GOVERNOR STITT OFFERS ONE YEAR EXTENSION FOR CHEROKEE CAR TAG COMPACT
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 10, 2023) - Governor Kevin Stitt sent a letter to the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation with an offer of a one-year extension on their current car tag compact set to expire on August 16, 2023. The offer contains the same material terms provided in the existing compact.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision, which effectively declared much of eastern Oklahoma remains tribal reservation land, prompted some tribal officials to embrace separatism.
In 2021, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation official told NonDoc the difference between the Muscogee chief and the governor of Oklahoma is that one is the “head of a nation” while the other is “just the head of the state.”
That’s grandiose, at best. David Hill was elected Muscogee principal chief with 3,399 votes. Kevin Stitt was elected Oklahoma governor with 644,579 votes.
On a similar note, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. recently banned display of the Oklahoma flag on Cherokee property. But Hoskin’s action drew swift rebuke from other Cherokees. [see article here]
When announcing he was reversing course, Hoskin said he had “heard from many Cherokee citizens” and “the vast majority were opposed” to his flag order. Many were concerned it “further divided the state and the tribe.”
Put simply, there was a huge gap between Cherokee leadership and Cherokee citizens, most of whom do not view their home state with hostility.
It’s not shocking that gap exists. Few Cherokees are directly involved in tribal government. The tribe reports over 400,000 individuals are Cherokee citizens, but less than 14,000 voted in the last election for tribal chief. (Similar trends are also notable for the Muscogee Nation, which claims 86,100 citizens.)
Most Cherokees don’t embrace a worldview pitting them against their non-Indian neighbors and family members.
That contrasts with many comments from some tribal leaders. When the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs called for McGirt to be reversed, which would simply ensure all Oklahomans are treated the same under the law as had been the case for the prior century, Muscogee leadership responded with “see you on the battlefield.”
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation now argues all Muscogee citizens living on the tribe’s reservation—including most of Tulsa—are exempt from state taxes. Hoskin has also indicated support for that position. If that view prevails, it could reduce state funding for things like roads and schools by more than $200 million, if not more.
As state Sen. John Michael Montgomery has noted, if tribal citizens don’t pay Oklahoma taxes “there’s a pretty compelling argument to be said: ‘Why are we still funding things in areas if they’re not going to be paying taxes on services for those areas?’”
The challenges created by McGirt extend well beyond flag displays. Rather than equal treatment, what is occurring under McGirt is different treatment based on heritage and physical location—and that disparate treatment is harming people, including tribal citizens.
Most Cherokees understand we are all Oklahomans, even if some of their leaders do not. If those Cherokee citizens’ view prevails, the challenge of working out state-tribal differences will become much easier.
Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
After receiving overwhelming backlash from within the Cherokee Nation, Hoskin has now reversed course. From The Frontier reporter Reese Gorman:
Through a new executive order, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. has prohibited display of the state flag of Oklahoma at tribal facilities.
Hoskin’s executive order declares that the chief of staff of the Cherokee Nation shall “cause all flags of the State of Oklahoma to be removed from Cherokee Nation properties” by Sept. 1.
It’s the latest indication that some tribal officials and activists do not consider themselves citizens of Oklahoma now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled their tribal reservations were never disestablished, creating numerous jurisdictional questions on everything from public safety to taxation.
[By Ray Carter - Director, Center for Independent Journalism] In a recent online post, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., mocked efforts to keep Critical Race Theory (CRT) out of Oklahoma classrooms.
“The solution in search of problem nonsense that is the ban on ‘critical race theory’ continues to sap time & energy and undermine efforts at seeking a full understanding of history and culture,” Hoskin tweeted on Nov. 26. “We’d waste less time banning unicorns.”
Hoskin’s tweet came in response to news regarding the implementation of House Bill 1775, which bans K-12 schools from teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,” that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” and other similar concepts broadly associated with Critical Race Theory.
In touting the need for a “full understanding of history and culture,” Hoskin echoed the arguments of many CRT supporters and/or opponents of HB 1775.
Ironically, one area where Oklahoma students are seldom provided “full understanding,” according to critics, is the Cherokee Nation’s participation in chattel slavery of black people and the tribe’s participation in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, alongside four other tribes—the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, and Muscogee tribes.
Some experts say that chapter of history deserves much more classroom focus.
“Although there were Indigenous people who integrated states of unfreedom within their communities, as other scholars have demonstrated, these were not exactly the same structures and processes as the practice of chattel slavery. And still, some members of the Five Tribes practiced chattel slavery in their southeastern communities and later on in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma),” said Celia E. Naylor, professor of Africana Studies at Columbia University and author of African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to Citizens.
