"Gov. Kevin Stitt’s commission to sort out Oklahoma’s future is stacked with oil and gas insiders — and has no Indigenous voices."
"In a landmark decision last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the eastern half the state of Oklahoma is reservation land, legally “Indian Country.” Although Oklahoma officials spent a century ignoring treaties signed by leaders of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the justices asserted that the treaties remain the law of the land — meaning, most likely, that the reservations of four other tribal nations that share a distinct legal and political history in Oklahoma also stand.
McGirt v. Oklahoma, a major victory for Indigenous nations, is now having legal consequences well beyond the state. The Supreme Court ruling, however, was only the beginning of a new battle to redefine Oklahoma’s identity.
On its face, the McGirt case had nothing to do with the oil and gas industry. Jimcy McGirt, convicted to life in prison for child sex abuse, argued that the land where he committed the crimes qualifies as a reservation. Thus, he successfully argued that his conviction should be overturned since he should have been tried in federal, not state, court."
