Oklahoma tribes receive $18 million in federal grants

The Department of Justice has awarded more than $18 million in grants to Oklahoma tribal governments to enhance public health and safety, announced Mark A. Yancey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma; R. Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma; and Brian J. Kuester, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

These grants are part of more than $100 million in grants to 125 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia, and tribal designees, announced today by Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.  Many of these awards were made through the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a single application for tribal-specific grant programs. The Department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence Against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010.

CTAS grants are designed to enhance law enforcement practices, expand victim services, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts.  Awards cover nine areas: public safety and community policing, justice systems planning, alcohol and substance abuse, corrections and correctional alternatives, children’s justice act partnerships, services for victims of crime, violence against women, juvenile justice, and tribal youth programs.

“Reducing violent gang and gun crimes in Indian Country is crucial to protecting citizens who live in and around tribal communities.  The justice community must also look to help those with mental health and substance abuse issues to re-enter society as productive citizens.  These Federal grant allocations will help to further those goals,” said U.S. Attorney Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma.

U.S. Attorney Kuester of the Eastern District of Oklahoma said, “I am pleased and excited about DOJ’s awards to the tribal governments in Oklahoma.  These grants will fund programs that will assist victims of crimes, reduce crime against women, and enhance the resources available for tribal governments to combat violent crime, increase public awareness, and provide prevention programs for youth.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office looks forward to assisting in any way possible as these programs are implemented.”

U.S. Attorney Yancey of the Western District of Oklahoma said, “I join my fellow United States Attorneys in welcoming the federal law enforcement assistance to our Oklahoma tribes.  I look forward to working with all tribes in the Western District to reduce crime and aid victims.”

The Oklahoma CTAS recipients are:

Cherokee Nation (total: $3,087,900)

Public Safety and Community Policing: $565,241

Comprehensive Tribal Justice Systems Strategic Planning: $74,995

Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,993

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $898,100

Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $449,925

Tribal Youth Program: $349,646

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (total: $1,994,588)                  

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $897,851

Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $449,999

Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts: $350,000

Tribal Youth Program: $296,738

Citizen Potawatomi Nation (total: $1,098,106) 

Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,593

Tribal Youth Program: $348,513

Comanche Nation (total: $749,348)

Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $749,348

Delaware Tribe of Indians (total: $424,845)

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $424,845

Muscogee Creek Nation (total: $803,912)

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $803,912

Pawnee Nation (total: $700,000)

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $700,000

Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma (total: $1,800,000)    

Corrections and Correctional Alternatives: $1,000,000

Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program: $450,000

Tribal Youth Program: $350,000

 Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (total: $4,590,422)

Public Safety and Community Policing: $232,929

Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse: $446,714

Corrections and Correctional Alternatives: $3,910,779

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (total: $900,000)

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $900,000

Seneca Cayuga Nation (total: $825,000)

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program: $825,000

Wyandotte Nation (total: $200,189)

Public Safety and Community Policing: $200,189

In addition to CTAS grants, the Department awarded $889,975 to four Oklahoma tribes under the Adam Walsh Act Implementation grant program, part of the Office of Justice Program’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking.  These grant awards enable states, the District of Columbia, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to develop and enhance programs that implement the requirements of the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.  Funding supports staff, information-sharing technology, infrastructure development, law enforcement training, and stakeholder collaboration.

The Oklahoma recipients of Adam Walsh Act Implementation grants are:

Caddo Nation: $200,000

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes: $400,000

Seneca Cayuga Nation: $198,181

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians: $91,794

Finally, through the Office of Justice Programs, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will receive $1.5 million under the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Fiscal Year 2017 Tribal Youth Program Training and Technical Assistance grant.  This program provides culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed and developmentally-appropriate training, support, resources, information, and related technical assistance to help tribes meet the needs of their youth.