TVLSE, Oklv. – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation hosted the first Justice on the Reservation conference Feb. 26-27 at the River Spirit Casino Resort. The conference, organized by the office of the MCN Attorney General, focused on the need for cooperation and partnership across the reservation during child abuse investigations.
Geri Wisner of the MCN Attorney General’s office, has over 15 years experience working with child abuse cases. She explained, “One of the things I know I can do is prosecute a child abuse case, but I can’t do them all. I learned early on that teaching law enforcement, prosecutors, child advocates, everyone, that by working together as a multidisciplinary team is the best way to do a child abuse investigation.”
The need for cooperation and partnership between the MCN, federal, state, and local authorities has only been magnified in the post-McGirt decision era. The conference focused on the collaboration underpinning much of how child abuse investigations are done. Attendees included U.S. district attorneys, FBI agents, sheriffs and deputies across the Mvskoke Reservation, as well as those working in victim advocacy and social services.
Conference speakers included experts on jurisdiction, best practices in forensic interviewing, and the special needs of children within the court setting. The two-day conference not only included speakers but also information booths from agencies across the reservation that serve children and families. Representatives from MCN Victim Services, MCN Family and Children’s Services, Parkside Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic and other local services were in attendance.
Justice on the Reservation was built on the framework for past legal conferences hosted by the MCN, specifically Doing Business in Indian Country. With Justice on the Reservation, Wisner explained the conference fills a need.
“Let’s make this a hub of all of that information so it’s all right here and we can be the center of all of that good information and see that it gets implemented,” Wisner said. “I want to make sure that we’re talking about this for our native children and all children on the reservation.”
More conferences are set for the future with the next one covering domestic violence.
