The Cherokee Nation Rules Committee unanimously approved a resolution formally opposing the controversial aluminum smelter planned for Inola on Thursday.

The resolution, sponsored by Cherokee National Tribal Council members Joe Deere, Johnny Kidwell and Julia Coates, supports the neighboring Muscogee Nation in its opposition to the $4 billion Inola smelter. The Muscogee National Council formally opposed the project in July.

Deere said the Cherokee Nation is demanding tribal consultation.

“Tribal consultation needs to be the first thing (to) happen, no matter what it is. Doesn’t matter how much money is on the table, who’s getting phone calls behind the scenes. It’s about our people that we represent,” Deere said.

The smelter, which has support from President Donald Trump, Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma state government, would sit near the border of the Muscogee reservation, just west of Cherokee Nation. The project is a joint venture between Emirates Global Aluminum and U.S.-based Century Aluminum. It would be the first aluminum smelter built in the U.S. in more than 40 years.

But it’s been met with opposition, including from residents of the northeastern Oklahoma town, who garnered an initiative petition to vote on the project next spring. That petition, however, is being challenged by the City of Tulsa–Rogers County Port Authority.

In July, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. released a statement expressing concern over the smelter and called on officials to consult tribal nations in the process.

Kidwell said Cherokee leaders have met with officials from the Muscogee Nation and other tribal governments about the smelter over the past month.

The resolution will now be sent to a full tribal council vote.

This story was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and KOSU.