“It is important for students in history classrooms, and for everyone, to understand the complexities of slavery in the U.S. and in Indigenous nations,” she said. “Without reckoning with the complexities of slavery in the past, we will continue to navigate the various iterations of the afterlives of slavery in the present day.”
A 2016 senior thesis by Olivia DeWitt at Southern Adventist University, “Red Masters & Their Black Slaves in a White Man’s War: The Five Civilized Tribes’ Relationship with the Confederacy in Light of Slavery,” highlighted how the Five Tribes’ slavery practices were strongly linked to their decision to ally with the Confederacy. DeWitt suggests history texts have too often downplayed the role of slavery within the tribes.
“History has largely ignored the enslavement of blacks by Indians before and during the Civil War, which some historians have called ‘one of the longest unwritten chapters in the history of the United States,’” DeWitt wrote.
As with the larger white population, relatively few Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Muscogee individuals owned black slaves, according to records, but a substantial number of slaves were nonetheless collectively owned by members of the Five Tribes.
The Oklahoma Historical Society reports, “By the time of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the tribes’ members owned approximately ten thousand slaves.”
In a 2014 article, the Atlanta Black Star reported that Cherokees “held more Black slaves than any other Native American community. By 1860, the Cherokee had 4,600 slaves.”
Among the Cherokee Nation, DeWitt found 330 of the tribe’s 13,821 members owned 2,511 black slaves.
“In lifestyle and sometimes even physical appearance, many of the slave-owning Indians were indistinguishable from white southerners,” DeWitt wrote.
The Five Tribes’ cultural embrace of chattel slavery caused them to behave differently from all other tribes during the Civil War era, DeWitt found, writing that the Five Tribes “did not have political motives and were not forced into an alliance; the issue of slavery seems to have been motivation enough to ally against the Union.”
“Out of all the tribes residing in Indian Territory, only the five slave-owning tribes chose to ally and fight with the Confederacy,” DeWitt wrote.
Following the Civil War, the Five Tribes signed treaties promising to give citizenship to their former slaves (referred to as Freedmen) and their descendants. But critics note the tribes substantially failed to live up to those treaty promises.
Marilyn Vann, president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Tribes Association, credits the Cherokees with having begun to deal with the reality of the tribe’s history regarding slavery.
“Right now the tribe has a call out in order to get Freedmen people to provide historical materials to throw into a museum,” Vann said. “So I would say the Cherokee Nation is not trying to shy away from the past.”
The Cherokee Freedmen History Project is seeking historical materials, references, documents, and images to address gaps in representation and storytelling at all tribal sites.
Vann said some of the other Five Tribes continue to be far more resistant to recognizing Freedmen descendants. However, she also noted the Cherokees’ willingness to accept Freedmen is a relatively recent development.
“For so long, you had people like Chief (Chad) Smith that opposed Freedmen citizenship,” Vann said. “The attitude was kind of like, ‘We can do what we want to.’ It’s going to take time to get past those years that the treaty was not being followed.”
Smith was first elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1999 and went on to serve three terms before losing a bid for a fourth term in 2011.
Critics of HB 1775 argued the law would prevent teaching students about the history of racial strife in the United States, but supporters noted the bill explicitly authorizes teaching materials covered in Oklahoma’s state academic standards.
‘Teaching History in All of Its Complexities’
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma significantly increases the number of American Indian citizens who may now be exempt from paying Oklahoma state income tax.
“There’s nothing new about the law out there on the ability of a state to tax a member of a federally recognized tribe on a reservation,” Hoskin said. “What’s new of course is the scope of the reservation (because) of the McGirt case. So, we can look to existing law and we can see that taxation doesn’t attach to individual Native Americans who live on reservations.”
Hoskin made those comments as part of a panel on state tax-and-budget issues hosted by the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
The McGirt ruling found that the Muscogee Nation’s reservation was never disestablished. The ruling has since been expanded to include the reservations of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Quapaw, a combined area that covers nearly half of Oklahoma. The affected area is home to roughly 2 million people of which 21 percent are estimated to be American Indian.
Members of federally recognized tribes have long been exempted from various forms of state taxation—if they live and work on tribal land. Prior to McGirt, that exemption covered only a small share of individuals working on much more geographically confined areas directly owned by Oklahoma tribal governments.
But under McGirt most of eastern Oklahoma is now considered reservation land, regardless of current ownership, potentially expanding the tax exemption to many more individuals. Hoskin conceded that may result in “revenue gaps” for state government.
Because of potential exemptions for tribal members on reservation land, the Oklahoma Tax Commission previously estimated that the McGirt decision could slash Oklahoma state tax collections by $72.7 million per year from reduced income tax collections and $132.2 million annually from reduced sales/use tax collections.
