Tribe claims lawmaker is blocking it from getting its land

Summary:

– $16.6M requested for OCPARC facility renovations sparks tribal opposition.

– Tribes seek land return after 150+ years of federal ownership.

– Tribal leaders propose joint research , sustainable development and economic opportunities.

A Native American nation in Oklahoma is incensed that a lawmaker is requesting millions of dollars to fund renovations at the Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center , or OCPARC.

It’s not that the nation opposes the research, but it sees the funding request as a way to stymie efforts to get its land back from the federal government .

The land near El Reno belongs to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and overlaps with about 10,000 acres of land that the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have been trying to get back f