Tribal nations rally against brief intended to overturn the McGirt ruling

TULSA, Okla. — UPDATE, 10/28/21, 3:00 p.m.: Rep. Monroe Nichols has issued a statement following the City of Tulsa’s decision to file an amicus brief challenging tribal sovereignty.

“For as long as I can remember, the City of Tulsa has had a strong and cooperative relationship with the tribal nations.

“It is disappointing to see my hometown mayor, without consulting the city council or native leaders, align himself with a Governor that continues a relentless attack on tribal sovereignty.

“Through investment in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and beyond, our community benefits from the work of these nations. The presence of tribal citizens makes Tulsa stronger. Mayor Bynum has in effect traded decades of cooperation and mutual respect between tribes and the city for nothing more than a political talking point for Governor Stitt.

“I stand in solidarity with the Tulsa Indian Affairs Commission and native leaders. I encourage Mayor Bynum to take a step back, withdraw the amicus brief and do what he was elected to do, which is to bring people together for the betterment of Tulsa.”

Members of several sovereign nations will meet Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. to rally support for the Great Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission.

Members from different tribal nations gathered before a special meeting with the City Wednesday evening at the Hyatt Place hotel to make signs, rally and march to City hall.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and several members of the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission spoke out against the Tulsa and Owasso Supreme Court brief they filed expressing their support in overturning the McGirt ruling.

Refresher >>> Tribal leaders plan rally, after Tulsa Mayor looks to overturn McGirt ruling

The McGirt ruling makes it so the state cannot prosecute major crimes involving Native Americans in much of Oklahoma, including Tulsa.

The GTAIAC has long been the liaison between the City and Indigenous communities. The GTAIAC chair Cheryl Cohenour says the Commission was blindsided when the news broke of the filing at 6 p.m. Friday.

The briefing states the tribal community does not have the ability to prosecute:

“Tulsa and Owasso police officers have referred thousands of cases to federal prosecutors and tribal authorities — but only a tiny fraction of these cases are actually prosecuted. Federal authorities decline to prosecute all but the most serious crimes, and tribal authorities do not have the resources to prosecute many of the cases referred to them.”

Since the McGirt ruling was decided, the Tulsa Police Department has referred at least 1,156 cases to the Muscogee and Cherokee Nations either because they involve a Native perpetrator or because they involved a Native victim. These tribes have not issued a single subpoena asking a Tulsa police officer to testify in a single criminal case.

The tribes want the city to retract this briefing.

Following the meeting, Mayor G.T. Bynum released a statement:

“Tonight the members of the Greater Tulsa Indian Affairs Commission did their job. They provided a forum for concerns and viewpoints from our Native American community to be shared. I appreciate their work. As mayor, my job is to protect the citizens of Tulsa. When criminals are not being prosecuted by tribal and federal courts, we should not withhold that information from the Supreme Court. We have a responsibility to the victims of those crimes to share that information, and have done so through our amicus brief.”

“I think the world of the tribal leaders we have in the Cherokee, Muscogee, and Osage Nations. They have been incredibly important collaborators with me during my time as mayor, and they will continue to be in the future. Leaders can have principled disagreements and still work together for the common good, and my hope is that will be the case here.”

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