“Justice on the Reservation” to address crimes committed against children

(MUSCOGEE NATION) Recent data from Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services shows American Indian children continue to face disproportionate levels of child neglect and abuse across the state, including 20 percent of substantiated abuse and neglect cases in 2023 despite making up only 14 percent of the population. 

Those numbers are likely much higher, as abuse and neglect that occurs on tribal land may be addressed by tribal child welfare departments or the Bureau of Indian Affairs themselves, and not reported to DHS at all. 

DHS records obtained by VNN also show Tulsa County leads the state with the highest count of substantiated claims of abuse and neglect (2,711 out of 14,273 in 2023) making up about 20 percent of the statewide total. 

Government and health officials will gather in Tulsa this month for a two-day conference to address these and other child welfare concerns at River Spirit Casino and Resort. 

The event, named ‘Justice on the Reservation’, will be held by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Office of The Attorney General on February 26 and 27. The goal is to discuss ways to address child abuse, child maltreatment, and secondary trauma, and provide more justice for children living on the Muscogee Nation Reservation who are impacted by these issues.

Topics will include best practice recommendations for prosecutors and child advocates, as well as collaborative efforts for police and investigators. Trainers will also share investigative tips and important updates to ongoing investigations, as another goal of the training is to improve the collaboration between federal, state, and Tribal partners regarding investigations on the reservation. 

In 2021, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism dug into statistics the Justice Department began releasing in 2011. From 2011 to 2021, nearly 2,000 cases of Indian County child sexual abuse were “closed administratively” by the FBI. The Howard Center’s report also states that 30% of all major reservation crimes investigated by the FBI that were shut down in this capacity were child sex abuse investigations. 

Justice on the Reservation is also needed following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2020 landmark McGuirt v. Oklahoma case, which affirmed tribal and federal jurisdiction over crimes committed on reservation land and greatly impacted the Tulsa County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC).

According to the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, the number of Child Maltreatment cases brought to the center that were referred to the FBI–as well as to Tribal and federal courts–rose into the hundreds after the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling. Prior to this, the CAC saw fewer than ten child maltreatment cases referred to these authorities.

Attendance at Justice on the Reservation is limited to law enforcement, Tribal, state, municipal, and federal government employees, as well as child advocates and mental health professionals. Registration for the event can be found here.