Kiowa Tribe celebrates new leadership in 2022

OKLAHOMA (KSWO) - As we continue to wrap up 2022, we want to take a moment to highlight the accomplishments of the Kiowa tribe, who ushered in new leadership this year.

In 2022, the Kiowa tribe held the election and inauguration of new leadership, with a new Chairman and Vice Chairman.

In their five months in office, the new leadership worked to improve and overcome issues from previous years, such as reopening the tribal complex to members in the wake of pandemic-related closures.

One of the biggest accomplishments of the year, though, was the creation of a new Tribal Court System.

The court will take over prosecution of crimes committed on Kiowa land from the federal government, which Vice Chairman Jacob Tsotigh said is a vital part of the tribe’s sovereignty.

“It is the milestone of our administration, in that, we have established our pre-emanate right of tribal sovereignty. Being able to determine our own decisions based on our own customs, our own traditions, our own laws, is the definition of being sovereign. So we’re very hopeful that once we have that court up and running, we’ll be able to maintain a true identity that was given to us by our creator,” said Tsotigh.

Kiowa tribal leaders have many hopes for the new year, with several projects in the works concerning areas like economic development, transportation and infrastructure improvement.

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