system, as criminal jurisdiction expands

Osage Nation
The Quapaw Nation's Ki-ho-ta Center outside of Miami, Okla. in Ottawa County, employs three judges and a court clerk.

On Thursday, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma met with Quapaw tribal leaders to recognize the tribal nation's recently reaffirmed reservation status and discuss their relationship moving forward.

In anticipation of its expanded criminal jurisdiction, Quapaw Nation officials say they invested $4 million to open a facility called the Ki-ho-ta Center just outside of Miami in Ottawa County. It employs three judges and a court clerk.

Quapaw Nation has intergovernmental agreements with Cherokee County in Kansas and Ottawa County in Oklahoma. They will also be hiring more marshals. Chairman Joseph Byrd says that they will be working closely with the Ottawa County DA, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and local law enforcement to prioritize public safety within their reservation.

Byrd also expects more cross-deputization agreements between the Quapaw Nation and local police to begin soon. They will also be operating the 911 dispatch for all of Ottawa County.

"Our overall focus when it comes to law enforcement is to ensure the safety of all citizens within the boundaries of our reservation with these successful and necessary partnerships," said Byrd at the press conference.

Byrd says Quapaw Nation had an advantage not being part of the initial wave of criminal jurisdiction shifts like the five tribes after the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling.

"We have observed actively and discussed these critical issues with our sister tribes, and they have shared their experiences in addressing these challenges," said Byrd.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of Jeremy Lawhorn, a Cherokee citizen who challenged his conviction, saying the state lacked jurisdiction to try him.

Lawhorn's alleged crimes were committed within the Quapaw Nation's reservation boundaries. According to the Major Crimes Act of 1885, only the federal government or the tribal government can prosecute felony crimes when committed by an Indian on reservation land.

In the opinion written by the OCCA, it stated that the Quapaw Nation reservation was established under the 1833 treaty, that only Congress has the power to disestablish a reservation and that, “the District Attorney informed the district court that he and the Attorney General’s Office conducted ‘extensive research’ and found no evidence that Congress disestablished the Quapaw Nation Reservation (State v. Lawhorn).”

Clint Johnson, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, told community members, Quapaw Nation Business Committee members and Quapaw citizens that his office is committed to working alongside the Quapaw Nation.

"Sovereignty has responsibilities," said Johnson, referring to Quapaw's new criminal justice system. "And the Quapaw Nation is committed to meeting those responsibilities."

Johnson said his office will work with the tribal nation on a seamless transition of cases as Quapaw Nation's criminal jurisdiction expands.

Allison Herrera covered Indigenous Affairs for KOSU from April 2020 to November 2023.
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