The Muscogee Nation

Category: Inter-Tribal Council

  • Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes unites once again in Choctaw country

    For Immediate Release
    Oct. 24, 2019
    Media Contact: Liz Gray
    O: (918) 549-2453
    egray@muscogeenation.com

    Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes unites once again in Choctaw country

    Chief Floyd delivers outgoing ITC update

    DURANT, Oklahoma — The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes meeting was held Oct. 10-11 at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma.

    Principal Chief James R. Floyd delivered his outgoing update for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation during the general session.

    “It’s been great serving as principal chief,” Floyd said. “It’s been fun and I think it has been brought up before that you really do this for the people.”

    He provided an update over the Stigler Act Amendment, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park expansion and the MCN health systems.

    “Using the authorities that we have, it is great now to see our collections exceed the distribution that we get from the Indian Health Service,” he said. “The fact that we can now plan on how we can allocate the funds that we generate ourselves” he said.

    ITC passed eight resolutions during the Oct. 11 General Session.

    The first resolution, Resolution No. 19-20, encouraged tribal governments to establish Tribal Complete Count Committees to support an accurate and complete count of all tribal citizens and to raise awareness about the programs and services made possible by the U.S. Census.

    The 2020 U.S. Census will occur on April 1, an accurate census count would ensure that Native American voters have an equal voice in the political process of non-tribal elections.

    The second resolution, Resolution No. 19-21, supports the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act (STOP) Act of 2019. The act would eliminate the export of, and encourage the repatriation of, tribal cultural heritage and strengthen the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

    Resolution No. 19-22 was the third resolution addressed, which supports the expansion of the State of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program to certain low-income adults, as permitted under federal Medicaid laws.

    Oklahoma is one of fourteen states that has not expanded Medicaid, despite indications that show spending offsets and savings to the State would result in little to no net costs to the state to expand Medicaid; the state continues to lose out on health care resources creating inequities in Indian health.

    The fourth resolution, Resolution No. 19-23, supports the designation of additional tribal Promise Zones and nomination of additional tribal Promise Zones in Indian Country can and will help establish private-public partnerships and ensure investment in some of the most underserved areas in Indian Country.

    The Choctaw Nation was named as the first ever tribal Promise Zone in 2014. The Thunder Valley Promise Zone, Pride of the Great Plains Promise Zone and Spokane Tribe of Indians Promise Zone have since been designated as tribal Promise Zones to support and empower their communities through this initiative. Tribal Promise Zones in Indian Country help establish private-public partnerships and ensure investment in some of the most underserved areas in Indian Country.

    Resolution No. 19-24 supports the mission of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium to advance tribal economics and strengthen tribal finance within the state of Oklahoma and supports the vision of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium that tribes and sovereign nations throughout Oklahoma will gain financial and economic synergy through collaboration and enriched intertribal relations.

    Chief Floyd spoke about the Oklahoma Economic Impact that was released earlier this year during his update.

    “It’s important that we keep that message about who we are and the impact that we out in the forefront,” he said. “96,000 jobs that we have made in the state of Oklahoma. Who else can stand up and say they represent an organization that had brought that many jobs to the state?”

    The sixth resolution, Resolution No. 19-25, urged Congress to reauthorize NAHASDA and uphold its commitment to government-to-government negotiations with the tribes. The resolution proposed that no federally recognized tribe should be explicitly mentioned or subject to additional restrictions for funding eligibility.

    Resolution No. 19-26 urged Congress to expedite a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to ensure continued protection and services for Native women experiencing or at-risk violence.

    VAWA was last reauthorized in 2013, over the past few decades the act has included provisions addressing the protection and support of Native Women. The previous reauthorization closed the jurisdictional gap by providing tribal governments with the authority to hold non-Native perpetrators accountable for their crimes against Native women in Indian country.

    The eighth and final resolution, Resolution No. 19-27, supports the Cherokee Nation’s action to exercise its treaty right and call upon the House of Representative to fulfill its obligation to the Cherokee Nation by seating Delegate Kimberly Teehee in Congress.

