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 development, housing and public safety.

A staff member advised the committee that the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act does not require the committee to formally approve minutes at posted meetings, only that minutes be taken. That guidance prompted members to agree they could remove approval of minutes from the posted agenda if the group adopts a hybrid model that uses unposted working groups for substantive drafting and follow-up.

Committee members described a practical hybrid approach: keep the full, posted committee on a quarterly schedule so it remains transparent and allows broad participation, and form smaller working groups that may meet monthly or as needed to advance housing or infrastructure initiatives. Councilors and tribal representatives said working groups would not take final council action; recommendations would be forwarded through the council''s legislative process if formal action or funding was required.

The committee also set an initial quarterly schedule and agenda topics. Members agreed that the May 5 meeting will focus on families and children and related budget impacts; future quarterly meetings are listed as Aug. 4 and Oct. 27. Committee members asked the mayor''s office and tribal partners to provide speakers and status reports for the May meeting.

Tribal representatives gave updates on planned federal advocacy and local programs. Cherokee Nation Council member Joe Deere said tribal delegations will travel to Washington, D.C., next week for appropriations meetings and to monitor federal funding proposals; the committee discussed staging a March working-group call to coordinate advocacy and to assess any appropriations language that could affect municipal planning.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation representatives described spring community events and said they would continue coordination with city staff on housing and economic development opportunities. Osage Nation members listed cultural events and a groundbreaking for an Osage funeral home.

Separately, the commission provided an update on Dreamkeepers Park, a Native cultural destination project in Tulsa that received a National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. Commission members said they are out for letters of interest for an architect and that the project has roughly $7,400,000 on hand toward an estimated $9,000,000 budget; they said they will continue fundraising and, if necessary, build with available funds.

Discussion points, directions and next steps recorded at the meeting include forming a small working group to support tribal delegations traveling to Washington and refining the May 5 agenda around families and children. Staff said they will circulate the quarterly schedule and make logistics arrangements for any March or late-March working-group calls to align city budget timelines and federal appropriations developments.

The posted committee approved the minutes from its prior meeting by voice vote; the motion was made and seconded, and members voiced aye with no opposition recorded on the transcript. The meeting concluded after tribal representatives finished activity updates and project reports.