[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6630939,"mediaKeyId","2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3","parentId",2688500,"title","Commission approves meeting minutes, appoints Commissioner Joyce Roberts to Human Rights Commission","audioSeconds",1596,"startMs",111000,"endMs",1707000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3&start=111&end=1707","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3/thumbnail_111000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6630939/Tulsa/Tulsa-County/Oklahoma/Commission-approves-meeting-minutes-appoints-Commissioner-Joyce-Roberts-to-Human-Rights-Commission","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6630939-913a20a502266ad9fe7b45f6eb3dcf91/orig.mp4?Expires=1771194603&Signature=EofVpbfeKIOLSi2SZmpQi8NTCzZSwRSn-~I6yF9nqwGbXFeY-TlhAVAikis1kYIBuO215tS541WP1-yCLj2Sd00W17rl6knqTiXS~FQkLMSS98jjPEt8VkF98UGzGQl3OBeAra9-UL0bNEg73CObbvbZwXLyBKaI2IEiQzY6P6QwwX8Dqhqg7oy5TTpUNEMoG-pqA~aw1ZMKhQFwuDj9EGSGFdIJpB8gmh8SEtbUoydqowlfles~0pCr7w5x9hIgqygPkK--RBfsyPVmkv2KGYjmqKZPBD4BRJzkkkZ0sJ3rvQHKccuFCk~gvdquKFYD6nQr7Ikf42VvyAtaDSJOZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tulsa","date","2025-03-18T18:03:00Z","article","The commission voted to approve previously circulated meeting minutes and later voted to appoint Commissioner Joyce Roberts as the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission’s representative to the City of Tulsa Human Rights Commission.

The vice chair asked members to review attendance records in the draft minutes and then called for a voice vote. Members answered “aye” and the minutes were approved by voice vote.

For the Human Rights Commission appointment, the vice chair nominated Joyce Roberts and a second was recorded. Commissioners voted “aye” and the appointment was approved by voice vote; Roberts accepted the appointment and said “thank you.”

No recorded roll-call vote totals were given during either action. The meeting adjourned by motion later in the session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Tulsa - Indian Affairs Commission - Mar 18, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission approved its meeting minutes and voted to appoint Commissioner Joyce Roberts as the commission’s representative to the City of Tulsa Human Rights Commission.","taxTitle","Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma","taxId",2682,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6630944,"Commissioners raise alarm over BIA lease terminations, IHS changes and possible breaches of tribal trust obligations",156,1286000,1442000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3&start=1286&end=1442","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3/thumbnail_1286000.jpg","/articles/6630944/Tulsa/Tulsa-County/Oklahoma/Commissioners-raise-alarm-over-BIA-lease-terminations-IHS-changes-and-possible-breaches-of-tribal-trust-obligations","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6630944-97917fbe620ea8bc706a616e06c4ebc0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771194603&Signature=mGY0PPqQoDF-3f6xmT099~Jb8JY7OYk2KCeaQl6G-ZfclBX63iu6UnQqkwOVAXtMEulrCCmfFuPas5dlkUOQEW0XoOs9lcKdwApT4eA~pywc3PARzihlk9g9HTnfvVXbOVnRDlaX7SXayGBIdn0jiKYTpZQZBntHO3I2iqpXG2sE6qg6aHej-UG65F4Gw4Z8OrPEwWHO12AnBIX3j0sg2b46yNfY4vpWJ8wQ1~3deP1v3uuo1e9J8DRzfNeEFM3sW4D98PODXgp5KgDKPA-R7opVDcwmrI4~6P9RhaHSTlMWK7n~XHglVzE0FcHTeOou~mPZKOQu6EKHl1t-gaenZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Commissioner Williams told the commission that she had been informed of lease terminations affecting Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices, including a lease at Pawnee that she said is scheduled to end in September and could result in the office’s closure.

She said the Osage Agency’s lease was also terminated and that the interim superintendent there had been laid off. Commissioner Williams urged commissioners to monitor tribal agency staffing because, she said, the federal government’s trust obligations to tribes can give rise to breach-of-trust claims when services and personnel are removed.

Commissioners referenced materials from the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) describing distinctions between Indian education and diversity programs and explaining treaty-based trust responsibilities. Commissioner Williams noted that past breach-of-trust litigation has produced large settlements for tribes, citing an earlier settlement involving the Osage Nation.

