A 2020 landmark Supreme Court ruling returned criminal jurisdiction to six Oklahoma tribes. The Quapaw Nation wants to use their re-affirmed sovereignty to better steward the land they're on and enforce more environmental regulation over time.
One of the largest environmental clean-up sites sits within the boundaries of the Quapaw Nation. Since those boundaries were reaffirmed last year in a court ruling, the tribe is preparing to take a bigger role in rehabilitating the land.