Tribes dispute sovereignty

FEBRUARY 7, 2001

In a case pitting two Oklahoma tribes against each other, Delaware Chief Dee Ketchum says its attempts by his tribe to assert its rightfully restored sovereignty are being unfairly challenged by the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Chief Chad Smith on the other hand says it only wants to protect its jurisdiction in northeastern Oklahoma. The smaller of the two tribes, the Delaware Tribe was once part of the Cherokee Nation until 1996 when the Department of Interior acknowledged Ketchum's tribe as a separate entity.

The Cherokee Nation is challenging that decision in court in federal court in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Ketchum has been trying to expand economic opportunities for the tribe but has run into some opposition in Kansas, where the tribe once had a reservation.

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