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MUSKOGEE, OK - The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Bureau of Indian Affairs entered into a cross-deputization agreement Monday in Muskogee. BIA district commander Leon Glenn swore in eight Cherokee Nation Marshals during a ceremony at the BIA office in Muskogee. Cherokee Nation Marshals now have liability protection under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service also recently entered into agreements with the city of Westville and Nowata County. The agreements give local officials authority to enforce the law on Indian land and give the Cherokee Nation Marshals the authority to enforce the law on non-Indian land.

"Our role is to support the law enforcement efforts of the deputizing authority," said Dave Roberts, the director of the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service. "We are not, and do not consider ourselves to be, the primary law enforcement agency in any city or county we are cross-deputized with. We will always work to support the efforts of local law enforcement and coordinate our activities in these areas accordingly."

"Cross deputization with the BIA, Nowata County and the city of Westville shows the growing confidence and cooperative spirit the communities in northeastern Oklahoma have in working with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service," said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

The Cherokee Nation is currently seeking to enter into cross deputization agreements with all law enforcement agencies within its 14 county jurisdictional area.