Stitt- tribal split continues
Response to his Commission on Cooperative Sovereignty provides the latest example that regardless of the tack Gov. Kevin Stitt employs in dealing with Oklahoma's Indian tribes, they generally are ineffective and unpersuasive.
The commission, created after a U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer declared that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's reservation was never disestablished by Congress, recommended a potential way forward. It is expected the high court's ruling will apply to the other four members of the Five Tribes, whose historic lands cover much of eastern Oklahoma.
While saying the state supports Oklahoma tribal sovereignty, the commission recommends, among other things, that all Oklahomans should be treated equally under the law, they should share in the funding of common services provided by the state, and that state laws and regulations should be applied consistently to all the state's residents.
Stitt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, said last week that creating one set of rules for all is “just a fairness issue to be a successful state,” and that federal legislation will be needed to provide guidance. Tribes aren't so sure.
David Hill, the Creeks' principal chief, said the commission's recommendations had an anti-Indian bias. “Demands for Congress to enact a one-size-fits-all federal mandate won't solve anything but will undermine tribal sovereignty throughout the Nation,” Hill said.
Cherokee National Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. criticized Stitt for saying he respects sovereignty but wants to limit the role played by tribal governments.
Stitt's relationships with Oklahoma's tribes has been rocky since summer 2019 when the governor said the state's gaming compacts were inadequate and needed to be reworked. The central point of contention became the compacts' expiration date — Stitt insisted they expired Dec. 31, 2019, and the tribes said they automatically renewed Jan. 1 for another 15 years.
Along the way, Stitt's secretary of Native American Affairs resigned, saying Stitt was “committed to an unnecessary conflict” with the tribes. The tribes rejected the governor's offer in late 2019 of an eightmonth extension of the compacts.
In July of this year, an Oklahoma City federal judge sided with the tribes, saying the compacts automatically renewed Jan. 1. Stitt announced recently that his administration would not appeal the ruling, and that he looked forward to working with Oklahoma's congressional delegation, state officials and tribes “to create an environment of fairness, clarity and unity that serves all 4 million Oklahomans.”
Hoskin, however, described the gaming fight as “one of the most divisive, wasteful and pointless disputes” between tribes and the governor's office, one that resulted in “the erosion of goodwill” and produced damage that is “immeasurable.” No doubt other tribal leaders share that view.
Getting beyond it will take considerable work from bot sides, an effort made no less challenging if reaction to the Commission on Cooperative Sovereignty is any indication.