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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
 Look beyond tobacco flap, treasurer urges tribes
By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer
Scott Meacham and other candidates for a variety of state offices appear at the fourth tribal summit.
OKMULGEE -- State Treasurer Scott Meacham told tribal leaders at a summit Tuesday that he "almost regretted" being assigned as a state negotiator to deal with complicated Indian tobacco compacts.
Meacham, a Democrat who is running for re-election, was one of more than a dozen candidates for state offices who solicited voter support during the tribal summit, hosted by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
In his presentation, Meacham apologized to tribal leaders for statements he made during tobacco compact negotiations, but he did not elaborate. He said tobacco compact issues primarily arose from maintaining an equitable market and did not indicate harsh feelings on the behalf of the state.
"If one side prospers, then the other side prospers, but if one side suffers, we all suffer," Meacham said. "I fully, 110 percent, support tribal sovereignty."
Meacham also urged voters to view him in another light.
"Unfortunately, I've been defined by that role, and we should look at the sum of who I am rather than my task," he told the roomful of tribal leaders and members.
Meacham's task of coordinating sometimes
difficult tobacco compact terms led to stalemates between the state and the Osage, Creek and Cherokee nations. The Osage and Cherokee nations are now in tobacco arbitration with the state, and the Creek Nation has yet to sign a tobacco compact.
Another candidate for the state treasurer's post, Republican Dan Keating, also attended the forum and said Meacham's tribal compact negotiations were "very flawed."
"I'll try to turn the clock back and remove the contentiousness out of the tobacco debate," he said.
Later, Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray said he was surprised to see Meacham at the headquarters of a tribe with which tobacco negotiations have stalled.
"But I'm glad he came," said Gray, who sat with Meacham during a noon meal.
Candidates for the state House of Representatives, attorney general, lieutenant governor and auditor also outlined their political platforms.
Creek House speaker George Tiger, who invited Meacham to the summit, later said it was because of frustrating compact negotiations that the intertribal meetings developed.
"We all may not be sitting right here discussing issues central to us if we hadn't run into troubles with our compacts," he said.
Tuesday's meeting was the fourth in a series among the state's tribes. Leaders of about a dozen tribes attended.
Posted at 7/19/2006 09:35:00 AM  
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