More than two dozen tribes are standing united as they negotiate new tobacco compacts with the state of Oklahoma.

The United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas (UINOKT), which includes 25 tribes in Oklahoma with compacts, asked Gov. Mary Fallin (R) to extend agreements that expire in June. They say their concerns are being ignored despite their contributions to Oklahoma's economy.

“We had hoped that there would have been better, more effective, and more respectful communication between the state and the tribes regarding the upcoming deadline of the tobacco compacts, which brings millions annually to the State of Oklahoma, as well as tribal treasuries,” George Thurman, the chairman of the UINOKT and chief of the Sac and Fox Nation, said in a press release. “We were doing what we were supposed to, and the state decided to move the goal post in the middle of the game.”

Fallin has renewed compacts with at least two tribes. One of them, with the Kaw Nation, eliminated a provision that allowed tribes near the state's borders to sell tobacco at lower rates.

Get the Story:
Tribes negotiate tobacco compacts with state (The Lawton Constitution 4/17)

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Oklahoma tribes seek to extend talks for tobacco compacts (03/26)
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