TULSA -- A lawsuit filed by an Oklahoma-based Indian tribe asks that the planned transfer of an Indian hospital to another Oklahoma tribe be blocked.
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The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians filed a lawsuit Tuesday against several top government officials, alleging they violated federal law by turning over the W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital to the Cherokee Nation.
The Cherokee Nation is scheduled to assume control of the Tahlequah hospital Wednesday morning. The suit asks for an injunction to stop the Cherokee Nation from having operational control of the facility.
The W.W. Hastings hospital had been operated by Indian Health Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Muskogee, names Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, Director of Indian Health Services Robert McSwain and IHSs Director of Office of Self Governance Hankie Ortiz as plaintiffs.
The UKB's lawsuit states that government officials violated federal law by not consulting the UKB tribe before entering into the contract with the Cherokee Nation.
"At no point has the tribe issued a tribal resolution approving a contract between the (Cherokee Nation) and IHS related to the providing of health care to the members of either tribe at Hastings or any other medical facility," said UKB Chief George Wickliffe.
The suit also alleges that the Cherokee Nation, which has operated programs under the Indian Health Service, has denied treatment to UKB members and that the Cherokee Nation routinely coded members of the UKB incorrectly in the registration patient management system as members of the Cherokee Nation, resulting in a decrease in federal health care funds allocated to the UKB.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith said the tribe does provide care to UKB members and after the tribe assumes control of Hastings, it will continue to do so.
"Our clinics serve Native Americans from all tribes, and W.W. Hastings hospital will continue to serve (UKB) members under Cherokee Nation operations. Our agreement with IHS requires it," Smith said.
Smith said the lawsuit is an attempt by UKB leaders to claim jurisdiction within the Cherokee Nation's boundaries. Both tribes are based in Tahlequah.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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This is funny! I thought everybody and their dog was Cherokee in Oklahoma all decendants from either a Cherokee Princess or Cherokee Queen and reveiced service from the Hospital.
The Cherokee Nation has shown fiscal responsibility and success in self governance to the levels that make the U.S. Government prefer to put them as custodians of other less capable tribes. When tribe goes against tribe it exhausts time and resources that could have gone to other needs. The UKB's need to be thankful that the U.S. Government is getting out of one more level of control. If UKB is jealous that they did not get the hospital, they need to look seriously at their management structure. It does not take very long to run a hospital into the ground as many tribes in this nation have done just that. You wind up with empty shells and patients that need to drive hundreds of miles to find another Indian facility.
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