Cherokee, Delaware Tribes Seek Agreement

Friday, July 28th 2006, 10:50 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Tribal leaders for the Cherokee Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask Congress to recognize the Delaware as a separate entity.

The proposed legislation is the first step toward restoring some $7 million in federal funding and would end years of flip-flopping verdicts on the smaller Delaware Tribe's sovereign status.

Cherokee Chief Chad Smith and Delaware Chief Jerry Douglas hand carried the proposed agreement Thursday to Washington.

Under the settlement, the Delawares, based in Bartlesville, will continue to be citizens of the Tahlequah-based Cherokee Nation as they have been since an 1867 agreement when the Delawares bought land within the Cherokee Nation.

Additional terms of the lengthy agreement will not be released until after the chief's return from Washington, said Earnest Tiger, the Delaware Tribe's spokesman.

The pact will limit Delaware sovereignty, said Edna Havens of Bartlesville, a Delaware who has followed the deliberations closely. She was at Monday's meeting when the tribal council approved the agreement 6-0, with one member absent.

"We understand we're not going to be able to operate freely. It's with the consent of the Cherokee Nation," she said.

In the past, Delaware leaders have resisted allowing the Cherokees to receive and disburse their federal funds. In a telephone interview from Washington with The Oklahoman, Smith said whether the Delawares get their money directly will be handled on a program-by-program basis.

"We'll look at each program they're interested in and determine if we can do it, they can do it or it should be a joint venture," Smith said.

The tribes have been fighting over terms and interpretations of their 1867 agreement for 139 years. Most recently, the Delawares lost federal recognition in 2004 when a federal appeals court ruled in the Cherokees' favor. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Delawares' appeal.

As a result, the Delawares lost their federal funding -- $7 million in 2004. They closed their Bartlesville health and wellness center in December. Last month, they sold the historic building in downtown Bartlesville where they were headquartered.

Douglas, the Delaware chief, said he and Smith met Thursday with each member of the Oklahoma delegation and are optimistic the bill will pass Congress, although it may be delayed until the start of the next session in January.