11th Annual Tribal Transportation Conference
Karla Sisco, Oklahoma TTAP
Tribal transportation officials from across the nation, plus several state, federal and private sector partners convened November 10-13, 2008 for the 11th Annual Tribal Transportation Conference at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The event kicked off with a pre-conference reception at the hotel on Monday evening followed by a full slate of local and nationally recognized speakers at the plenary sessions on Tuesday.
The morning plenary session began with a tribal welcome by Wallace Coffey, chairman of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. Coffey discussed the unity of the tribes and the unique status of the many tribes forced to move to Oklahoma. Gary Ridley, director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, offered a perspective on the contributions of tribal transportation to Oklahoma and the relationship of tribes to the state. Neal McCaleb, former member of the Oklahoma House of Representative and former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, spoke on the past, present, and future of the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Program and the need to grow the program to keep up with current trends and economic conditions.
Tim Penney, Tribal Transportation Program Coordinator, FHWA, and Jeff Paniati, Executive Director, FHWA, wound up the morning's slate of speakers with Penney's presentation on FHWA tribal initiatives and Paniati's overview of FHWA's involvement and partnership in the IRR.
The afternoon plenary featured Jay Adams, director and tribal liaison, ODOT, with comments on tribal and state cooperation in Oklahoma. Nicole Goldsmith, executive director of National RTAP, discussed coordinating interactions between FTA, RTAP state partners, and the National RTAP program board. Finally, Leroy Gishi, chief of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, shared input on the status of the IRR inventory and Question 10. The day's events were capped off with an equipment roadeo at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
Wednesday and Thursday were devoted to breakout sessions on topics such as transit planning, scenic byways, and IRR programs. "The IRR Planning Game and Tourney" session gave participants an opportunity to compete as they attempted to construct a transportation project within a tribal community. Matt Morris of the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma captured the winning title in this session. "Right of Way Issues in Transportation," led by Joe Myers, Kelly Myers, from the California, Nevada TTAP and William Johnson, vice president of the National Indian Justice Center was the best-attended session with more than 52 participants.
Highlights of the conference were the awards banquet with entertainment by Edgar Cruz and the blues concert by Red Dawn at "The Biting Sow" in Bricktown. Approximately 350 people attended this year's NTTC Conference.
