McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020): the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation was never disestablished

What happened

After the Creek Nation was removed west, the United States made treaties to give it a permanent home. In the 1832 treaty, in exchange for the Creek ceding "all their land, East of the Mississippi river," the government agreed that "[t]he Creek country west of the Mississippi shall be solemnly guarantied to the Creek Indians." An 1833 treaty fixed borders for a "permanent home to the whole Creek Nation of Indians."

Later, Congress ran an allotment program in Indian Territory. The Curtis Act of 1898 abolished the Creeks' tribal courts and transferred their cases to U.S. courts in Indian Territory. Oklahoma argued that Congress had ended the Creek Reservation during this "allotment era." The Court's syllabus says that once a reservation is established, "only Congress can diminish or disestablish it," and doing so requires a clear expression of congressional intent. The opinion called allotment "a first, not final, step toward disestablishment and dissolution."

On July 9, 2020, the Court ruled 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch, that "land reserved for the Creek Nation since the 19th century remains" Indian country for purposes of the Major Crimes Act. That means certain serious crimes by Native defendants on that land are federal, not state, cases. The syllabus adds that Congress "has since broken more than a few promises to the Tribe," but that the reservation persists.

Good to know. The Court found the reservation was never dissolved; this is a ruling that it still exists, not a finding that a treaty was broken.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error