Tribes pledge renewed cooperation with Legislature

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma tribal leaders this week spoke during a House Special Committee meeting on State-Tribal Relations about coming to an agreement on compacts and how the Legislature can ratify them.

The committee heard from leaders of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek Nations on Tuesday about what State House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, described as “the granular aspects of compacting” and the authority of the state.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. asked the committee to look at the hunting and fishing compacts and examine opportunities created and lost. Gov. Kevin Stitt announced in December 2021 he would not renew hunting and fishing license compacts which expired at the end of the year.

Stitt, a member of the Cherokee Nation, has fought with many tribal leaders challenging the limits of tribal sovereignty and pushing to renegotiate compacts in an attempt to increase state revenue.

Hoskin said the tribal compact on car tags are an example of how the state has benefited from such agreements. The Cherokee Nation is one of three tribes that hold compacts with the state for car tags. The tribe sets aside 38% of its revenue from that compact for public education, according to reports.

“Our compact is the sole reason that Tulsa’s public school district gets an additional $1 million a year. Imagine if our compact went away and public schools didn’t have that money. It would cause some difficulties, to say the least,” Hoskin said.

Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby spoke on the histo- ry of tribal compacts beginning with a Supreme Court case in 1991. Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma ruled that the tribe was not subject to state sales taxes on transactions to tribal members, but was liable for taxes on sales to non-tribal citizens. The decision led to tobacco compacts a year later, creating guidelines for tax collection.

“Over time it proved itself — it proved the state of Oklahoma and the tribes could work together,” Anoatubby said.

According to reports from the Journal Record, Anoatubby said the compacts weren’t born from a desire to control, but were about cooperation, and for more than 30 years, the tobacco compacts have served both tribal nations and the state well.

“When you look at the status of tribes in Oklahoma, you find that the state of Oklahoma does not have domain over the tribes, but there are many instances where we need to work together,” Anoatubby said.

Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton highlighted the tribes’ economic impact in his comments during the meeting. According to Oklahoma Native Impact, tribes generated $15.69 billion in economic impact in 2019. Oklahoma tribes support 113,442 jobs in the state, representing $5.4 billion in wages and benefits to Oklahoma workers.

Batton pointed to the state’s willingness to provide $698 million in economic development incentives to Panasonic, and asked how much tribes should receive for creating more than 113,000 job. Batton also said tribal leaders want to assure the next agreement “is a win” for both state and tribal nations, and believes both parties can work together.

Muskogee Second Chief Del Beaver said the tribes ask for cooperation, respect and “a seat at the table.” He proposed that the Legislature and tribal leadership develop a document that allows for better understanding of how they can work together.

Hoskin said compacts serve as a way for the state and tribes to avoid conflict and litigation.

“We can choose endless conflict,” he said. “We can choose endless controversy. We could go to court every single time, but when we choose not to, we have plenty of examples as to why this works. Favoring compacts is certainly in all of our best interest.”