Separately, Commissioner Deere reported changes to Indian Health Service (IHS) payment arrangements in some areas, saying that IHS billing and payment processing had been consolidated in ways that left certain local sites without direct billing control. Deere said some IHS and BIA responsibilities appear to be shifting geographically and that local offices and tribal program officials have received notices and should be consulted.

Why it matters: Commissioners said loss of local BIA staff or offices could impair tribal access to federal services and might create legal exposure for the federal government if trust responsibilities are not met.

Commissioners recommended that tribal and commission representatives track lease and staffing notices closely, consult legal counsel and review NARF guidance when engaging with federal agencies. One commissioner said she planned to re-educate herself and the commission about the roles of specific federal offices and how they differ from tribal agencies.

The meeting included no formal action on the reported federal office changes; commissioners encouraged outreach to tribal natural-resources and education staff to identify emerging problems.","Members reported lease terminations at Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, changes to Indian Health Service payment arrangements, and concerns that staffing and office closures could create trust issues or liability for the federal government.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6630949,"Muscogee Nation, City of Tulsa in consent-decree talks as governor seeks to intervene in litigation",102,177000,279000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3&start=177&end=279","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2688500-316425749e692f540d2cd95d7f7822f3/thumbnail_177000.jpg","/articles/6630949/Tulsa/Tulsa-County/Oklahoma/Muscogee-Nation-City-of-Tulsa-in-consent-decree-talks-as-governor-seeks-to-intervene-in-litigation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6630949-f3f014a48c3de748552b0bbf5c23fd53/orig.mp4?Expires=1771194603&Signature=VX4N9-2CfQH-KEzp3yQ1J84FeooO-L17JU5bq4qwbSYx94s5bURewYtk7O8s5F6ZQvhVu6qMgx2qQtADesx14tiP7QQ9E2M1ueT2dCdycDERg30ijQTDI3cNOvHeljaaNdJENkOb2LLuaqtmYG~f3EIctrY1nLTAcN0Ebh0l6M2VcppIc2V2G9gEAqwFF1MgXCDdd3FtA77n-9yfa4qUzGQLNETuSOTmPCTo4JXT2EZVgeFtefwhwUcuWjVH~UiLZLMlHNJZRHS5wBqwUjAhYm2eAV98M7H6K3RJYr0m3aChqqTIjUoTzAfszNkSmRwVAgs2YLURRvzOBwtianbB0g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Vice Chair (chairing) reported that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the City of Tulsa are negotiating a consent decree to resolve jurisdictional and public-safety questions that surfaced after the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision.

The vice chair said the Muscogee Nation sued to bar certain arrests of Native American citizens within the nation’s reservation after McGirt reaffirmed reservation status for large parts of eastern Oklahoma. The previous Tulsa mayor defended the city in the suit; the current mayor, G. T. Bynum Nichols (referred to as Mayor Nichols in discussion), agreed to pause litigation while the city and the nation negotiate, the vice chair said.

The matter intensified when Governor Kevin Stitt filed a motion seeking to intervene and take over the litigation on the city’s behalf, the vice chair reported. The governor’s filing asks the court to allow state involvement and for the case to be dismissed; the vice chair said it remains unclear whether the governor has authority to step into litigation that the city is attempting to resolve cooperatively with the tribe.

Why it matters: The dispute touches on criminal and civil jurisdiction, tribal sovereignty and the limits of municipal and state authority after McGirt v. Oklahoma. Commissioners said continued litigation creates uncertainty for residents, law enforcement and governments.

Commissioners and staff have been working on a draft consent decree and scheduled further meetings between tribal leaders and the mayor’s office to discuss specific language, the vice chair said. Legal review by the parties is ongoing and additional public-safety conversations are planned as negotiations continue.

No final court ruling was reported during the meeting, and commissioners noted that state-level filings could alter the negotiation timeline. The vice chair said the outcome of the governor’s motion to intervene and any subsequent filings remain pending in court.","Commissioners reported that negotiations are underway between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to resolve post-McGirt jurisdiction questions; Oklahoma’s governor has filed to intervene in the case, and the outcome is pending.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commission approves meeting minutes, appoints Commissioner Joyce Roberts to Human Rights Commission

Commissioners raise alarm over BIA lease terminations, IHS changes and possible breaches of tribal trust obligations

Muscogee Nation, City of Tulsa in consent-decree talks as governor seeks to intervene in litigation