Tulsa Tribal Nations committee favors hybrid model, prioritizes housing, economic development and families

The Tulsa Tribal Nations Relations Committee agreed on a hybrid structure Monday, keeping quarterly posted committee meetings while forming smaller working groups to carry out project-specific work and preparatory tasks.

The decision emerged after members raised repeated quorum problems and discussed whether a less formal working group would allow faster coordination with tribal governments and the mayor''s office. Councilor Vanessa Hall Harper, chair of the council''s Tribal Nations Relations Committee, said the committee was formed in response to the McGirt decision and later legal challenges to preserve a forum for council-level engagement with tribal governments.

Amanda Swope, director of Global Policy and Partnerships in the mayor''s office, told the committee she was "only the fourth day on the job," and described Mayor G.T. Bynum Nichols''s administration as supportive of stronger municipal-tribal ties. Swope said the administration wants the committee to help align municipal work with tribal priorities on economic…