May 05, 2017

Dianne Barker Harrold

Member; Fundraising & Education Committee

Dianne Barker-Harrold, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, has been working with crime victims for over thirty-four years in many ways. She has been an attorney for 29 years. She served the elected District Attorney for four counties in Oklahoma for 8 years, and was the first Native American female to serve in that position. Dianne has worked extensively in Indian Country including serving as a tribal attorney and as a tribal court judge for BIA CFR Courts and 14 Tribes in Oklahoma. Dianne was one of the founding mothers of the domestic violence program, Help-in-Crisis, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma,  which is now in its 34th year of service to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October of 2007, she was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for Help-in-Crisis. She has been a tireless advocate for battered women and victims of crime which has earned her the Women Holding Up the World Award from the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault and both  the Heart of Gold Award and the Shining Star Award from the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Other awards during her career include being selected twice as Oklahoma’s Outstanding District Attorney, Outstanding State Prosecutor for Bikers Against Child Abuse, the 2010 Bonnie Heavy Runner Award for her victim advocacy work in Indian Country, 2013 National Crime Victim Service Award (for long term victim services) presented by US Attorney General, Eric Holder; and the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK. Dianne is a frequent speaker and trainer nationally-often asked to do presentations at conferences all over the United States. She serves as a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVCTTAC) and as a grant peer reviewer for a number of DOJ/OJP and OVW Programs and the National Institute of Justice. She is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and their Indian Law Section, Oklahoma Indian Bar Association, several tribal bar associations and licensed in several federal courts and has been a contractor with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to conduct tribal court reviews. Ms. Barker Harrold served on NCVLI’s Board of Directors from 2017-2020.