Dianne Barker Harrold

Dianne Barker Harrold has worked with and advocated for tribal victims of crime for more than 33 years and has practiced law in Indian Country for the past 26 years. 

Ms. Harrold is one of the founders of Help-in-Crisis, a domestic violence shelter in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, that has provided 33 years of service to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October 2007, Ms. Harrold was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for Help-in-Crisis. 

She served as a tribal judge for 13 Indian tribes in Oklahoma and currently serves as an Associate Judge for the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. She then went on to serve as the first Native American District Attorney for the State of Oklahoma, where she was selected as Oklahoma’s Outstanding District Attorney twice. Ms. Harrold served on the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Task Force and was Chairperson of the Oklahoma Violence Against Women Act Grant Board. 

She is the Resource Deliver y Coordinator for Unified Solutions Tribal Community Development Group, Inc., which provides training and technical assistance to tribal grantees funded by the Office for Victims of Crime. She travels around the country to train tribal prosecutors, law enforcement, victim advocates, child welfare workers, and service providers in the areas of child abuse, victim advocacy, domestic violence, and sexual assault. 

In 2010, she spearheaded the Homicide in Indian Country video project, which had a significant impact on tribal victims of crime in Oklahoma because the state compensation board changed its policy to allow for spiritual and culturally appropriate responses to victimization by tribes, including sweat lodges and other ceremonies. 

An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Ms. Harrold also serves as the Attorney for the Tribal Council of the Cherokee Nation and was appointed by Principal Chief Bill John Baker to the Cherokee Nation’s Charles Head One Fire Victims’ Task Force.