Native OK 3/15 Weekly Newsletter

The Muscogee Nation jurisdiction includes 11 counties (Submission)

Congress funds tribes to support McGirt decision

The government-spending bill included funds to assist tribes due to McGirt

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – Tribal nations were allocated $62 million in the U.S. Congress spending bill that was announced on Wednesday March 9. The bill will help improve the criminal justice systems and assist in the overload of cases caused by the landmark McGirt Decision.

Originally, four Oklahoma delegates requested $308 million in federal funding from the House Appropriations Committee in letters dating January 19.

“The result of the Supreme Court case has created a severe shortage of police and investigative personnel in tribal jurisdiction areas, which in turn has drastically increased federal and tribal law enforcement responsibilities,” the Oklahomans wrote.

Reps. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City; Tom Cole, R-Moore; Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne; and Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, signed the letters. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Tulsa wrote a separate letter on Dec. 2 requesting more funding with no specified amount of funding.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs was to consult with tribes and submit a request for allocating the money as directed Congress.

Although the funding has fallen short of the original request by Oklahoma’s Congressional delegates, tribes are appreciative of Congress for aid and overall support of the McGirt decision.

The Appropriations Committee said the agreement reached on funding for the Justice Department appropriately funds the U.S. Attorney’s offices, United States Marshals Service, DEA, and FBI workload increases resulting from the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision for fiscal year 2022.

Principal Chief David Hill released a statement saying the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is encouraged by the actions of Congress on that Wed. for the reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act and support of tribes implementing the U.S. Supreme Court’s “sovereignty-affirming McGirt ruling”.

VAWA will provide important tools to help tribal nations throughout the U.S. pursue justice and provide support to Indian women who are victims of violent crimes or domestic abuse committed by non-Indians.

“We continue to make significant investments to expand our criminal justice infrastructure to fully implement McGirt as it adds more safety, security and judicial reponose for all. We welcome Congress’ recognition that decades of illegal actions by the State of Oklahoma have created the need to expand tribal capacity and are grateful for the addition of vital funding to support these efforts as an extension of the federal government’s trust authority and responsibilities to tribal nations.

“We are thankful to Oklahoma’s delegation for their leadership on these important issues that deliver benefits to tribal citizens and everyone who lives in Oklahoma.” –Principal Chief David Hill

The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill last year that included $70 million to boost funding for the state’s three U.S. attorney offices, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

However, the spending bill for the Interior Department, which included the Bureau of Indian Affairs, added only $10 million for tribes to ramp up their criminal justice systems.

The Osage Nation Campus, located in Pawhuska, Okla. Osage News File Photo

Citing inflation, Standing Bear proposes cost-of-living increase for ON employees

Primary Candidates Joe Tillman and Angela Pratt, opposing Standing Bear on April 4, say it’s political posturing and they want to see the numbers

Written by

Louise Red Corn

Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear is asking the Osage Nation Congress to approve an across-the-board raise for the nation’s non-elected employees to help with cost-of-living increases that are hitting people at the gas pump, in the grocery store, and many other places.

Should it be approved when Congress meets in April, the raises would go into effect during the first pay period in May, Standing Bear said.

Congressman Scott BigHorse will sponsor the bill asking for the raises.

Because of the intricacies of the Osage Code regarding inflation-related raises, Standing Bear on March 11 temporarily assigned the Nation’s controller, Tyler McIntosh, as the acting treasurer.

The code says that merited employees are eligible for “inflation adjustments” based on the consumer price index and other factors, and that they must “[b]e requested by the Office of the Treasury by May 1st of each year.”

The Nation has been without a treasurer since April 2021, and repeated advertisements to hire one have drawn no applicants, even when the top salary was increased from about $115,000 to $212,000.

Standing Bear said he elevated McIntosh temporarily just to ensure that Congress didn’t object technically to a request being made by the controller.

Standing Bear acknowledged that there is “no way” that McIntosh could be confirmed as treasurer because he lacks a key qualification. The job requires that he be a certified public accountant, and he is not one.

“He’ll only be acting treasurer until April 25” when the Congress’ Hun-Kah session adjourns, the chief said. “I could argue that Tyler as controller can make that request (for a cost of living increase) but I don’t want certain Congress members to get political with this.”

The reaction from the two candidates vying to unseat Standing Bear as chief was swift.

