Vetoes, lawsuits and fake memes: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s year working with tribes
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It was a sunny January morning when Gov. Kevin Stitt took office for a second term. As he gave his inauguration speech, several tribal leaders sat behind him. They all hoped the morning would start a new era in state-tribal relations in Oklahoma.
One year later, the bright outlook is gone.
The governor did hold a series of meetings with tribal leaders last spring, but the dividing lines that ran through his first term quickly reappeared.
Disagreements over taxes, gaming and public safety became flashpoints of a tense year in state-tribal relations. Here are the central disputes that defined 2023:
A string of vetoes on schools, safety bills shifts the mood
The state Legislature passed a slate of bills backed by tribes, but only one made it past the governor’s desk in May.
Stitt signed off on a law that created an alert for missing adults. Advocates believed the alerts would help address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
The governor rejected other bills that had similar levels of support from tribal citizens. One would have allowed public school students to wear tribal regalia at graduation.
Another was aimed at making sure the state knew about all sex offenders tracked by tribal nations.
Some vetoes overturned to cheers from tribes, jeers from the governor
Lawmakers voted to overturn several of the governor’s vetoes, including the regalia bill. But Stitt focused his ire on lawmakers’ efforts to overrule him on a different issue.
Tobacco tax compacts were at the center of the dispute.
The Legislature voted to renew the soon-to-be-expired deals at the request of several tribal leaders who said talks with the governor had gone nowhere.
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Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, responded by saying the state’s largest tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, were trying to work around his authority.
The extensions ultimately passed in July. The governor sued the same day to try to stop the renewals from taking effect. The lawsuit was still pending as of Jan. 10.
Online campaign against tribal reservations begins
As the controversy over tax compacts flared, the governor took to social media to debut a new campaign that many tribal leaders denounced.
Stitt’s “One Oklahoma” website criticized court cases limiting the state’s power on tribal reservations.
The governor said courts had created two sets of laws in Oklahoma based on race.
To underscore his point, he shared a fake meme on social media. The doctored image showed a road sign with a 75 mph speed limit and a 100 mph “tribal speed limit.”
Separate speed limits for tribal citizens don’t exist.
Other Oklahoma GOP leaders take lead in working with tribes
Tribal leaders found influential allies outside the governor’s office.
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall led the Legislature’s push to renew tax compacts with tribal nations.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond intervened in a lawsuit over gaming compacts Stitt had signed.
The governor pushed back against his fellow Republicans in court.
Governor’s new adviser seeks to repair state-tribal relations
After going for years without a tribal liaison, the governor appointed a former Cherokee Nation council member to that role in September.
Wes Nofire said he planned to build bridges, but a group of the state’s largest tribes voted no confidence in him.
Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, became the most vocal critic. He pointed to Nofire’s record of floating false conspiracy theories, including that the Cherokee Nation was involved in child trafficking.
Stitt kept Nofire on the job and made another move to improve tribal relations. He hosted a small event celebrating tribal heritage in November, which he called Native American Family Day.
More disputes emerge over sports betting, tribal police and tribal tags
Many tribal leaders have said they believe Stitt’s public attempts to improve ties are hollow, because he remains unwilling to work out on policy disputes. They remain at odds over:
Sports betting
The governor announced a proposal to legalize online sports betting in November and suggested private companies, instead of tribes, should run the operations.
Lawmakers, tribal officials and legal experts said the proposal appears to violate the current state-tribal gaming agreement.
License plates
State troopers started ticketing some drivers this fall if their cars had tribal license plates and the drivers could not prove they lived within the “jurisdiction” of their tribes.
Stitt said troopers were enforcing a decades-old law.
Tribal leaders countered that state police have long recognized their plates as valid statewide.
Public safety
The governor created a task force in December to study “broken” criminal justice systems on tribal reservations.
As evidence, he pointed to a dispute in Okmulgee County between tribal police and county jail employees.
Tribal officials described those types of conflicts as an anomaly. They said they largely have good working relationships with local law enforcement agencies.
Leaders of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations are refusing to join the task force.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and a tumultuous year with tribal nations