    In 2017, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rules that the rights and obligations established under the 1866 treaty remain in effect for the Cherokee Nation and the United States. The principal chief of the Cherokee Nation is to appoint a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, the delegate is to be confirmed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation.

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  • Inter-Tribal Council to honor members who have passed

    Gene Lehmann, Senior Writer, Chickasaw Nation Media Relations

    TULSA, Okla. – The March death of longtime Chickasaw citizen, employee and legislator Dean McManus served as the catalyst for the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes to recognize the impact, contributions and importance of members who have passed.

    McManus’ death was discussed during an executive council session. Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby remembered her leadership and dedication to the organization and to all of Indian Country.

    Gov. Anoatubby’s remarks sparked a discussion about the passing of several important members of the organization founded in 1950 to represent the interests of indigenous people of the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations.


    “We have lost a lot of people throughout the years and we really didn’t recognize them and their contributions to this organization,” Muscogee (Creek) Chief James Floyd said.

    “We will be working with the five tribes to gather names and (write) resolutions of recognition – not just to (their) individual tribes but also to the Inter-Tribal Council. Some of them were active nationally. We will invite their families to join us so we can recognize them in the proper way,” Chief Floyd said.

    Floyd, who serves as president of the council, said recognition will be an annual event.

    McManus, a full-blood Chickasaw, was one of 25 people who worked for the Chickasaw Nation in 1975. She was hired as a Community Health Representative and was promoted to supervisor and coordinator of the department. She also served as Chickasaw Nation Director of Human Resources in 1995 and the Director of Training and Development in 1997 before she was elected to the Chickasaw Tribal Legislature in 1999. She was 78 when she passed.

    Other members mentioned who filled critically important roles within the Inter-Tribal Council include Tom Dosh and Bertram Bobb. Dosh served on the Choctaw Tribal Council for 38 years in addition to serving as a voting delegate to the Inter-Tribal Council. Dosh died at 71 in October 2016.

    Choctaw citizen Bertram Bobb served 18 years on the Choctaw Tribal Council and was the chaplain of the Inter-Tribal Council for 27 years. He is the only person to be appointed tribal chaplain for his lifetime. He died at 91 in December 2015.

    Resolutions honoring the deceased are expected at the July general council session.

    In other matters, the council passed five resolutions unanimously.

    The council said the U.S. Congress should amend the Tribal Adoption Parity Act. Under present law, states only designate “special needs” children to receive full adoption tax credits. This excludes tribal governments and adoptions within tribal judicial settings. The council called for amendments to the Internal Revenue Code to include tribal governments for adoption tax credit. Such action would ease the financial hardship on adoptive families under authority of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

    Encouraged young Native American girls to study and enter into science, technology, engineering and math – widely known as STEM – as fields of study and future careers. The council cited the Million Women Mentors Native American Council and the American Indian Science and Engineer Society’s “Empowering Native Girls in STEM” as providing support in elementary through high schools. STEM education is critical to natural resource development, health care strategies, and a multitude of other opportunities for young Natives. By supporting the two groups, the council hopes to increase the number of Native students involved in STEM programs in Oklahoma and across the nation.

    Backed renewal of the special diabetes program tor Native Americans. Congress established the program in 1997 to address the growing epidemic of diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The program has grown and is the “nation’s most strategic and effective federal initiative to combat diabetes,” the council said. Current funding of the program ends Sept. 30, 2017. Funding has been steady since 2002. The council requested the program be extended “at least five years” with $200 million per year in funding.

    Adopted a call for the Veterans Administration health care facilities to waive copayments for American Indians and Alaska Native veterans. Citing treaties and agreements between Native American nations and the federal government to provide health care, the council said the Veterans Administration is a federal government program and thereby shares in the federal responsibility to provide care to Native veterans even if they are eligible for services at Indian health care facilities.

    The Inter-Tribal Council supports the appointment of Lance Robertson as Assistant Secretary of the Agency on Aging/Administration for Community Living. Robertson currently is director of Aging Services, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. The council noted Robertson has supported endeavors of tribal aging services to tribal elders of Oklahoma for more than 20 years.