This time every year for the past 30 years the Sac and Fox Nation takes a day to celebrate a momentous U. S. Supreme Court decision affirming the tribe’s right to issue vehicle license plates to its citizens. The tribal tags are an important expression of sovereignty and it generates revenue for education and other programs. Dozens of tribes in and outside of Oklahoma now extend their authority to motor vehicle tags. But Oklahoma tribes say that authority is under fire like never before. Tribal citizens are having to defend what tribal officials say is an increase in targeted stops and fines by non-tribal law enforcement. We’ll talk about celebrating a victory for sovereignty and the constant effort required to keep it.
GUESTS
Gregory H. Bigler (Euchee, enrolled in the Muscogee Nation), author, tribal judge in Oklahoma, and attorney
Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians), law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and author of the Turtle Talk blog
Audrey Rose Lee (Sac & Fox Nation), second chief of the Sac & Fox Nation
Robert Gifford (Cherokee Nation), Native American law attorney and tribal court judge