May 15, 2024
The federal government wants to intervene in a challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, that seeks to block city officials from asserting criminal jurisdiction over tribe members on tribal lands, arguing the municipality is violating federal law reiterated in a 2020 high court ruling.
January 08, 2024
The city of Tulsa has a strong interest in enforcing criminal law within its boundaries, its officials said, arguing that concurrent jurisdiction with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation over Native Americans who commit crimes within its boundaries is "paramount" to the Oklahoma tribe's safety.
December 11, 2023
Tulsa city officials are asking an Oklahoma federal district court to dismiss claims by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation that allege Native Americans are being unlawfully prosecuted, saying the law regarding jurisdiction over Indian Country is "unsettled, continually evolving and the subject of several pending lawsuits in both state and federal courts."
December 01, 2023
The city of Tulsa says Native American tribes seeking to block its officials from prosecuting tribal members for committing municipal violations on reservation lands are well aware that it has concurrent jurisdiction to enforce its laws, yet "there is still a very significant case or controversy at issue."
November 29, 2023
Despite being embroiled in their own challenge to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation over membership, descendants of people once enslaved by the tribe have told an Oklahoma federal court they support its bid to block Tulsa from prosecuting Native Americans for crimes committed on reservations.
November 29, 2023
A federal judge is conditionally allowing an Oklahoma tribe to participate in an ongoing dispute between a Choctaw Nation member and the city of Tulsa over the municipality's right to prosecute tribal citizens for violating laws on reservation lands.
November 16, 2023
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is asking a federal court for a preliminary injunction barring the city of Tulsa, its chief of police and its city attorney from asserting criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans on the tribe's Oklahoma reservation, saying the municipality intends to continue the unlawful practice despite two appellate court rulings forbidding it.