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TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, is one step closer to issuing it’s own car tags, following a Rules Committee meeting Tuesday night. Tribal councilors voted to pass car tag legislation on to the full council for consideration in January’s regular meeting.

The Cherokee Nation currently does not issue tags, but is working with the State of Oklahoma towards an agreement that would allow Cherokee tribal members who live anywhere in the 14 county jurisdictional area in northeastern Oklahoma to purchase a tag for their vehicle. A compact would assure its tribal members that acquire a tag that Cherokee Nation tribal tags will be honored in states outside of Oklahoma.

Currently, law enforcement agencies in some other states have failed or refused to recognize tribal tags because they are not included in the national motor vehicle licensing database used by most state law enforcement agencies to determine the validity of motor vehicle tags. A compact would allow Cherokee Nation tags to be entered into that database and allow state-approved tag agencies to sell Cherokee Nation tags.

The Cherokee Nation, with its tens of thousands of members who own vehicles and live in the 14 county jurisdictional area, does not want to impact the state tag revenues that are earmarked for local schools by issuing its own tags. To that end, the Cherokee Nation’s proposed car tag plan would ensure that local school districts within the 14 county area would receive as much or more money from motor vehicle tag sales than they do under the current state plan. The Cherokee Nation, along with other tribes in eastern Oklahoma, is exploring the possibility of a multi-tribal compact.