SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a late Native American leader known for preserving cultural dances now stands surrounded by trees in a historic park outside of California’s state Capitol building, replacing a statue of a Spanish missionary that protesters toppled it in 2020.
California lawmakers, tribal leaders and hundreds of others celebrated the unveiling of a statue depicting Miwok leader William J. Franklin, Sr., in recognition of the Native American tribes whose ancestral lands are now the grounds of the state Capitol.
"Finally, the California Indian people will have a monument here on the Capitol grounds for all those visiting to know that we are still here," said Assemblymember James C. Ramos, the first Native American in the state Legislature. "We’re here because of the resiliency of our elders and ancestors. "
It is one of several moves that California lawmakers have made in recent years to acknowledge the history of Native Americans in the state. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a formal apology for the state`s legacy of violence against Native Americans, saying it amounted to genocide. Newsom has also signed laws to promote the teaching of more Native American history in schools and to remove a derogatory slur from sites across the state.
The new statue comes after racial justice protesters in 2020 tore down a decades- old statue of JunÌpero Serra, an 18th century Catholic priest and missionary who has been criticized for destroying Native American tribes and cultures. The monument of Serra was torn down at a time when protesters across the country targeted statues of historic figures — including Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia — whose legacies came under heightened scrutiny in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
In 2021, Ramos authored a bill that Newsom later signed into law authorizing tribes to plan the construction of a Native American monument on the grounds of the state Capitol.
One of the lead proponents of Ramos’ bill, Jesus Tarango, chair of the Wilton Rancheria tribe in Sacramento County, said erecting the monument was not about trying to erase history.
"Today's unveiling signifies the start of a new era here in California at our state Capitol — one where we stop uplifting a false narrative and start honoring the original stewards of this land," Tarango said.
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said he hopes the monument will "cultivate a deeper understanding" of Indigenous communities and their contributions to California.
Andrew Franklin, a grandson of William J. Franklin, Sr., said the man he knew as "Grandpa Bill" was always a big figure in his life while he was growing up in Sacramento. Franklin, who now lives in Southern California and formerly chaired the Wilton Rancheria tribe, said it was "hard to put into words" what it meant for the monument to be erected.
"We've always grown up holding our culture, very high in regard and respecting each other, respecting our culture. That was always huge for us," he said. "This is just very surreal."
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper ticketed a tribal citizen with a current Otoe-Missouria Tribe license plate for failing to pay state taxes, prompting an outcry from tribal leaders who blamed Gov. Kevin Stitt’s increasing hostility toward Native Americans.
Crystal Deroin, an Otoe-Missouria Tribe citizen, was ticketed for speeding near Enid on Tuesday and received a second $249 citation for failure to pay state motor vehicle taxes because she did not live on tribal land.
"After over 20 years of cooperation between the State and Tribes regarding vehicle tag registration, it appears the State has altered its position of understanding concerning tribal tags," Otoe-Missouria Chairman John Shotton said in a statement. "This change was made without notice or consultation with all Tribes that operate vehicle tag registration."
Most Oklahoma drivers pay motor vehicle taxes each year through the renewal of state license plates. But many of the 39 Native American tribes headquartered in Oklahoma also issue special tribal license plates to their citizens each year, based on a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the Sac & Fox Nation that says the state doesn’t have the authority to tax tribal citizens who live in Indian Country.
Many tribal leaders say they have never experienced issues with Oklahoma law enforcement issuing tickets before.
But an Oklahoma Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said the 1993 ruling said Indians can only use a tribal tag if they reside and "principally garage" their vehicle in the tribe’s Indian country. In Deroin’s case, she lives near Enid, Oklahoma, which is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the Otoe- Missouria’s headquarters in Red Rock.
Three other Oklahoma-based tribes, the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, also have separate agreements, called compacts, with the state that allow their citizens to use tribal tags regardless of where they live.
"Other than these two circumstances, all Oklahomans must register their vehicles with an Oklahoma tag and registration," the agency said in a statement. "Oklahomans who fail to do so are subject to enforcement under the Oklahoma Vehicle License and Registration Act, which may include a misdemeanor citation and/or impoundment of the vehicle."
DPS spokeswoman Sarah Stewart said the law has been in place and enforced since the 1990s, but many tribal leaders dispute that assertion and blame the Stitt administration for the change.
"Governor Stitt's position that Cherokee citizens living outside of the Cherokee Nation reservation unlawfully operate vehicles with Cherokee Nation tags is frankly, ignorant and unquestionably illegal," said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. “Governor Stitt's lawless and fact-free approach to tribal sovereignty is nothing new and his actions against our citizens will not be tolerated."
Stitt, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, said his concern is that some tribal governments don’t share vehicle registration information with the Department of Public Safety, making it a "public safety issue that puts law enforcement and others at risk." He said in a statement that members of tribes with valid compacts with the state won’t be ticketed.
Stitt has had an increasingly combative relationship with tribal nations in Oklahoma, stemming from a dispute over tribal casinos in his first year in office in 2019 in which a federal court sided with the tribes. The simmering conflict boiled over this year into the Republican-controlled Legislature, which overrode the governor’s veto of a bill to extend agreements on tribal sales of tobacco.
Stitt has said he’s trying to negotiate the best deal for all of the state’s 4 million residents, but in Oklahoma, where the tribes are vitally important to the economy, particularly in depressed rural areas, even fellow Republicans are scratching their heads at Stitt's continued hostility.
Earlier this year, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat described Stitt's 2021 choice not to renew tribal hunting and fishing compacts a "stupid decision" that has cost the state $35 million. Stitt's office said at the time the compacts were unfair because tribal citizens could purchase licenses at a cheaper rate.