“It’s unfortunate the Chief has decided to wait until less than a month before his primary to realize that inflation has negatively impacted our people,” wrote Joe Tillman, a candidate for chief and current member of Congress.

“We’ve been worried about the effects of inflation for months now. He’s also had the opportunity to increase salaries on an annual basis through the budgetary process, but so far has failed to do that. Perhaps because the recommendation for a ‘inflation adjustment,’ allowed for in Osage law, must come from the Office of the Treasury which hasn’t had a Treasurer in going on a year now because of his leadership.”

That said, Tillman said he would support the bill. “I will also support another round of direct assistance to the Osage people,” he added. “We are all feeling the negative impacts of today’s economy, we are all struggling to put food on our families’ plates, not just our employees.”

Congressional Speaker Angela Pratt said she was going to wait to see “what exactly is proposed and look at the numbers” before she decides whether to support the raises.

Standing Bear shrugged off the jabs about the treasurer and timing of the raises as political posturing.

Two of the past three treasurers – Sam Alexander and Jim Littleton – were forced out by Congress, he said. The pool of CPAs who work in tribal government is very small, he said, and when the Congress crossed Alexander, it crossed a very big fish in that pool.

Potential recruits for the job, Standing Bear said, have a common response when approached to be the Osage Nation treasurer: “Nope. Sam has already told me what it’s like.”

“That’s the truth,” the Chief said. “That’s what happens when people are rude.”

The timing of the proposed raises hinges on world events and the economy, Standing Bear added: “I’ve been watching the reports on the economy like many of us have been, watching inflation rates go up. I’ve been especially concerned about Osages who drive a lot; I’ve heard complaints over the last couple of months about how expensive it is to fill gas tanks.”

The two-week-old war in Ukraine, he noted, has compounded the problem.

“There is consensus that with this war going on in Ukraine, it could drive oil up to over $150 a barrel and food costs could expand. If grain prices go up, that will increase the price of meat. Prior to this war, the inflation rate was 8 percent over a year earlier. And it’s going to get worse, go to who-knows-what?

“We’re entering a very difficult time. We could be talking about 20 percent inflation rates.

“I remember when Jimmy Carter was president and inflation rates were pushing 20 percent. It was a dangerous time.”

Standing Bear said he thought 10 percent was a reasonable increase given the current inflation rate, and that a further increase could be examined if needed when the tribe’s fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Cost of living raises can only be meted out once every fiscal year by Osage law.

The timing, he added, had nothing to do with the primary coming up on April 4.

“I did not start the war in Ukraine,” he said. “And I didn’t cause inflation to spike.

“The cost of gas is up. The cost of propane is up for those of us who live in the county. Food prices are up and they’re always higher in rural areas.

“It’s going to get worse. From everything I’m understanding and reading, this war is putting pressure on an already bad situation.”

The amount the raises will cost the Nation is still being hammered out by the Treasury; Standing Bear said that a rough, “very preliminary estimate” was that a COLA increase would cost the Nation about $1.5 million, including fringe benefits.

“People in Treasury are looking at federal funding versus tribal funding and the rules that govern them,” Standing Bear said. “They’ll be working on this for the next week or two.

“We have the funds to do it.”

Quapaw Nation asserts criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians

QUAPAW, Oklahoma – The Quapaw Nation Business Committee unanimously approved a law exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) over non-Indians. The Quapaw Nation invoked special criminal jurisdiction over criminal conduct that occurs within the Quapaw Nation Reservation.

Following 114 years of improper state criminal jurisdiction, the existence of the Quapaw Reservation was upheld by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last October under Oklahoma v. Lawhorn. The court applied the McGirt rationale, a landmark decision that affirmed the existence of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation reservation in Oklahoma in 2020. Soon after McGirt, the reservations of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Nations were also affirmed under the same rationale. Quapaw Nation is unique because it is the first and only tribe in Oklahoma to have its reservation affirmed that is not part of the “Five Civilized Tribes.”

“This is our Nation, and we have a duty to protect its citizens, especially those most vulnerable,” said Joseph Byrd, Quapaw Nation Chairman. “We are exercising our inherent sovereign authority necessary to combat domestic violence in our reservation, a problem that has plagued tribal communities since European contact.”

The assertion of special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction follows the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. This vests the Quapaw Nation Court with the authority to administer heightened sentencing and higher fines for non-Indian perpetrators involved in domestic violence, dating violence, or violations of a protective order.

