$8M in Grants to Oklahoma to Combat Domestic Violence

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The three U.S. attorneys in Oklahoma on Wednesday announced $8 million in federal grants to combat domestic and sexual violence against Native American women in Oklahoma.

Federal prosecutors Trent Shores of Tulsa, Brian Kuester of Muskogee and Timothy Downing of Oklahoma City joined Laura Rogers, deputy director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, in announcing the grants in Tulsa.

“A victim’s safety and freedom from her abuser should not hinge on the jurisdictional boundaries around the crime scene,” Rogers said in a statement. “These new awards continue the Department’s commitment to equipping tribal prosecutors with the tools they need to curb domestic violence no matter where it occurs.”

Grant recipients include the Chickasaw, Choctaw and Pawnee nations; the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and the Delaware Tribe of Indians.

The city of Tulsa, Tulsa County District Court, the Native Alliance Against Violence in Norman and the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will also receive grants as part of the funding.