Ada, Okla. – Chickasaw Lighthorse Police had been protecting Chickasaw citizens for the better part of seven decades when Oklahoma became a state in 1907.

Following Oklahoma statehood, tribal government changed drastically, and all the Chickasaw Nation’s governmental buildings, agencies, and responsibilities, including law enforcement, were transferred to the U.S. government.

Almost a century later, Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby shared his vision of reestablishing Chickasaw Lighthorse with Lisa John, then tribal self-governance administrator, and assigned her to lead the effort in doing so.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the realization of that dream.

“Working hand in hand with federal, state and local law enforcement officers, the Lighthorse Police Department is part of a cooperative effort to provide a muchneeded service to every citizen who lives in the Chickasaw Nation, and beyond,” Governor Anoatubby said at the 2012 ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Lighthorse headquarters.

Twenty years ago, in 2004, First American law enforcement was under the purview of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

The BIA had six officers and their chief patrolling the expansive 13-county Chickasaw Nation boundaries and were depending on an answering service to handle dispatch duties.

“The BIA didn’t have the capacity to locate officers throughout the tribal reservation to respond to the incidents or emergencies on tribal land,” John said.

Reestablishing Lighthorse would need to be accomplished through a plan that included compacting other functions performed by the BIA at the time.

“Governor Anoatubby had a plan for compacting these vital BIA programs,” John said. “His plan was to first compact the functions of the Court of Indian Offences (CFR court) to establish our own judicial department. Second was to compact the functions of law enforcement thereby reestablishing the Lighthorse police. My job as the self-governance administrator was to develop and negotiate the agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“Compacting wasn’t too difficult. We had a very good relationship with our local BIA Chickasaw Agency and also the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Region in Muskogee. We drafted an addendum to the multiyear funding agreement and made them aware we were going to assume the function of law enforcement and the funding that went with it,” she said.

The real challenge was the hard work of fashioning a police force from scratch.

The job to tackle all the associated issues fell to John, Deanna Hartley- Kelso (now Special Judge for the Chickasaw Nation District Court) and Debra Gee, both of whom worked in the Chickasaw legal department, and Lori Hamilton, John’s right-hand person in the self-governance office.

“What we did was really look at all aspects of what it takes to run a police department,” John said. “We worked as a team. The most interesting thing I have ever had to do is work with a team to create an agency from zero up.”

They wisely sought counsel from those who did have experience in the field.

“BIA officers Jason O’Neil and Vincent Walters were very big resources for us. Jason met with us regularly and helped us develop a checklist on what our law enforcement needed to be a successful team.”

Funding from BIA only allowed for seven officers and contracting with the answering service to act as dispatch for the fledgling force.

“We did not like the idea of using an answering service,” John said. “We felt it was not personable, and our citizens would want to talk with a real dispatcher in an emergency situation.”

The problem was remedied when Governor Anoatubby approved hiring four dispatchers and one supervisor.

“We began developing the positions and job descriptions. I updated the Governor along the way, and the whole time he supported us as we moved forward.”

These steps were just the tip of the iceberg. Uniforms had to be created, as did logos for cars and deciding on the cars themselves, including how to equip them and the officers.

Dusk Monetathchi, current Chickasaw Nation legislator, was the first officer sworn in and sent to the BIA law enforcement training center in Artesia, New Mexico.

After many prospects were interviewed, Jason O’Neil, trusted advisor, was hired as the Chickasaw Lighthorse’s first chief. The next step was to hire seven officers.