By Troy Littledeer
OKMULGEE, Okla. — The Muscogee (Creek) Nation National Council voted Saturday to postpone a resolution supporting the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) in its dispute over federal legislation that would require Cherokee Nation consent before any other tribe could place land into trust within the Cherokee Reservation.
Council members voted 9-4 to table Resolution TR 25-079 after more than an hour of discussion.
Nearly half the seating inside the Muscogee (Creek) National Council chamber was filled by Cherokee Nation officials, including members of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.’s cabinet, administration staff, and multiple executive directors. The United Keetoowah Band council was also in attendance, joined by about a dozen UKB employees and a number of tribal citizens who traveled to witness the discussion.
The session drew leaders from both the Cherokee Nation and UKB, as well as a packed gallery of tribal officials and citizens.
Federal rider at center of dispute
The appropriations language reportedly championed by U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., would reimpose a consent requirement first inserted into a 1992 federal spending bill but later overturned by Congress in 1999.
Under the 1992 rider, the Department of the Interior could not take land into trust for the UKB within the Cherokee Reservation without Cherokee Nation approval. That provision was controversial for years and ultimately replaced in 1999 with a consultation-only rule, meaning the Cherokee Nation had to be notified and consulted but could no longer veto UKB trust land applications.
Documents obtained by the UKB through a Freedom of Information Act request and posted on the tribe’s website show the new rider would restore the veto authority Congress stripped out 25 years ago.
“We should remember that the very language that the Cherokee Nation is seeking to correct was language put in a rider and changed,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told the council. “We’d like to change it back.”
Cherokee Nation warns of intertribal harm
Hoskin urged the council to reject the resolution supporting UKB, saying it risked damaging relationships between the tribes and inserting the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into a Cherokee Nation dispute.
“It will do irreparable harm to the relationship between the Muscogee Nation and the Cherokee Nation,” Hoskin said. “I cannot adhere to my oath if I don’t protect and defend our treaties, our reservation, and our right to govern the Cherokee Nation Reservation.”
Hoskin said even after reviewing a substitute version of the resolution on the spot, his opposition was unchanged.
“This is not about process and consultation,” he told council members. “This is about condemnation. Make no mistake — the question before you is whether to condemn the Cherokee Nation for doing what any nation would do to protect its sovereignty.”
UKB says rider threatens sovereignty — and services
UKB Chief Jeff Wacoche said the consent requirement would not only block the tribe’s land-into-trust efforts but also cripple its ability to develop housing, healthcare, and other services for members.
“The proposed legislative language is intended, stealth and secret, and without consultation with the UKB,” Wacoche said. “It is a blatant attack on our sovereignty. It is also intended to ensure we have zero economic development to fund critical services for our members.”
Placing land into trust allows tribes to build clinics, housing projects, and government facilities free from state taxation and regulation. Wacoche warned that giving the Cherokee Nation veto power would let a rival government block UKB projects indefinitely — stalling plans for housing, health centers, and courts.
“Oppression is oppression, no matter the justification,” he said, drawing applause from the chamber. “Passage of this resolution would make clear that the Muscogee people want to ensure the UKB is not stripped of its rights and that it has its day in court — nothing more, nothing less.”
Council sponsor warns: “Tomorrow, it could be us”
Resolution sponsor Dode Barnett said the dispute went beyond Cherokee Nation politics, pointing to the broader danger of allowing Congress to impose tribe-specific restrictions without consultation.
“The irony of the remarks made here today about this happening without consultation is not lost on me, because that’s what’s happening at the federal level,” Barnett said. “It doesn’t feel good when it’s happening to you, and that’s the bigger point.”
She warned the Muscogee (Creek) Nation could face similar treatment in the future:
“This right now is happening to another tribe,” Barnett said. “Tomorrow, it can be Muscogee Nation.”
Vote and next steps
Following the discussion, Council Member Anna Marshall moved to postpone the resolution indefinitely, with Council Member Nelson Harjo Sr. seconding. The motion passed 9-4.
Voting against postponement were:
- Dode Barnett (sponsor)
- Patrick Freeman Jr. (co-sponsor)
- Mark Randolph
- Robyn Whitecloud
The UKB delegation remained for the rest of the session, while Cherokee Nation officials left immediately after the vote. The resolution could be reconsidered later, but no date has been set.
