OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tribal sovereignty is expected to again be a top issue facing Oklahoma lawmakers and Gov. Kevin Stitt as they returned on Monday to begin the 2024 legislative session.
Stitt, a Republican and himself a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has had a contentious relationship with tribal leaders that began with a dispute during his first year in office over casino revenue and has worsened with conflict over agreements on tobacco sales, motor vehicle tags, taxes and criminal jurisdiction.
In his State of the State address to lawmakers on Monday, Stitt once again took aim at expanded tribal sovereignty and the landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision on criminal jurisdiction, dubbed McGirt after the plaintiff in the case, that much of eastern Oklahoma remained a tribal reservation.
“Three years after McGirt, we are still operating under a confusing and conflicting patchwork of jurisdiction across our state,” Stitt said.
Stitt also said confusion remains in Oklahoma over whether tribal citizens on reservations must pay income taxes or can be cited by police for traffic violations.
“We can’t be a state that operates with two different sets of rules,” Stitt said. “Especially based on race.”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, a frequent critic of Stitt and one of many tribal leaders in the gallery for the governor’s speech, bristled at Stitt’s suggestion that race is a factor in tribal relations.
“That’s either a very cynical, purposeful, strategic employment of rhetoric, or it’s born of complete ignorance, because we’re not talking about race,” Hoskin said. “We’re talking about sovereign nations. And if he doesn’t get it at this point, I’m starting to doubt that he will.”
Hoskin also downplayed Stitt’s contention that there is widespread confusion over criminal jurisdiction.
“The picture he’s painted of confusion, we don’t see it,” Hoskin said. “We see cooperation every day.”
Last year the…
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