Cherokee Nation to break ground on new Justice Center in Tahlequah

WHAT:
Cherokee Nation leaders will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Justice Center in Tahlequah.

WHEN:
Tuesday, June 9 at 11 a.m.

WHERE:
S. Bald Hill Road
Tahlequah, OK

WHO:
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner
Members of the Council of the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation Cabinet
District Court Judge T. Luke Barteaux
Supreme Court Chief Justice John C. Garrett
Other members of the judiciary
Law enforcement and attorney general officials

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Cherokee Nation will break ground on the new Justice Center in Tahlequah, that will be located near the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex, east of S. Bald Hill Road, and south of the Cherokee Nation EMS building.

Spanning more than 65,500 square feet, the justice center will house the Supreme Court, District Court, administrative functions to support the courts, the office of the Attorney General, and a portion of the Marshal's office.

The building will use funds from the $80 million settlement between the tribe and the U.S. federal government. The settlement resolved a 2016 lawsuit alleging that the U.S. mismanaged the tribe's trust resources during the 20th century, when federal policy suppressed Cherokee Nation's ability to self-govern.

Following the tribe's 14-county jurisdictional affirmation in McGirt v. Oklahoma of 2020 and Hogner v. State of 2021, the tribe has filed an influx of charges. The Cherokee Nation office of the Attorney General estimates that since the McGirt ruling, nearly 30,000 charges have been filed in the Cherokee Nation District Court.