The Quapaw Nation’s special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction was asserted following historic cross-deputization agreements with seven local law enforcement agencies a few weeks prior. Before the cross-deputization agreements, law enforcement officers could not pursue crime once it crossed into the reservation, which strained the nation’s ability to maintain public safety within the community. The agreement allows local law enforcement to respond and assist Quapaw Nation Marshals, but it also requires those law enforcement agencies to uphold Quapaw Nation laws within the reservation boundaries.

“With the recent Lawhorn decision and reaffirming of the reservation boundaries for the Quapaw Nation, this allows for local law enforcement agencies to assist the Quapaw Marshals in providing law enforcement services within the Quapaw Nation,” said Charles Addington, Quapaw Nation Chief Marshal. “I applaud Quapaw Nation leadership for taking these crucial steps to expand their public safety programs and cross-deputize local agencies, which will allow everyone to work together and provide public safety services to communities whether you are a tribal citizen or not.”

Charles Addington, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was appointed as the head of the Quapaw Nation Marsal Service during the nation’s efforts to expand public safety within its reservation. Addington is the former Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and more recently Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for all law enforcement, security, and school safety throughout the country. Addington brings with him over twenty-five years of Indian Country law enforcement to the Quapaw Nation, in its efforts to maintain and increase public safety within its reservation.

“I can’t think of any time where the top BIA law enforcement official expressed interest in coming to work for a tribal nation, let alone when that nation’s reservation was affirmed,” stated Chairman Byrd. “When the stars align like they have, you have to seize the opportunity. That’s what this is, it’s an opportunity to show the world what a tribe can achieve. This is sovereignty in motion.”

The Quapaw Nation has been working diligently to address public safety ever since its reservation was affirmed in Lawhorn. With SDVCJ and the cross-deputy agreement in place, the Nation can investigate and prosecute non-Indian offenders who victimize women and children inside the reservation, something Chairman Byrd has expressed a keen interest in pursuing when considering the plague of missing and murdered indigenous people in Indian Country.

“I am proud of the progress our team is working diligently to achieve. We want to be the model and show the public what a tribe can do,” stated Chairman Byrd. “To would-be offenders and those who perpetuate domestic and dating violence: We are watching you and we will continue ensuring our community is safe for everyone who lives in the reservation.”

The Quapaw Nation Marshal Service was established in 2010 and recently expanded the department which now includes patrol, school resource officers, special investigators, captains, and a Chief Marshal, totaling 24 law enforcement officers. The Quapaw Nation’s Ki-ho-ta Center, erected in 2019, houses the recently expanded Quapaw Nation Courts, which includes a tribal court administrator, court clerk, chief judge, associate judge, prosecutor, special prosecutor, public defender, and court personnel.

The Oklahoma Inter-Tribal Rising Stars Game will be on March 26 at the Mvskoke Dome. (Submission)

Recreation Department hosts an Inaugural Oklahoma Inter-Tribal Rising Stars Game

Lani Hansen/Senior Reporter

OKMULGEE, Oklahoma– The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Recreation Department will be hosting an all-tribal basketball tournament for individual 8th graders who are graduating from an Oklahoma Rural Elementary School (ORES).

Nomination forms were sent out to all ORES schools, where players were selected by their coaches. All nominations were received back by February 18.

“A lot of these kids will be going to an entirely different school, so we wanted to send them off in a good way to recognize their efforts both athletically and academically,” MCN Recreation Project Specialist Lucas Taylor said.

This tournament is called the Inaugural Oklahoma Inter-Tribal Rising Stars Game to highlight not only Muscogee (Creek) students but all tribal students. The event was created to reward and honor those students of ORES schools hard work. The games will showcase and display student-athletes’ talents and character.

The day will be family-oriented filled with basketball games and little activities between games for all. There will be concession available, prices for admissions and concession items will be affordable.

Games will begin at 1 p.m. as others will follow in the afternoon.

“We have kids who will be driving in from a distance, so I would rather us start in the afternoon that way it gives everyone time to get here,” Taylor added.

The Rising Stars Game is highlighting students who work hard on the court and off the court. The coaches were in charge of nominating these students based on their classroom work or elsewhere.

According to Taylor, there was 24 young ladies accepted to play and 19 young men to play, making up two girls’ games and one boys’ game. At the end of the games one young lady and one young man will be selected as MVP.

The Oklahoma Inter-Tribal Rising Stars Games will take place on March 26 at the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.