Okla. tribal leaders don't plan to dismiss lawsuit

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The leaders of two Oklahoma Indian tribes say they have no plans to dismiss a federal lawsuit against the state over tribal water rights in southeastern Oklahoma.

But in a joint letter Tuesday to Gov. Mary Fallin, Chief Greg Pyle of the Choctaw Nation and Gov. Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation expressed a willingness to continue mediation.

Fallin last week asked tribal leaders to dismiss their lawsuit against the state, but the tribal leaders told Fallin that is “not a realistic option until such a time as we have a reasonable resolution to this dispute.”

The tribe's lawsuit asks a federal judge to stop the state's plan to sell water storage rights to Sardis Lake to Oklahoma City.

A Fallin spokesman didn't immediately comment on the letter.