Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Jack Jackson, Cherokee Nation citizen from Kansas, OK, talks with Principal Chief Chad Smith and displays the first Cherokee Nation car tag sold, which Jackson purchased early Monday morning.

TAHLEQUAH, OK - The line for Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma car tags began forming at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, October 29, 2001 at the Cherokee Nation tag office. By the time the doors opened, ten minutes early at 8:20, more than forty people were munching on doughnuts, sipping coffee and waiting to buy their Cherokee Nation car tags.

"These car tags are outward expressions of our sovereignty", said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. "Our staff deserves a lot of credit for building this program from the ground up and getting things running smoothly on the first day."

Marcella and Ronnie Dentis of Inola were the first in line. "We got here at 7:00 a.m.", said Marcella Dentis. "Our tags were getting ready to expire."

Jack Jackson of Kansas, Okla., was the first to purchase a tag. "My goal was to be the first one", said Jackson, who was second in line. "I had all my documents ready and I was the first one out."

The Cherokee Nation tagged well over 100 vehicles in its first day of operation. Cherokee Nation Tax Commission personnel expect lines to be long all through the week.

"If people really don't need their tags immediately, it might be easier for them to wait until their tags are due", said Paula Holder, the tax administrator for the Cherokee Nation. "The lines are long right now and many people are waiting several hours for their tags."

"I got here at 8:20, and it was worth the wait", said Valerie Rogers of Tahlequah. "They’re doing a wonderful job. It was a long wait but everybody was friendly and nobody has been angry."

"I've been waiting for this day since the first day I saw Creek Nation tags", said Mary Brown of Tulsa. "Waiting a few more hours today was no problem."

"I wanted to support my tribe", Jackson said, explaining his eagerness to get a Cherokee Nation tag. "And the tags were less expensive, especially on the tax. The state wanted more than $700 for my daughter's car, and I got it today for $312. Waiting an hour and a half was worth $400 bucks to me."

Cherokee Nation registration tax is 1.5% of the actual purchase price of a vehicle, less than half the excise tax charged by the State of Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation does not charge registration tax for a transfer of tag, only for newly purchased vehicles. All registration tax money goes to the Cherokee Nation.

Money from the sales of the tags goes into the Cherokee Nation General Fund. By law, the Cherokee Nation will donate 38% of the revenue to local schools and 20% to roads projects. Education funding will be distributed based on the number of Indian children in each school. Sequoyah High School, an Indian boarding school run by the Cherokee Nation, will share in the revenues as well, though they do not receive any state funding.

The car tags will cost $75 for a new car, with rates dropping as low as $10 for cars that are more than 17 years old.

In the future, the Cherokee Nation plans to work with tag agents within the Cherokee Nation to distribute the tags.

Currently, Cherokee Nation tags are available only at the Cherokee Nation tag office, located 3 miles south of Tahlequah on U.S. 62, behind the Restaurant of the Cherokees. That office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

To purchase a tag, Cherokee Nation tribal members must bring their tribal membership card (commonly known as the blue card) and proof of residence (such as a utility bill) as well as the usual documents required for automobile registration.

The proof of residence will show that the Cherokee citizen lives within the Cherokee Nation.

Tribal members must live within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdictional area to be eligible to purchase a tag. The original land base of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory was established and confirmed by fee patents exchanged with the United States in 1839 and 1846. This area encompasses all or part of 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma and under modern federal Indian law is referred to as an "Indian Reservation" or as "Indian Country". Within these boundary lines, the Cherokee Nation has sole jurisdiction over Indian lands.

Those boundary lines define the area in which the Cherokee Nation government can levy taxes and enforce the law. To draw a parallel, an American citizen that takes up residency in Canada, must tag their vehicle with a valid Canadian car tag. Similarly, although a person may have been born and raised in Oklahoma and may consider himself a native Oklahoman in every respect, if he moves to California he must obtain a California tag. The same rules apply to tribal tags. Therefore, the Cherokee Nation will only issue automobile license plates (car tags) for tribal members residing within the Cherokee Nation, which is the fourteen-county area in northeastern Oklahoma.

To purchase a car tag, Cherokee citizens must present:

1. Proof of residence within the 14-county area of the Cherokee Nation (example: utility bill)
2. Blue tribal membership card (not CDIB)
3. Valid certificate of title to the vehicle in the name of the applicant
4. Valid certificate of title properly assigned over to the name of the applicant along with a bill of sale (or proof of purchase price if purchased from an individual)
5. Certificate of Origin (MSO) if purchased new from a dealership and a copy of bill of sale or sales contract
6. Valid Oklahoma Driver’s License showing applicant’s residence within the Reservation Boundaries of the Cherokee Nation
7. Proof of current liability insurance
8. Name, address, city, state and zip of Lien Holder (if any)
9. Lien Release if satisfied

For more information regarding Cherokee Nation car tags, please contact the Cherokee Nation Tax Commission, phone: 918-456-0671 (extensions 2320, 2771, 2703 or 2270) or visit the Cherokee Nation Tag Office web site.