KICKAPOO NATION - Tribal elder Harvey Ross recalls the time when the Kickapoo Reservation was known more for its hunting grounds than its buildings.

"Things have changed," Mr. Ross solemnly said during prayer for the reservation's latest construction project.

The reservation's future, he said, will one day be in the hands of its youth. He glanced over at a group of the tribe's Head Start students, summoned to help plant an oak tree as part of the ceremony.

"We want our children to grow up and be wise," Mr. Ross said.

The Kickapoo Nation of Kansas opened the doors to its judicial and law enforcement center Wednesday morning, a $400,000 enterprise that will feature methamphetamine prevention and child support enforcement among its programs.

Crews worked late-night hours to put the final touches on the building and grounds, Tribal Chairman Steve Cadue told a large outdoor audience.

"This has been a pretty amazing job ... to get this done in this amount of time," he said.

Ground for the judicial center was broken in October. Tribal criminal and civil courts, police, and social services also will be housed in the two-story facility, due for a June 1 occupancy. Officials said there are no jail cells, as the tribe contracts through Brown County to house its prisoners.

Mr. Cadue briefly explained how tribal courts function in a relationship with the federal government. For example, any proposed changes to law are first debated by a code committee ahead of a final decision by the tribal council.

"We certainly try to keep our law and order codes current and up to date," Mr. Cadue said.

Chief Judge Robert Henry, of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said the center will amply serve as a forum where the tribe can resolve its legal issues.

"It is a sign of faith in the future," Mr. Henry said in his keynote address. "I express that I am simpatico with this journey."

Fred Schuster, director for Region VII of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, praised the tribe's one-stop approach to providing services. The tribe has a pending application to the agency for funds to operate a comprehensive child support enforcement program, he said. No federal dollars were involved in the construction, he added.

"There aren't many organizations and tribes that can say that, to build with your own funds," said Mr. Schuster, whose jurisdiction includes Kansas.

More than 1,600 people live on the Kickapoo Reservation in Northeast Kansas.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.