VERDIGRIS, Okla. — The Cherokee Nation and the Town of Verdigris have signed an agreement to share the money that comes from traffic tickets handed out to Tribal citizens.

It comes after a court ruling last month which said that the City of Tulsa does not have jurisdiction over municipal violations made by Tribal members.

The Chief of the Cherokee Nation says he hopes more towns will sign up to the agreement and also called for cooperation.

“We have to at the Cherokee Nation help create a system of public safety of law and justice that serves absolutely everyone,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.

The agreement means that traffic tickets given to Native American citizens in Verdigris will be split, $30 dollars will go to the Cherokee Nation and the rest will go to the town of Verdigris.

It also means police in Verdigris can hand out tickets to Tribal citizens and the driver can now pay in the town without having to go to Tahlequah.

Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackleford says it’s a relief.

“Until now we’ve kind of been in a gray area we really didn’t know what to do with the violations,” Shackleford said.

“This is going to kind of clear cut things and give us a little more perspective on how to handle it,” Shackleford also said.

“Same law, same people, we’re not splitting it, Tribal citizens can’t go 100 miles an hour on the highways and not be fined for it,” Shackleford said.

This is the 24th agreement the Nation has signed with towns in Green Country and they also have a cross-deputization system set up with law enforcement and the Cherokee Nation Marshals.

The Verdigris agreement comes just weeks after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the City of Tulsa does not have jurisdiction over municipal violations made by Tribal members.

Hoskin says he hopes Tulsa will sign up too.

“The City of Tulsa could sign this tomorrow if the City of Tulsa signed this tomorrow it would make the same sort of improvements and efficiency in administration that the Town of Verdigris is going to experience as a result of this but again that requires lenders to understand that cooperation is better than conflict,” he said.

Earlier this week Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt spoke out against McGirt and the court ruling on traffic tickets, Hooper v. Tulsa, and launched a new website called “One Oklahoma.”

“There are some who believe the rules that you follow should be based on your race or your heritage, and some believe your heritage should decide the speeds you drive on Oklahoma roads,” Stitt said in a video on the One Oklahoma website.

Stitt said Oklahoma is one state so there should be one set of rules for everyone.

Hoskin said tribal sovereignty is important and called for cooperation.

“There’s probably not enough time for me to express my disappointment in a governor who doesn’t seem to understand Tribal sovereignty,” Hoskin said.

“He seems to be a leader who views the world in Tribes gaining sovereignty means the State loses something he needs to join the rest of us in this idea that we can engage in win-win dialog and reach win-win solutions I mean he needs to follow the lead of frankly the Town of Verdigris in what they’re doing,” Hoskin said.