Our Sovereign Land

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...

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...

Every Tuesday more than 200 citizens go before our Cherokee Nation judges, who hear cases presented by our prosecutors and work alongside our marshals in Cherokee Nation District Court. The number of cases has expanded so much in the past two years that we just added...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to let stand its ruling on the Muscogee (Creek) reservation provides a new opportunity for Native American tribes and the state of Oklahoma to reach agreements on criminal and civil issues, top attorneys for the Cherokee...