Lighthorse (or Light Horse) was the name given by the Five Civilized Tribes of the United States to their mounted police force. The Lighthorse were generally organized into companies and assigned to different districts. Perhaps the most famous were the Cherokee Lighthorsemen which had their origins in Georgia. Although the mounted police were disbanded when the Five Civilized Tribes lost their tribal lands in the late 19th century, some tribes still use the Lighthorse name for elements of their police forces.One unrecognized native lineage clan in Idaho, the Klamawah, has a small security force called Lighthorsemen as security for their gatherings and facilities. These security agents are required to be retired tribal/local police officers. Cherokee Light Horse Chickasaw Light Horse Choctaw Light Horse Creek Light Horse Seminole Light Horse Cherokee In 1797, the Cherokees created organizations called "regulating companies" to deal with horse theft and other property crimes. The regulating companies were a mounted tribal police force, empowered to enforce tribal laws. They began to be called "Lighthorsemen" in the 1820s. Their authority expanded to apprehending criminals, whom they turned over to tribal courts for trial and sentencing. The Lighthorsemen's scope was then extended to more serious crimes including murder, rape and robbery. They also enforced the tribal laws against drunkenness. One author asserted that the Cherokees took the force's name from General Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, who got the nickname because his cavalry moved so quickly. On November 13, 1844, the Cherokee National Council authorized the formation of a lighthorse company. Composed of a captain, a lieutenant and twenty four horsemen. They were to arrest all fugitives from justice in the Cherokee Nation. For several years the lighthorsemen also served as judges and jurors, administering punishments themselves. Usually, they punished those convicted of minor crimes by whipping. In 1874, the Cherokees built a prison at Tahlequah. It was the only Indian Nation to do so. Choctaw The Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820, appropriated US$600 per year to the Choctaw Nation to organize and maintain the Choctaw Lighthorsemen. These men were given the authority to arrest, try and punish those who broke tribal laws. The first corps became operational in 1824. Peter Pitchlynn became the head of this force in 1825. After the Choctaws were forcibly removed to Indian Territory, as part of the Indian Removal (1831-1833), the Lighthorsemen reported to the tribal Chief. The Choctaw Constitution of 1838