Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

TAHLEQUAH, OK - Members of the Arkansas Riverbed Authority have agreed to utilize the Cherokee Nation’s GeoData Center to develop digital riverbed boundary data and provide a set of maps for each of the three Indian Nations that own a portion of the Arkansas Riverbed. The Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations have asked the GeoData center to create maps detailing the historical riverbed high-water line, the current high-water line, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Survey, the Holway Boundary and the current river channel.

The maps will allow all of these boundaries to be mapped and compared. The maps and data analysis will be used as decision-making tools for the Arkansas Riverbed Authority as they continue in settlement negotiations with the federal government over past use of the river and current ownership of lands along the river’s banks. The maps are expected to be finished by March, 2001.

Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle, Chickasaw Governor Bill Anoatubby and Cherokee Chief Chad Smith agreed to utilize the GeoData Center’s services following a presentation by Cherokee Nation’s GeoData Center manager, Laura Harjo, and cartographers Crystal Bond and Verlita Sugar.