Cherokee governments clash over proposed land-in-trust change
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians says a proposed federal appropriations provision would make its people “invisible,” while Cherokee Nation leaders support the measure, according to reporting by Cherokee Phoenix.
Drafted by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee Nation), the proposal would require Cherokee Nation consent for trust land within its reservation, reversing a 1999 change that required only consultation.
UKB leaders call the move an assault on their sovereignty and legal status, but Cherokee Nation officials say it restores language first adopted in 1992 with then-Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller’s support. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement that the UKB has long made “fabricated claims” to treaty rights, while the UKB is urging Congress and other tribes to oppose the measure.
The dispute comes amid stalled UKB plans to re-enter the gaming market and ongoing legal disagreements over jurisdiction and treaty rights.
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