SCOTUS rules broad swath of Oklahoma is Native American land
Justice Neil Gorsuch penned the 5-4 opinion joined by the liberals on the bench.
“Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law,” said Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Donald Trump. “Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word,” he said.
Under the law, crimes involving Native Americans on a reservation are under federal, not state, jurisdiction.
The unique case represented the opportunity for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the limits of tribal sovereignty and revisit the country’s horrific history of displacing native tribes from their land.
The question before the court involved a case brought by Jimcy McGirt, a member of Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, who argued that his case ought to be tried by the federal government because the crimes were committed on the land of historic Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
The distinction of whether the large swath of eastern Oklahoma qualified as reservation land was key — under federal law, major crimes committed by individuals on Native American land must be tried by the federal government.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
