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Supreme Court says eastern Oklahoma remains Native American territory

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  • Supreme Court says eastern Oklahoma remains Native American territory

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

    WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the eastern half of Oklahoma can be considered Native American territory, a decision the state warned could create "civil, criminal and regulatory turmoil."
    Erm, really? Half of Oklahoma is pretty much not America anymore?
    “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” - C.S. Lewis

  • #2
    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.
    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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    • #3
      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.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Darth Ovious View Post
        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.
        Last edited by shunyadragon; 07-09-2020, 05:49 PM.
        Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
        Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
        But will they come when you do call for them? Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Act III:

        go with the flow the river knows . . .

        Frank

        I do not know, therefore everything is in pencil.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by shunyadragon View Post
          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. Hitchcock, 187 U. S. 553, 566–568 (1903). But that power, this Court has cautioned, belongs to Congress alone. Nor will this Court lightly infer such a breach once Congress has established a reservation. Solem 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.

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