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Tulsa commission welcomes new tribal relations director; celebrates Council Oak Park conveyance to Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Summary
The commission welcomed Amanda Swope, the mayor’s incoming director of tribal policy and partnership, and highlighted the city’s recent conveyance of Council Oak Park to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as a milestone in tribal-city relations.
At the Jan. 28 meeting the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission welcomed Amanda Swope, who is due to start as the mayor’s director of tribal policy and partnership on Feb. 1. Commissioners said Swope will help coordinate city-tribal communications and provide a tribal perspective across city policy areas including housing, economic development and public safety.
Swope introduced herself at the meeting and described her background: she said she is from Tulsa and that for the past six years she worked for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on self-governance, federal compacts and juvenile justice, and that she served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives through Jan. 28 before joining the mayor’s office. Commissioners said they expect Swope’s office to serve as a liaison to tribal governments and as an office that will attend native events, coordinate on cross‑jurisdictional issues and advise the mayor’s priorities.
Commissioners also highlighted a December conveyance the commission had supported: the city of Tulsa transferred Council Oak Park to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and held a ceremony conveying the park and a neighboring stickball field. Several commissioners said the transfer — which they described as the first time the city has conveyed a park to a tribal government — was a significant milestone and symbolic of cooperative relations between the city and tribal nations despite ongoing litigation on other jurisdictional matters.
Commissioners credited commission outreach and a letter they prepared as contributing to the timing of the conveyance. They said the transfer is locally significant for stewardship and cultural connections and that the commission will continue to push for further cooperative projects. The commission also noted that the city’s Native American Affairs Commission and the mayor’s office expect to coordinate more closely in coming months.
No formal vote was taken on appointments at the meeting; Swope’s hiring is a city mayoral appointment and not a commission action. The commission encouraged members to engage with Swope and invited her to future meetings.
