Supreme Court says eastern Oklahoma remains Native American territory

[Darth Ovious]

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/p...ma/3208778001/

Erm, really? Half of Oklahoma is pretty much not America anymore?

[KingsGambit]

It's not to state that it isn't America any more than major chunks of South Dakota aren't America. When looking at a US map, you don't see entire chunks cut out of Nebraska and South Dakota. My understanding is that non Native American citizens are still subject to state law enforcement there, but Native Americans are not. They are still liable to federal prosecution of crimes. What's weird is that some of these areas are not in Indian reservations; most of the city of Tulsa is included, for instance. I am interested to see how this actually ends up playing out in practice.

[Terraceth]

Well, the argument is that while Congress supposedly disestablished the reservations it set up in the Oklahoma area when they made Oklahoma a state, they didn't technically do it, so it actually remains under tribal control. Theoretically, the US Congress could solve the issue quickly by doing what they've done a lot of times in the past, namely pass a law saying that the land is actually the US's now and take it all... but that's much less politically palatable in the 21st century than in the 19th.

I expect that, practically speaking, there will be little impact on the lives of people living in the area. Oklahoma/America and the tribes have various agreements in place and there will undoubtedly be more worked out as a result of this. The "big" change this is likely to cause, and what materialized this whole case in the first place, is that Native Americans who were convicted by Oklahoma in their eastern half will get their cases re-tried in federal courts (as Oklahoma lacks jurisdiction over the crimes), to possibly lighter sentences.

[shunyadragon]

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/p...ma/3208778001/



Erm, really? Half of Oklahoma is pretty much not America anymore?

Never was. We broke the treaty and annexed it into Oklahoma against international law.

[Terraceth]

Never was. We broke the treaty and annexed it into Oklahoma against international law.

That has nothing to do with the decision. As is stated in the opinion:

"To determine whether a tribe continues to hold a reservation, there is only one place we may look: the Acts of Congress. This Court long ago held that the Legislature wields significant constitutional authority when it comes to tribal relations, possessing even the authority to breach its own promises and treaties. Lone Wolf v. HitchcockSolem v. Bartlett, 465 U. S. 463, 470 (1984)." (page 7)

If Congress disestablished the reservations it promised them, it might have been a jerk thing to do, but it would have been within its constitutional power. The conclusion the majority reached, as noted, was that Congress didn't actually disestablish the reservation it set up.