Our Sovereign Land

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. discusses the U.S. Supreme Court's Castro-Huerta ruling on MSNBC's Symone.

In April, Justice Neil Gorsuch asked his colleagues on the Supreme Court if they would “wilt today because of a social media campaign.” The case was Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, in which the state of Oklahoma claimed it holds jurisdiction to prosecute certain...

In a decision that stunned legal experts, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that state governments have the authority to prosecute certain cases on tribal lands, effectively undermining centuries of legal precedent by expanding the power of states. The court’s ruling...

Tribal leaders in Oklahoma were encouraged Wednesday after hearing arguments in a Supreme Court case tied to McGirt v. Oklahoma that justices would land once again on the side of tribal sovereignty. After listening to the state’s arguments, Cherokee Principal Chief...

To prove that McGirt wreaked havoc in Oklahoma, the state is claiming that it has lost jurisdiction over 18,000 prosecutions a year, many of which are now “going un-investigated and unprosecuted, endangering public safety.” The problem is that this number seems to...

Restoring tribal control of historical Native American lands has a minimal effect on commercial activity in those places, according to a new study, whose authors say its conclusion undermines the doomsday economic warnings spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court's McGirt...

“Instead of supporting funding requests, engaging with Congress, or negotiating with the Nations, the Governor and his counsel tout litigation to circumvent and undermine McGirt as the State’s primary effort,” the tribes claimed in their brief. The U.S. Supreme Court...

Like the federal government, the tribal nations in Oklahoma have scaled up and expanded their operations. “Prior to McGirt, in 2019, I had one full-time prosecutor who did both juvenile and criminal cases. Today, I have eight full-time prosecutors,” says Sara Hill,...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is drawing criticism from tribal leaders after an appearance on Fox News Wednesday night. Still told host Tucker Carlson that someone could "show their Indian card" and get a criminal conviction overturned. He was referencing cards that show...

The Cherokee Nation is celebrating the recent achievements of their criminal justice system since the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recognized that the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision did apply to the tribal nation. “Over the past year, the Cherokee Nation...