Walkingstick said Monday that he would attempt to bring the proposal forward at Tuesday morning’s Executive and Finance Committee meeting.

In sometimes heated discussions at the end of Tuesday's meeting, councilors declined to amend the committee's agenda to discuss the measure. Jody Reece, executive director of financial oversight at the Council of the Cherokee Nation, told councilors the measure would impact 3,500 employees at a total cost of $12 million.

“We have employees who haven’t had pay raises in six years,” Walkingstick said previously. “Some of our citizens are working two and three jobs trying to make ends meet. Yes, the cost of living in Oklahoma has raised, and we haven’t kept up with that. It’s imperative that this body puts in a pay raise for our citizens.”

Walkingstick ran for principal chief earlier this year. He was disqualified before the tribe’s June 4 general election for accepting in-kind campaign donations from a company or political action committee. His stint on the Tribal Council ends in August due to term limits.