"Ken James accepts honors, but he's not overly quick to brag about them.

"I don't think we're doing anything grand or special," said the Flandreau police chief.

And maybe that's why, in Flandreau itself, the police department attracts little attention. New Santee Sioux Tribal President Josh Weston admitted he wasn't all that familiar with the department.

"I guess there's nothing wrong with it," he said.

Resident Caryl Odenbrett was the same.

"I honestly don't know a whole lot about it," she said. "It's just there, and it works."

Yes, it works. But if the department isn't a major topic of conversation in Flandreau, it is everywhere else. In the six years that James has been chief - and especially in the past year, since the department won top honors from a Harvard University project, Honoring Nations: Celebrating Excellence in Tribal Governance - James has heard from people all over the country.

"It's one innovative way to consolidate services," said James.

In other words, a potential model, and not just for tribes but for anyone looking to cut costs and still provide good services.

As near as anyone can tell, the Flandreau Police Department is the only one in the nation that's run by both the city and the tribe."

Get the Story:
Chuck Baldwin: Flandreau: 'Safety above sovereignty' (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 11/22)
Jurisdiction looks complex but isn�t hard to handle, officials say (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 11/22)

Relevant Links:
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe - http://www.fsst.org

Related Stories:
Criminal jurisdiction in South Dakota can be a mess (12/21)
South Dakota challenge to tribes rejected by high court (10/19)
S.D. tribes contest reach of Supreme Court case (2/19)
S.D. puts pressure on tribal sovereignty (2/12)