However, that estimate was based on McGirt applying only to the Muscogee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole tribes. The Quapaw reservation has since been declared to have never been disestablished, and similar rulings could occur for other tribes now litigating reservation status.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 11, 2020) – Governor Kevin Stitt announced today that the State of Oklahoma has agreed to a one-year extension with the Cherokee Nation on the hunting and fishing compact that was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020.
“I appreciate the Cherokee Nation working with my office and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation on a one-year hunting and fishing compact extension,” said Gov. Stitt. “This compact continues a partnership between the State of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation to capture federal funds for conservation efforts across our state while promoting hunting and fishing opportunities for citizens of the Cherokee Nation.”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed the compact extension on Thursday in Tahlequah while Gov. Stitt signed Friday morning in Oklahoma City.
“Extending the Hunting and Fishing Compact is a victory for Cherokee citizens, reminding us of our inherent right to hunt and fish on our land just as our ancestors have done for countless generations,” Chief Hoskin said. “This extension provides Cherokee citizens living in Oklahoma an opportunity to hunt and fish not just within the Cherokee Nation reservation, but in all 77 counties of this state. The compact is also good for the state by providing a financial boost to wildlife service programs. I commend the state and Gov. Stitt for working to continue this important agreement.”
The renewal provision in the Tribes’ gaming compacts with Oklahoma is not ambiguous. Under that provision’s plain language, the compacts will renew automatically when they expire on January 1, because the provision’s sole condition precedent for automatic renewal is unquestionably satisfied. Each of the contrary arguments I have seen to date simply cannot be squared with fundamental principles of contract interpretation.Without offering support or analysis for his position, Governor Stitt has repeatedly and publicly rejected renewal, instead choosing to criticize Tribes for not working on a new compact with him and insisting the current compacts terminate and falsely declaring Tribal gaming unlawful in 2020.
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I'm troubled to hear the reports of highly unethical, potentially illegal behavior by an incumbent tribal councilor running for re-election at-large. Cherokee citizens have stepped forward and brought this to the attention of the Cherokee Election Commission, Attorney General, Council and Administration. Now several Cherokee Community Organizations have come forward stating that they received an official Cherokee Nation envelope in the mail, with the contents attached being inside -- a check from the Cherokee Nation for $500 signed by Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief Joe Crittenden, along with campaign materials and a personal note from Councilor Hatfield pleading for their support. This is highly disturbing behavior from elected members of our tribal government, and must be investigated and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.
Equally troubling is the deafening silence from the Cherokee Nation officials on this important matter, which highlights a disturbing pattern of pay to play campaign contributions, ballot harvesting and decisions made for brazen political expediency. Hatfield is one very visible example of a widespread, systemic culture that has allowed those in power to ignore ethical standards and do ‘anything to win.’
This pattern of behavior by those officials appointed in the Baker administration, which includes Chuck Hoskin Sr. as his Chief of Staff, and Chuck Hoskin Jr. as his Secretary of State, (now candidate for Principal Chief) and Todd Hembree as his Attorney General, has brought shame on our tribe. Everything rises and falls on leadership, and in a crisis such as this, it is important that we demand full ethics and accountability from our nation's leadership.
Because of the malfeasance of this administration to do what is right by our people, I am requesting the Bureau of Indian Affairs to monitor this election and make a determination if the United States should recognize the result of the election for Hatfield’s and the Principal Chief and Deputy Principal Chief positions. I am requesting the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to review the alleged abuses for violation of federal law and civil rights. I am requesting Todd Hembree as Cherokee Nation Attorney General to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate theses alleged violations of law. I ask any Cherokee citizen who has experienced intimidation and threats to vote, or are concerned about their jobs if they state their choice, or have been asked to come in and ‘verify their registration,’ or have been pushed to register or given campaign materials on tribal property that they contact our legal team at (918) 486-9427.
Now is the time for Cherokee citizens to control our destiny with truth, and time to fulfill the destiny our ancestors envisioned.
In fact, here’s a superb catch by George Conway (yes, that George Conway) from an NYT story on genetics and ancestry in America published in 2014:The Cherokee Nation issued the following response this afternoon:
"The researchers found that European-Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6 percent European, .19 percent African, and .18 Native American."
A genome that’s .19 percent native works out to 1/512. So, do the math. The best-case scenario for Warren, that she’s 1/64th native, would mean that around 1.6 percent of her genome is Native American, about 10 times more than the average European-American. The worst-case scenario, 1/1024th, would mean it’s around .10 Native American — roughly half the share the average European-American has. It’s possible, in other words, that Fauxcahontas is less native than the typical white American.
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