TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — This week the Cherokee Nation and state of Oklahoma officially entered into a tribal-state compact governing tobacco sales.
The compact will extend until March 1, 2034.
“Over the years, compacts have served as a fundamental exercise of tribal sovereignty between the tribes and the state and exemplify the power of successful collaboration and respectful partnerships. We have always believed in being good neighbors to all Oklahomans who share our home,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “Cherokee Nation Attorney General Chad Harsha has worked with the State of Oklahoma to renew our carefully negotiated tobacco compact, which has over the years received wide bipartisan support across the state. Now enacted, this tribal-state compact renewal will be another example of how we can find common ground between the state and tribe as we have for decades and ensure that our retail tobacco establishments will continue to operate as they have in the past.”
Cherokee Nation Attorney General Chad Harsha said the compact provides a framework for tribal nations and the state to allocate tax revenue from the sale of tobacco on tribal land, generating tens of millions of dollars for tribes and the state over decades of cooperative agreements.
“Our new compact is similar to arrangements we have had in place many years with respect to the allocation of tax revenue between the Cherokee Nation and the State and the mechanism for collecting that tax from the retailer. While preserving all rights with respect to Cherokee Nation reservation status, the renewed compact will continue to apply to retailers operating on trust and restricted property, which includes all facilities currently licensed or operated by the Cherokee Nation,” AG Harsha said.
The new compact was unanimously approved at a recent committee meeting of the Council of the Cherokee Nation and was formally ratified on March 11.