For too many people across the country, a criminal record becomes a life sentence long after a court-imposed sentence ends. Even after incarceration and penalties have been paid, the barriers to housing, employment, and education remain. Families suffer from the lack of stability, and communities lose productive citizens.

At the Cherokee Nation, we believe true justice must include an opportunity for redemption and a clean start on the other side of accountability.

That is why we recently hosted the inaugural Expungement Expo to help eligible Cherokees and other tribal citizens clear qualifying records and reconnect with opportunities often denied to those with legal convictions. By collaborating with our partners at Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, we assisted about 220 individuals in exploring the right steps and beginning the expungement process; and we plan to host additional events in the future. We are especially grateful for the OILS legal staff and their commitment to expanding access to justice for Native people.

This effort is not about excusing criminal behavior. It is about recognizing that people who have paid their debt to society should have a fair chance to start over, rebuild their life and contribute positively to their family and community.

The Cherokee people understand something deeply important: no one succeeds alone, and no one heals alone. Our core Cherokee value calls on us to lift up those striving to find stability and purpose again. The Expungement Expo is one new tool in a holistic pursuit of true justice.

Over the last several years, the Cherokee Nation has continued to invest in and expand reentry efforts in a meaningful and strategic way. OurComing Home Reentry Program helps Cherokee citizens returning from incarceration overcome barriers to employment and reintegration. Services can include behavioral health support, job training, housing assistance, counseling, identification assistance and other individualized support.

These efforts acknowledge that successful reentry is tied directly to stronger public safety outcomes. Stable housing, employment and treatment reduce the likelihood that individuals will return to prison.

That is why with the support of Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, along with the Council of the Cherokee Nation, we recently committed a portion of opioid settlement funding to be used for transitional housing for formerly incarcerated Cherokee citizens and for the expansion of our reentry services.

We know many affected individuals also struggle with substance use disorder, trauma and mental health challenges. Addressing those realities is essential. Cherokee Nation has invested heavily in behavioral health infrastructure, including culturally informed treatment facilities. Those investments leverage additional funding through the tribe’s opioid settlement dollars.

We also see the value of alternatives to incarceration through treatment courts and diversion efforts that focus on rehabilitation and recovery instead of simply cycling people through the justice system.

Still, there is more work to do.

I believe the Cherokee Nation should reform our own tribal codes to allow for statutory expungement opportunities in appropriate cases. Individuals who clearly meet the standard, demonstrate their rehabilitation and remain law-abiding should have a path toward clearing qualifying tribal records.

These reforms must be thoughtful and balanced. Violent crimes that threaten public safety deserve extra scrutiny, and victims must always remain central in our justice system. But for many nonviolent offenses, especially those tied to addiction or youthful mistakes, permanent barriers have diminishing value to true justice over time.

The Cherokee Nation has invested more than $300 million into strengthening our justice and public safety systems since the McGirt case. We have expanded our courts, marshals and victim services while proving every day that a tribal government can operate one of the state’s most sophisticated justice systems, one that is grounded in tribal sovereignty.

Now we must continue building avenues for personal success that also reflect Cherokee values of compassion and responsibility. Our goal should not simply be to punish the guilty, but also to create the opportunity for people to reclaim their lives after their debt is paid.

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