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Osage Congress passes resolution rejecting Gov. Stitt’s proposal to renegotiate gaming compacts

On Day 6 of the 2019 Tzi-Zho Session, the Sixth Osage Nation Congress unanimously approved a resolution rejecting Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s proposal to renegotiate the tribe’s gaming compact with the possible intent to increase fees paid to the state.

The 12-member Congress passed ONCR 19-19 (sponsored by Congressman Eli Potts) as one of the first legislative items approved in the 24-day fall session on Sept. 9. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear also signed the resolution on Sept. 11.

The resolution’s passage comes after state and national news outlets also reported on Stitt’s proposal announced in a Tulsa World op-ed earlier this summer. At issue in the gaming compacts with the Nation and other tribes with gaming businesses are the exclusivity rates the tribes pay the state for operating Class III gaming machines as provided by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Stitt has stated he believes the gaming compacts should be renegotiated and the exclusivity fees could be subject to increases.

Standing Bear, along with nearly 30 tribal leaders, signed a July 23 Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association letter standing in response to Stitt’s proposal. According to the letter, the signed tribal leaders are intending “to stand united in response” to the announced gaming compact renegotiations, as well as Stitt’s argument that the gaming compacts will expire on Dec. 31.

The letter says the signed tribal leaders believe: “The present gaming compact(s) will automatically renew on Jan. 1, 2020; The rates under the present gaming compact should not change. They represent promises made by the State of Oklahoma and the tribes. Promises we intend to fulfill now and in the future and we expect the state to do the same.”

According to ONCR 19-19, the Nation “strongly disagrees with Gov. Stitt’s interpretation and position on the terms of the current Model Gaming Compact. Now, therefore it be resolved that the (ON) Congress rejects Gov. Stitt’s claim that the Gaming Compact between the Osage Nation and the State of Oklahoma must be renegotiated and will stand with the other Tribes of Oklahoma who have expressed the same position through the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes and through the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. 

In related news, The Oklahoman reported Oklahoma State Attorney General Mike Hunter’s office has selected Michigan law firm Dykema Gossett to help represent the state in the gaming compact negotiations. A Hunter spokesperson told the newspaper the outside law firm was selected because of their experience in tribal negotiations.

According to the law firm’s website, Dykema’s attorneys “have played key roles in establishing tribal and commercial casino gaming in Michigan and have been at the forefront of gaming developments in other new gaming jurisdictions. In the tribal arena, Dykema was at the forefront in Michigan, playing a lead role in multitribal compact negotiations that resulted in the state’s first tribal-gaming compacts in 1993.”

The Tzi-Zho Session stretches into the first week of October. Congressional meeting notices and agendas for sessions and committee meetings are posted online to the Legislative Branch calendar at: www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/congress-legislative-branch/calendar


By

Benny Polacca


Original Publish Date: 2019-09-18 00:00:00

Author

  • Benny Polacca

    Title: Senior Reporter

    Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Instagram: @bpolacca

    Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

    Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

    Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

    Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

    Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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Benny Polacca
Benny Polaccahttps://osagenews.org

Title: Senior Reporter

Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

Instagram: @bpolacca

Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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