Page 34 - Five Tribes News Today

TAHLEQUAH – Many jurisdictional questions have been raised by the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision about how far the reach of tribal, state and federal law enforcement agencies extends onto Native reservations, particularly when non-Natives perpetrate a crime. Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill spoke to reporters during an April 6 virtual press conference about the potential effects of McGirt. “It was important for the tribes to get an acknowledgment by the United States Supreme Co...

Dartmouth College Panelist Bios: Natalie Masouka is Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian American Studies at UCLA. Her research interests include racial and ethnic politics, immigration, political behavior and public opinion. Maurice Crandall is a citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Camp Verde, Arizona and Assistant Professor of Native American studies at Dartmouth College. He is a historian of the Indigenous peoples of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands (primarily New Mexico, Arizon...

When that happens, federal prosecutors will become responsible for retrying old state cases involving American Indians in all five reservations and trying new cases involving American Indians — a huge increase in caseload for U.S. attorney offices. Brian J. Kuester, who was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma until March, said the re-recognition of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation alone led to more than  a 1,500% increase in Violent Crime in Indian Country matters referred to t...

Congress and the Biden administration could be key players as Native American tribes and Oklahoma leaders sort out the McGirt ruling implications.

Increasingly intense non-American Indian migration and the massive expansion of railroads fueled political pressure for Congress to make even more lands available for settlement. So Congress began passing laws, ramping up pressure on tribal governments. It passed the General Allotment Act of 1887, which broke up communal reservations into individual allotments to tribal citizens, and left “surplus” lands unassigned. Congress then opened the “unassigned lands” to white settlement in 1889...

“River Where the Moon Rises” ups the ante this week as we get battles, palace machinations, near-deaths, real deaths, and kidnappings. Pyeonggang (Kim So Hyun) and On Dal (Na In Woo) wade through the murky waters of Goguryeo politics as the Sunno Tribe is finally restored to its former glory. But as enemies close in on all sides and former allies switch loyalties, the question arises as to how long our favorite couple will escape unscathed and whether they’ll see the danger surrounding...

    TULSA COUNTY, Oklahoma (Tulsa World) — The Supreme Court decision affirming tribal jurisdiction within the Muscogee (Creek) reservation is causing concern at the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler hosted a town hall on Wednesday night to speak out about the decision and what he said is a “fracture” in how criminal cases are investigated and prosecuted. He called on members of the public to talk to their political leaders to come up with ...

Choctaw, Seminole reservations recognized by Oklahoma appeals court Chris Casteel, Oklahoman © Todd pendleton tribalrecognition The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday that the Choctaw Nation and Seminole Nation reservations were never disestablished, completing the process of shifting criminal jurisdiction in most of eastern Oklahoma to the federal government and the Five Tribes in cases involving Indians. © Oklahoma Historical Society A map of Indian reserv...

TAHLEQUAH – The Tribal Council on March 15 appointed a new Cherokee Nation district judge as part of the tribe’s ongoing efforts to ensure criminal justice is served following the historic McGirt decision in 2020 and a March 11 ruling from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which will likely lead to the dismissal of hundreds of state criminal cases in the CN reservation.  Councilors appointed Nathan Barnard as a District Court judge. In recent months, the Council has also appo...

Oklahoman As eastern Oklahoma’s transformation to Indian reservations took a leap forward last week, some state and tribal leaders renewed their call for Congress to allow them to forge agreements for prosecuting criminal cases. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said recent discussions with members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation “give me optimism and confidence that they’re going to move as quickly as this situation requires” to introduce legislation. “The Cherokee and ...