TAHLEQUAH —
The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council Monday night voiced its opposition to Arizona Senate Bill 1070, known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, one of the strictest anti-illegal immigration measures passed in decades.
Sponsored by CN Tribal Councilors Julia Coates and Chuck Hoskin Jr., the legislation passed unanimously, and supports measures already approved by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona and the Tohono O’Odham Nation.
Coates said many Indian people living outside of reservations in Arizona speak only their native tongue, and some are without birth certificates. Under the recently passed Arizona law, many believe Native Americans could be unduly profiled by law enforcement as illegal immigrants.
The Arizona act makes it a state misdemeanor for an illegal immigrant to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents; bars state or local officials or agencies from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws; and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring and transporting illegal immigrants.
The act was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer in April, and was scheduled to go into effect on July 29. But a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked most controversial aspects of the law from taking effect.
“This law raises all sorts of policy issues,” said Hoskin Jr. “It’s unwise to place an unnecessary burden on law enforcement when many departments are already being stretched to their limits. Also, many in the Oklahoma Legislature have voiced their support of the act, and are looking at possibly having a similar law here. This would set a precedent for the Cherokee Nation’s opposition.”
Hoskin said what moved him to support the bill was the fact that another Indian nation had asked for the Cherokee Nation’s support.
“I think there’s a good reason to speak out on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Arizona.”
In other business, the tribal council passed resolutions:
• Authorizing the department of children, youth and family services to submit an application for funding to the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs for emergency youth shelter services. The grant total is $273,628, and requires no matching funds.
• Authorizing the Cherokee Nation Office of Environmental Programs to submit a formal grant application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. The grant total is $200,000, and requires no matching funds.
• Providing for the donation of surplus office equipment from the Cherokee Nation to Webbers Falls Historical Society Museum.
What’s next
The next regular meeting of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council will be held at 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 13, in the Council Chambers at the W.W. Keeler Complex west of Tahlequah.
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