Supreme Court Returns Oklahoma’s Jurisdiction Over Tribal Lands

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Americans in Indian Country, countering a previous 2020 decision recognizing nearly half of the state as a reservation.

Supreme Court Returns Oklahoma’s Jurisdiction Over Tribal Lands

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Americans in Indian Country, countering a previous 2020 decision recognizing nearly half of the state as a reservation, reports the Wall Street Journal. The majority opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh took a limited view of the sovereignty the tribes retain in 21st-century America, while the dissent by Justice Neil Gorsuch, recounting centuries of broken promises to the Indians, asserted that the court should today enforce long-ignored treaties.

The decision’s most notable consequences came in criminal law, because in Indian Country states in general may not prosecute Indians. That authority belongs to the federal government and, typically for more minor offenses, tribal courts. Under the ruling, the federal and state governments each hold independent authority to prosecute such crimes.