The article examines the history and development of law enforcement in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It seeks to demonstrate the need for the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and cross deputization of tribal and county law enforcement officers to deal with the jurisdictional maze created by Federal policies of forced assimilation and allotment of tribal lands prior to Oklahoma statehood. The article also discusses the attempted dismantling of the marshal service during a recent conflict between the executive and judicial branches of the Cherokee Nation. Finally, it outlines efforts by the new administration to reorganize the marshal service with special emphasis on problems faced by a handful of officers charged with enforcing tribal law in fragments of Indian country scattered over the 14-county area that comprises the Cherokee Nation. Enforcing the law on Indian land requires an intimate familiarity with Indian custom and culture as well as with a complex patchwork of State, Federal, and tribal laws. Those who enforce the law on Indian lands must know what laws to enforce, how to enforce those laws while maintaining the customs required by the Cherokee tribe, and precisely where their jurisdiction exists. Tables, notes, references