Two Oklahoma tribal nation leaders were on Capitol Hill this week to stress the importance of public safety funding almost four years after the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling.

The McGirt ruling had a significant impact on Indian Country, particularly on the Cherokee and Muscogee nations, whose leaders testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

The Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin Jr., and Muscogee Nation's Self-Government Coordinator, Carson Ball, addressed Congress, requesting increased funding for law enforcement.

“Since the McGirt decision Cherokee Nation has dramatically scaled up its criminal justice system, boosting spending by $35 million annually to strengthen our law enforcement capabilities and meet the massive 380 percent increase in felony and misdemeanor case filings,” Hoskin Jr. wrote in a submitted testimony.

Read the rest of the story on KOSU.