OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Native American lawmakers in Oklahoma are trying to gain support for measures on issues affecting their communities while the state and some tribes spar in a federal court battle over casino gambling compacts.
One of the bills the Native American Caucus is pushing in the Oklahoma House of Representatives would attempt to address state’s high rates of missing or murdered indigenous peoples. The measure would create an office within the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that would function as a liaison between local, state, federal and tribal governments during investigations of those crimes.
But that bill has not been discussed on the House floor, even as the deadline for bill hearings looms in less than a week.
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Native American women experience some of the nation’s highest rates of murder, sexual violence and domestic abuse. On some reservations, federal studies have shown women are killed at a rate more than 10 times the national average. Last fall, Attorney General William Barr announced a nationwide plan to address the crisis of missing and slain Native American women.
Democrat Rep. Collin Walke from Oklahoma City co-chairs the caucus with Republican Rep. Ken Luttrell from Ponca City. Walke said he believes the bill will be heard next week in the Judiciary House Committee.
“Tribal issues are really no different than the rest of the state,” Luttrell said. “But so many times there is a disconnect between urban and rural legislators, legislators without tribes in their districts. We are here to fill that gap.”
The 15-member caucus represents five of the state’s nearly 40 federally recognized tribes. It meets monthly to discuss upcoming legislation, bridge communication gaps and share concerns, Luttrell told The Oklahoman.
Anothercaucusbill that also hasn’t been heard would require schools to allow students to wear tribal regalia during high school graduation ceremonies.
State-tribal relations have recently become strained as the two parties are in a disagreement over revenue from tribal casinos. A federal judge this month ordered the two parties to mediate the conflict.
But the caucus is mainly focused on continuing to build partnerships between the state and tribes, Luttrell noted.
“The fortunate thing is that no tribal leader that we have spoken with - none of them are trying to hold a grudge,” Luttrell said. “They are ready to put it behind us, renegotiate the compacts if needed and move down to the next issue to move Oklahoma forward.”
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