Muscogee (Creek) Nation Welcomes Subcommittee of U.S. Attorneys Addressing Civil, Criminal Cases in Indian Country

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug.14, 2018

CONTACT Kyla McKown
Public Relations Specialist
P.O. Box 580
Okmulgee, OK 74447
(918) 758-6599
ZZpXbja@zhfpbtrrangvba.pbz

TULSA, Okla. – Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s River Spirit Casino Resort kicked off the annual meeting of the Department of Justice’s Native American Issues Subcommittee with welcoming remarks from MCN Principal Chief James Floyd on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018.

Floyd and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and NAIS Chairman, Honorable Trent Shores, welcomed several U.S. Attorneys who serve districts with Native American tribes and in Indian Country.

The conference allows the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee to strategize civil and criminal issues in Indian Country and provide the U.S. Attorney General with policy recommendations.

With the MCN consisting of more than 85,000 members and covering 11 counties in East-Central Oklahoma, Floyd thanked the subcommittee for its efforts to reduce violent crime and improve the welfare of Native American communities.

“I’m here this morning interested in issues that will be talked about during this meeting that are issues we deal with almost on a daily basis,” Floyd said. “We are not immune to violent crime.”

With more than 50 officers of the MCN Lighthorse Police Department and 34 active cross-jurisdictional agreements with cities, counties and the State of Oklahoma, Floyd expressed the significance of partnerships to minimize crime in Indian Country.

“The beauty of these agreements is to work cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies through East-Central Oklahoma in solving and working these crimes,” Floyd said. “We are continuing to increase partnerships with 10 more agreements. I think once that happens we will see an even better cooperative relationship with law enforcement agencies within the MCN jurisdiction.”

The conference, which continues through Wednesday, Aug. 15, will continue Day Two of the meetings hosted by Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Okla.

The conference discussions highlight the U.S. DOJ Programs and Policies to Reduce Violent Crime and Substance Abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Monday’s topics included marijuana in Indian Country, special law enforcement commissions and law enforcement resources, as well as drug take back efforts, financial fraud enforcement and communication in Indian Country.

With interest in the welfare of 573 federally–recognized tribes across the U.S., 39 of those residing in Oklahoma and 14 in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Shores said it’s a government-to-government relationship between each tribe to investigate and reduce crime and drug abuse in the communities.

“One tribe we work with on a frequent basis is the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Chief Floyd and Creek Nation Lighthorse, are wonderful partners for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Shores said. “It is on a regular basis that we will have multijurisdictional task forces that we combine our collective resources to investigate and find justice for victims of violent crime here in the Northern District of Oklahoma.”

Shores said the NAIS has identified four priorities for justice in Indian Country, reduce violent crime; reduce drug trafficking and substance abuse; identify additional law enforcement resources for Indian Country and identify white-collar crime prosecutions.

Floyd ensured the tribe’s support in the DOJ’s effort to reduce criminal matters in Indian Country.

“The tribal perspective is we have a special relationship with the U.S. Government and have for several hundred years and we continue to have that relationship,” Floyd said. “We are just as much a part in these issues as Department of Justice, especially in the last year or two with the listening sessions nationally and various topics we’ve participated in and we anticipate that we will also be working to be a part of the issues that they raise and give our perspective.”

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