Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, today pushed back against the “escalating language” from the governor regarding an agreement between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Nation, despite the agreement not yet being released. Fetgatter is the House Leader of Tribal and External Affairs and a member of the Choctaw Nation.

The two parties reportedly reached an agreement in a federal lawsuit, Muscogee Creek Nation v. City of Tulsa, which was filed after a traffic ticket was issued by the city to a Muscogee citizen. The details of the agreement have not been announced or filed in court.

“The governor claims to represent all four million Oklahomans, but his actions tell a different story.

Using escalating language by calling our second largest city a ‘sanctuary city’ is a slap in the face to the citizens of our state whose ancestors were forcibly relocated by government officials and who helped us build our state. In doing so, he implicitly equates all tribal citizens, who are not only our fellow Oklahomans but also American citizens, with illegal immigrants. This type of language is deeply inappropriate and uncalled for, especially when directed against your own citizens.

What’s more, unless these documents have been leaked, the governor has not even seen the agreement in question. Instead, he dismisses the sovereignty of our tribal nations on nothing more than principle alone. He characterizes a mutual agreement between two entities, neither of which he has authority over, as the creation of a ‘sanctuary city,’ all without seeing the actual language of the agreement. This is nothing more than a cheap trick to score political points.

It’s worth remembering that at least 15% of Oklahomans are Native citizens. Our First American tribal nations contribute to the state’s economy every year. They deserve respect, not reckless mischaracterization.

I invite the governor to follow his own advice and learn how to disagree better.”