Tulsa Mayoral Debate: What Is The Mayor's Role In Interacting With Native American Nations In Tulsa?

The Tulsa mayoral debate between candidates Karen Keith and Monroe Nichols is currently underway. Monroe Nichols, a Democratic representative for Oklahoma House District 72, is vying for the mayor's seat.

Karen Keith, also a Democrat, is the Tulsa County Commissioner for District 2. Her jurisdiction includes Sand Springs, Tulsa, Jenks, and Glenpool.

There are three tribes whose geographic areas stretch into parts of Tulsa. How are you prepared to lead when it comes to relationships with Native American tribes in our area?

Keith: all right, so I am so proud of the nations that on which our land, where we sit, we have three incredibly amazing chiefs, and they love working across party lines and with us on everything at the county. We've done road work together with them. We're doing Dream Keepers Park. This is going to change our entrance into downtown. Everybody's working together on this because it's something we need to do to truly honor the impacts of the nations who are around us. And I will tell you, if you don't know how they have impacted our economy, it's unbelievable. They have done so much for Oklahoma. I would hate to think what our economy would look like without them, and I will never forget, during COVID-19, when they stood up the monoclonal treatments for all of us, not just for Native Americans.

Nichols: I would have to agree. You know, the first thing that I released in this campaign was how we would work with tribes to move this community forward, everything from like the technical legal issues in response to McGirt, but also all these great opportunities we have to build just an excellent future for all Tulsans. I think it's a badge of honor to have a city that is fully encompassed by Indian Reservation. I think it means that we can be the gateway to Indian country and figure out how we have joint economic development plans, but also how we're going to take care of people, everything from homelessness to education and entrepreneurship, and so I'm really excited the relationship that I've been able to foster with the tribes all across this city, and frankly, tribes all across the state. During my time in the legislature, you can go again to go to Monroeformayor.com, you can see how we are going to talk about CO-governing with tribes, so we can do it together. I think this is a special thing about Tulsa. There are so many special things about Tulsa. One of the more special things is the fact that the land in which we live and inhabit is some of the most special land in our nation's boundaries.