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A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE OKLAHOMA STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND CHEROKEE NATION'S MATERNAL, INFANT, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME VISITING GRANT FOR THE REMAINDER OF FY 2017 AND FY 2018 TO IMPROVE HOME VISITING SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
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WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation since time immemorial has exercised the sovereign rights of self-government on behalf of the Cherokee people;
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation is a federally recognized Indian Nation with a historic and continual government to government relationship with the United States of America;
WHEREAS, a goal of the Cherokee Nation is to address all the health and welfare needs of its citizens;
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation’s Human Services Department seeks a partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health through their Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Innovation Grant funding opportunity, under the Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families’ Tribal Research Center on Early Childhood grant for the Fiscal Year 2017 & 2018 for the purpose of improving the services of the home visiting program within Cherokee Nation through staff development, learning collaboratives, shared research and data collection,
WHEREAS, a condition of this grant is that the Cherokee Nation enact a limited waiver of its immunity; and,
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council has determined that a waiver of the immunity of the Cherokee Nation Tribe that is limited to the following: “ Limited Waiver of Sovereign Immunity,” is appropriate for this purpose; this limited waiver of sovereign immunity is contingent upon the Cherokee Natino Tribal Council approving of the contract, if awarded, to ensure the waiver of sovereign immunity is limited to the terms of the MEICHV grant contract.
"Limited Waiver of Sovereign Immunity"
To the extent that the grantee, may have: immunity from any action to enforce the terms of the contract provided and approved by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, the grantee expressly and irrevocably waves for the benefit of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust and to the fullest extent permitted by law, any immunity on the grounds of sovereignty or other similar grounds from (a) any liability, dispute, suit or action arising out of this contract, (b) jurisdiction of any court, including the courts of the State of Oklahoma, (c) such relief, including, monetary damages, injunction, order for specific performance or the recovery of property that is equal in money or value to a judgment of a court that pertain only to this contract, including any interest or attorney fees included in such judgment, and to execution, enforcement, or collection of any judgment that may issue from any action or dispute arising out of this contract.
The grantee expressly and irrevocably waives its right to require exhaustion of tribal remedies, and consent to have its liability determined in accordance with the same rules of law as are applied in action against natural person and corporations under Oklahoma law as it applies to the contractual agreement approved by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. These waivers by the grantee extend to all of the rights, duties, and obligations under this contract and shall be effective from the date of this contract and for five (5) years thereafter, and shall continue until the expiration, termination, or cancellation of this contract, and shall remain in effect for the duration of any arbitration, litigation, or dispute resolution proceedings arising out of this contract, all appeals therefrom, and the full satisfaction of any awards or judgments that may issue from such proceedings.
Provided, however, that this limited waiver of sovereignty shall not extend to the granting of any relief or judgment to funds, revenues, assets or other property of the grantee that are appropriated by the United States Congress, federal trust funds or trust property.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION, that the Council hereby adopts and approves a "waiver of immunity" of the Cherokee Nation to the and not to any third parties, upon the approval of the awarded contractual language with the MEICHV by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, which waiver is as stated in the preceding "Limited Waiver of Sovereign Immunity", as incorporated as part of this resolution.