Cherokee Nation becomes the first tribe to expand the availability of tribal license plates. This allows all Cherokee citizens, adding those outside of the 14- county Cherokee jurisdiction, to be able to buy the tag. Principal Chief, Bill John Baker, says any time they have a chance to exercise Cherokee Nation’s tribal sovereignty, they do so.
"It's a great source of pride, if you're a Cherokee citizen - to be able to display a car tag that says that you're a citizen of the Cherokee Nation."
He adds that is is also much more than pride.
"It does create jobs for Cherokees. It does give us more resources. We helped public education, over three million dollars last year. And by expanding our car tags, we'll be able to help even more."
The license plates can be found at any Cherokee Nation tag office. He says they're in the process now of putting one just right off off 412 in the Cherokee Nation.
Current Cherokee Nation tag office locations: Adair, Collinsville, Jay, Sallisaw, and Tahlequah.