Title: Supreme Court holds much of Oklahoma is Native American land
Headings: Supreme Court holds much of Oklahoma is Native American land
Supreme Court holds much of Oklahoma is Native American land
Gallery: Photos: BLM leaders meet with Gov. Reynolds to pass an order restoring felon rights (Des Moines Register)

Content: His argument relies upon the Major Crimes Act, which gives federal authorities – not state courts – jurisdiction over crimes involving a Native American on Native American land. MORE: Supreme Court rejects Trump claim of 'absolute immunity' from grand jury subpoena for tax returns
“State courts generally have no jurisdiction to try Indians for conduct committed in ‘Indian country,’” Gorsuch wrote, adding, “If Mr. McGirt and the Tribe are right, the State has no right to prosecute Indians for crimes committed in a portion of Northeastern Oklahoma that includes most of the city of Tulsa. Responsibility to try these matters would fall instead to the federal government and Tribe.” Gallery: Photos: BLM leaders meet with Gov. Reynolds to pass an order restoring felon rights (Des Moines Register)
The major dispute was whether McGirt’s crimes were committed on a reservation – the majority of the court ruled that they did. According to an 1866 treaty, the land on which McGirt committed his crime was given to Native Americans and was described as a reservation. The state of Oklahoma state, along with the four conservative dissenting justices, argued that the land was not an Indian reservation. "But, in seeking to defend the state-court judgment below, Oklahoma has put aside whatever procedural defenses it might have and asked us to confirm that the land once given to the Creeks is no longer a reservation today,” the majority said.