TAHLEQUAH — At its regular March meeting, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council voted to pass an act to protect species that have cultural significance to the Cherokee Nation and its citizens. Included in the act are the bald eagle, black bear, mountain lion (sometimes called a puma or a panther), and any other plant, animal or aquatic species designated as a culturally protected species as determined by regulations established by the tribe’s Natural Resources Department and approved by the Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission. The act makes it a crime to take or possess a culturally protected species from Indian Country, with certain exceptions such as eagle feathers obtained through a repository or rehabilitation efforts for a live animal.

The Council also voted to table a vote to either sustain or override a veto by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith regarding a proposed act concerning creating improvements to access private homes from public roads or right-of ways.

“When creating a new program or service for our citizens, it is essential that the program must be fair and available to all citizens in similar circumstances,” Smith said in his veto letter to the Council. “While a well-paved driveway is a good thing for each of our citizens to have, it is not within the government's capacity or duty to provide a driveway for each of our citizens. This legislation unfairly creates that expectation without the means of delivering on it, and for that reason, I must veto it.”

In other business, the Council authorized the formation of one common board of directors for major corporations owned by the Cherokee Nation, allowing the dissolution of the board of directors for CNE and CNI. In addition, they passed resolutions authorizing an off-track wagering compact with the State of Oklahoma, authorized the establishment of an educational trust for the Cherokee Nation Higher Education program, and recognized former Deputy Principal Chief Hastings Shade as a National Treasure of the Cherokee Nation. The Council also confirmed the nomination Rob Thompson as a board member of the editorial board of directors for the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Tribal Council will be held on Monday, April 12, at 6 p.m. in the Tribal Council Chambers at the Cherokee Nation complex south of Tahlequah.