McGirt v. Oklahoma

McGirt v. Oklahoma is a U.S. Supreme Court case that was decided on July 9th, 2020. In this case, the Supreme Court found that the Reservation the United States granted to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation after the trail of tears was never disestablished by Congress. As a result, the State of Oklahoma could not enforce its criminal laws against Native Americans living within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, as doing so would be a violation of the Tribe's sovereignty. Instead, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation would enforce its criminal laws against Native Americans living within the Reservation.

After the Supreme Court's decision, lower courts applied the same reasoning that the Supreme Court used and determined that several other Tribes also had Reservations in Oklahoma that had not been disestablished by Congress. Because of this, much of Eastern Oklahoma sits on various Tribal Reservations. On these Reservations, Native Americans are subject to the laws of their Tribe and Federal law, meaning that they would go to Tribal or Federal court if they commit crimes.