Quapaw Nation has advantage with criminal law following the McGirt decision - KTUL
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — One of Oklahoma's smallest tribal reservations is making a big impact.
The Quapaw Nation was the most recent reservation to be federally recognized in October of 2021.
The reservation spans the northeastern part of Ottawa County as well as parts of Kansas and Missouri.
The Quapaw Nation's sovereignty being recognized after the landmark McGirt decision is paying off.
Chairman of the Quapaw Nation, Joseph Tali Byrd, said the reservation is uniquely positioned because its reservation size is smaller and has more time.
"We had roughly a year to develop and really bolster our tribal court system, our tribal codes, and our personnel to help with what we knew would eventually take place," Byrd said.
With those in place, as well as a $4 million justice building that opened in 2019, the Quapaw Nation felt prepared for the increase of criminal cases.
Quapaw Nation held a cross deputization ceremony earlier this year to ensure calls and criminals won't fall through the cracks.
"We have seven different agencies, representatives from seven different agencies, coming in, swearing an oath to uphold Quapaw Nation Law," Byrd said, "And so that was extremely powerful."
For example, Byrd said that the Quapaw Nation works closely with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.
Since McGirt affirmed what is said in the U.S. Constitution, that treaties are the law of the land, and that Indian Reservations were never disestablished, many people have criticized and fought the decision.
One critique was that the tribes couldn't handle the workload of cases.
"We have seen an increase to our dockets," Byrd said.
Byrd said they've increased from monthly to weekly dockets to accommodate the influx.
Another concern has been the inability to hand down harsher punishments in tribal court, but Byrd said that can be solved by stacking sentences.
"Unfortunately, under the tenants of Indian Law, that's all we can do at this point," Byrd said, "The only way to continue to develop that is through an act of Congress."
Byrd said that Oklahoma and its tribal nations have had 30 years to perfect the gaming compacts and only two since McGirt.
He believes with time and teamwork from the state, the criminal justice system will strengthen.
This week tribal leaders selected Byrd to serve as a liaison between the tribal nations in eastern Oklahoma and the U.S. Department of Justice.
He will serve on the Tribal Nations Leadership Council, representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Eastern Oklahoma District, which includes nearly 20 tribes.
"It provides a much-needed voice," Byrd said.
Byrd said topics ranging from MMIW to McGirt are expected to come up, and he wants to be mindful that the tribes he represents all have different needs.
"As Indian Tribal Nations we're hopeful that we're going to see a better tomorrow," Byrd said.
source: https://ktul.com/news/local/quapaw-nation-has-advantage-with-criminal-law-following-the-mcgirt-decision
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.