TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — A convenience store chain with locations across the southern Midwest issued an apology this week after one store’s refusal to accept tribal identification cards drew the ire of Cherokee Nation citizens and residents of an eastern Oklahoma town.

Photos of a sign saying an E-Z Mart store would not accept Cherokee Nation IDs were posted to social media and spread quickly. 

In a statement provided to CNHI News Tuesday, E-Z Mart Director of Human Resources and Risk Management Amy Green shared the company’s stance on the sign posting and the company’s policy related to tribal IDs. 

E-Z Mart follows the recommendations for acceptable forms of ID for age restricted products as taught by the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission with the Responsible Beverage Seller Server employee training courses, which include a valid driver license, state-issued ID, military ID and/or passport. These courses were developed and written by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and have been adhered to for years. 

We sincerely apologize to any individuals that were offended by the inadvertent and unapproved signage that was posted temporarily at a location. E-Z Mart is proud to serve the diverse people of the great state of Oklahoma and our entire operating market. In no way are any policies in place to purposely alienate or discriminate against anyone. E-Z Mart does take compliance with the laws of the State very seriously. To legally comply with age verification for those age restricted products that we sell, E-Z Mart adheres to the Oklahoma ABLE Commission RBSS training policies for approved forms of identification.

The May 17 Facebook post — now shared more than 200 times — included a picture of a sign in an E-Z Mart window, saying Cherokee Nation IDs would not be accepted and that E-Z Mart requires state-issued identification or driver’s licenses. E-Z Mart operates more than 250 locations in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

According to many observers, the sign was originally in a window at the Downing Street E-Z Mart location — one of three in Tahlequah. The sign in question, following the social media stir, was removed.

The refusal of tribal identification cards left both members of the Cherokee Nation and non-native residents seeking answers regarding the convenience store’s move.

Senior assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation Chrissi Ross Nimmo spoke this week about the posted sign, saying the tribe planned further action.

“The Cherokee Nation’s citizenship photo ID cards meet state law requirements for legal identification and therefore should be accepted for the purpose of verifying age and identity,” she said.

Nimmo also said the Cherokee Nation planned to draft a letter to E-Z Mart’s corporate headquarters, outlining the incident and the Nation’s concerns regarding the ID refusal.

Other local retailers also refuse CN identification cards. Buffalo Wild Wings and local restaurants Ned’s and the Grill don’t take them, either. Some employees suspect the issue is related to the purchase of alcohol.

Brandy Richardson, from Buffalo Wild Wings’ HR department, said she tried to find out why from Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission last year. The recent uproar from Cherokee citizens brought the situation back onto her radar.

“To me, it makes sense,” Richardson said. “I believe that there’s a birth date on there. It’s federally acceptable for verification identity for eligibility to work. And it’s a sovereign nation as recognized by the United States. All of that should play into a reasonably acceptable identification to me.”

After consulting with ABLE’s legal department, Richardson said she was told there is no requirement to check an ID, and that checking identification is just a way of ensuring a business isn’t selling alcohol to minors.

“So any ID we check is really on us to choose, which is news to me,” she said.

Richardson said she’s already taking it to her “higher-ups,” in an effort to change the policy. Buffalo Wild Wings operates on Cherokee Nation property in a new entertainment complex south of town.

“It sounds like we’re perfectly legal to go that direction, as long as it falls within the guidelines of ensuring the person consuming alcohol is legally able to do so,” she said. “So I can definitely say that it’s under review.”

ABLE Commission General Counsel Steven Barker confirmed via phone Tuesday that there is no legal ID checking or “carding” requirement for licensed alcohol selling businesses to follow. While licensees are encouraged to card patrons, Barker said, there is no official rule or mandate regarding how and which IDs should be checked and/or accepted.

Gary Kirkpatrick, owner of Ned’s, said that as far as he knows, the bar is not legally allowed to accept Cherokee Nation IDs, and that Ned’s employees have a book they typically refer to when they come across an unusual form of identification.

“We have a book for all 50 states, and it has a picture of the driver’s licenses and IDs and gives us guidelines,” he said. “We can go by that and look up to see if an ID is a fake, but we don’t have that for Indian IDs.”

A similar case in Montana involving a man whose Northern Cheyenne tribal ID was refused recently resulted in a convenience store chain being ordered to pay a $7,000 penalty related to what’s known as “a denial of equal access to a place of public accommodation.”

According to a Cherokee Nation representative, the tribe hasn’t received complaints from other convenience stores in or around Tahlequah.

The Tahlequah, Oklahoma Daily Press contributed details to this story.