Choctaw Nation Council approves purchase for McAlester courthouse

Jan. 17—The Choctaw Nation Tribal Council unanimously voted to purchase a building and land in McAlester to be used for a courthouse and other tribal offices during their January regular meeting.

District 11 Councilor Robert Karr said during the Jan. 13 meeting the property will be used to house a multipurpose office building for the tribe that will include a satellite courthouse for the southeast Oklahoma tribe.

"This council bill supports the Nation's tribal strategy to promote and protect the Choctaw culture and exercise sovereignty," Karr said.

Karr said the building and the accompanying 0.83 acres, located at 1129 South George Nigh Expy. in McAlester, will be purchased by the tribe for $1.675 million.

"That's a lot less than the actual asking price and it's even less than the fair market value for that property," Karr said. "It is adjacent to our McAlester clinic, so it'll tie into the property we already own."

Part of the building, located near the entrance of the Choctaw Nation Health Clinic, was formally a Golden Chick before the restaurant closed in 2020. The building has been empty since the closure.

Tribal officials have previously said they were interested in placing a satellite courthouse in the McAlester area following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals' application of the top court's ruling to the Choctaw Nation and the remaining Five Tribes in a 2021 decision.

Currently, tribal members in the McAlester area attend court hearings at the main tribal judicial center in Durant or a satellite courthouse in Talihina along with video conferencing for inmates in county jails.

All 12 members of the tribal council voted to approve the purchase of the property. No timeline for when the remodel of the building will begin was given during the meeting.