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Pat Ragsdale, Governmental Services Communication Director for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CNO), told members of the Oklahoma Intertribal Tax Association last week that the Cherokee Tribal Council is committed to start selling tribal vehicle license tags.

Ragsdale said that the decision will affect the state because the CNO is such a large tribe. Approximately half of the 200,000 tribal members of the CNO, the second largest American Indian Tribe in the nation, reside in Oklahoma.

According to Ragsdale, tribal officials see selling automobile tags as an economic development opportunity that will provide more revenue for the tribe. Ragsdale also said that tribal members have been requesting that the tribe issue tags for some time.

Ragsdale explained that the CNO does not want to harm the schools in the northeastern boundaries by taking away funds from the school districts. The schools within these 14-county boundaries, are predominantly Indian, about 90,000 tribal members attend the schools, within the 14 county boundaries

According to Ragsdale, the revenue from Oklahoma State tag fees are shared by the state and the school districts, in the counties where each tag is purchased. The tribal councils will allocate where and how the funds are spent that are collected by the tribe

Mary Williams, Administrator of the Osage Tribe's Tax Commission and President of the Oklahoma Intertribal Tax Association, said that of the state's 39 tribes, 15 sell tribal vehicle tags. The tribal plates can be issued only to members and are issued can only go on vehicles that are registered in the jurisdictional boundaries of the specific tribe.

Williams also said that most of the tax money goes to tribal educational and health care programs, adding that some tribes allocate funds to non-Indian community services as well.

According Barbara Warner, Executive Director of the State Indian Affairs Commission, the impact on state revenue is minimal because most tribes selling their own tags average in size between 2,500 and 3,000 members and some are smaller. Warner cited the 200 member Modoc Tribe as an example of size.

Warner further explained that not every tribal member buys a tribal plate, even though in most cases they are cheaper than what the state charges adding that fewer than half of the members in the tribes are licensed drivers.

Ragsdale said the CNO could start selling tags, but before doing so wants to explore forming a compact with the state, to avoid any legal or jurisdictional battles. Ragsdale also asked that other tribes consider joining the CNO to draft a multi-tribal compact, a revenue sharing package. The state would get also receive a share of the money tribes collect from tags.

Tribal leaders or representatives of the other 29 Oklahoma Tribal Nations, attending the meeting at Osage headquarters in Pawhuska, were reluctant to join. The tribal leaders expressed their concern for weakening their right as sovereign nations extended by U.S. Federal law. Some felt that any provisions in an agreement made with the state and the CNO could be made into law in order to regulate the other tribes.

Paul Spicer, second chief of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation said, "Every compact we enter into, we lose a little bit of our sovereignty."

Mary Williams said that the Osage tribe would need more information. "We're going to sit back and listen," she said. "We're not really excited about having a compact."

Pat Ragsdale expressed his understanding of the hesitancy stating, "Whatever we do, it is not to interfere with the rights of other tribes. We're not trying to restrict or speak for other Indian tribes that don't want to be involved in this."

Dan Mahoney, a spokesman for Governor Frank Keating said the Governor has expressed and interest in speaking with the tribes concerning a revenue sharing agreement. Discussion with the CNO have already begun.

Ragsdale indicated that the tribe has not yet come up with any type of fee schedule, adding that this would depend on what the state legislature does on measures that might reduce car tag rates. No decision has been made in regard to what percentage the state would get but Ragsdale did say that the CNO would allocate at least 35 percent of tag sales to local school districts.

Legal issues such as the conflicts that have developed between other tribes and the state over such issues as revenue from cigarettes, gasoline and gaming, could be prevented with a compact.

"Like in the old Indian tradition when we tried to settle disputes before going to war, we're trying to settle disputes before going to court," Ragsdale said.

Ragsdale suggested that the sale of the Cherokee Tribal tags would be limited to within the 14-county boundaries of the CNO and the tags would be available at state tag agent offices in those counties. Ragsdale said that would it be more convenient for tribal members than driving to tribal headquarters in Tahlequah. Additionally the tags would also be part of the states database system, so Oklahoma and out-of-state law enforcement officers could easily check the validity of tags.

While traveling out of state, motorists with Oklahoma tribal tags sometimes find themselves in difficult situations when pulled over in other states, because not all tribal tags are entered into the state's data system. Ragsdale also pointed out that some tribal members have had to pay fines or have had their cars impounded because they could not easily prove ownership of their vehicles.

Ragsdale also said that the state would receive information from the Cherokee Tribal tag registrations as to when those tags were due for renewal.