Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

On Monday, October 3, tribal members representing a variety of reservations throughout the United States began a 1700 mile run from Oklahoma to California to highligh the need for continued sovereignty of Native Americans. The run will proceed from Oklahoma to Texas then on through New Mexicao and Arizona before finishng in Sacramento, hopefully on October 31.

The run is being led by Fawn Sharp, President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation. The first run of a similar type was organized 20 years ago to call attention to the erosion of tribal sovereignty that had occurred for the past 50 years. With recent changes brought on by McGirt and other state court cases, NCAI determined it was time once again to highlight the on-going erosion of tribal rights. The end of the run will coincide with the first day of the 79th Annual NCAI Convention.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskins, Jr. issued a statement in support of the run, saying that for the past two years especially, the Five Tribes of Oklahoma have been increasingly losing ground on their treaty rights and it is time for the US Supreme COurt to reaffirm the original self-governing rules established when the reservations were established.