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Felix Clary
ICT + Tulsa World

TULSA, Okla. – Two tribal leaders say they won’t join Gov. Kevin Stitt’s newly announced task force on “jurisdictional ambiguity in the wake of the McGirt decision” as it threatens established law enforcement relationships across eastern Oklahoma.

Stitt said in his executive order the task force was created after a December 18 scuffle between Muscogee Nation tribal police and Okmulgee County jail staff.

Lighthorse Police, acting on a cross-deputization agreement with the Grand River Dam Authority Police, had arrested a suspect but were told the jail would not book tribal arrests. Eventually the inmate was booked, though arguments about appropriate jurisdiction continued as video of the scuffle was released.

Since the task force was announced, Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation leaders said the Grand River Dam Authority decided to put on hold the ability of tribal officers to act on its authority.

“The suspension of this (cross-deputization) agreement results from pressure from Gov. Stitt and his campaign to undermine the sovereignty of tribes and deteriorate public safety,” Muscogee Principal Chief David Hill said in a statement.

The Cherokee Nation has agreements with several municipalities regarding law enforcement, some dating as far back as 1992, spokeswoman Julie Hubbard said Monday in an ICT and Tulsa World interview.

The executive order detailing the task force cites a “broken system created by the McGirt decision,” with disputes between tribal and other police forces.

Cross-deputization has been touted as a way to ensure that Native and non-Native people accused of crimes face justice regardless of whether the state has jurisdiction to prosecute.

The governor’s 13-seat task force allows for one tribal representative of the “Five Civilized Tribes” and another from the state’s other 33 tribes. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told The Oklahoman last week that “we don’t feel welcome to participate.”

On Monday, the Muscogee Nation officially rejected participation in the task force.

“Unfortunately, the governor’s task force on McGirt is based on a false premise and seeks misguided political objectives through a structure intended to divide rather than unify,” Hill said in a statement.

“This task force cannot adequately serve the public good unless these flaws are corrected. We cannot participate in any endeavor aimed at weakening tribal nations and, by extension, harming public safety.”

Hill said the Grand River Dam Authority’s actions have little to do with the cross-deputization agreements themselves.

“The laws on how tribal jurisdiction can work collaboratively with Oklahoma’s other agencies are crystal clear,” he said. “Unfortunately, rather than focus on how to incorporate tribal authority to benefit the public, the state has wasted far too much time and energy finding ways to evade, reject, or minimize the positive impact of tribal jurisdiction. This task force is just the latest example of that.”

According to Hill, the Grand River Dam Authority was enthusiastic about working with the Muscogee Nation when meeting with the tribe’s attorney general earlier in December.

“They even began planning training events to make others aware of how well it worked,” Hill said.

Now the authority says its two-way agreements with tribal police will be on hold until results of the task force are released, with the goal being consistency across the state.

“GRDA Police has a longstanding record and dedication of working with all law enforcement agencies across northeast Oklahoma to ensure public safety,” authority President Dan Sullivan said in a statement. “We will determine the future appropriate action related to law-enforcement commissions issued by GRDA, pending the results of the One Oklahoma Task Force.”

Stitt has asked the task force to deliver a report by June 1 that would recommend legal fixes and policy changes clearing up jurisdictional confusion. The dates of task force meetings have yet to be set.

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