Tribal leaders and ambassadors met in front of a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday to give their tribe’s official stances regarding the citizenship of Freedmen.
In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS delivers an "unfunded mandate" to 49 other states in its Castro-Huerta decision. For decades, tribal nations, states and the federal government have operated with each knowing their when operating within the maze that is the tribal criminal justice system. This key decision changes it.
Oklahoma is taking its case again to the Supreme Court to challenge a part of the 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision that gave power and jurisdiction to the tribes. Native leaders see a threat to sovereignty and say the state refuses to work together.
The Supreme Court’s 2020 McGirt decision has Oklahoma and its 39 tribes negotiating over the re-establishment of reservations in the state. Western states are watching, but most have a long-established framework on issues of criminal jurisdiction.