Cherokee chief says governor, AG seeking to destroy tribal sovereignty | Politics

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor filed a petition with the US Supreme Court on Friday asking for the 2020 McGirt ruling to be overturned, which leaves the state incapable of prosecuting serious crimes committed by Native Americans in eastern Oklahoma.

Chuck Hoskin Jr., head of the Cherokee Nation, immediately interjected, saying the court ruling only confirmed what the United States promised through the treaty and accused the AG of undermining cooperation efforts.

The petition calls on the court to restrict any application of the McGirt ruling, including allowing the state to continue detaining violent criminals convicted prior to the McGirt ruling. It calls on the court to confirm the state’s authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Native Americans on the former Muscogee Reservation (Creek).

O’Connor said the McGirt decision was “ruthlessly too broad” and put Oklahomans at risk of lacking law enforcement agencies to respond to a call for help.

“Victims of cruel crimes are rediscovered by going through the trial a second time and, in some cases, seeing the murderer of their loved ones released because the federal prosecutor’s office cannot bring claims against the released convicts,” he said. “Some theories sound good conceptually, but they don’t work in the real world. The US Supreme Court wrongly made this decision and we respectfully ask the court to overturn its decision or limit it to certain federal crimes. Without action, the negative consequences of Oklahoma will be harmed for years to come. “

However, Hoskin said the US government had contracted the tribes to give them a reservation and authority to rule their citizens.

“It has been over a year since the Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling reaffirmed that pledge, while the tribes have worked closely with local, state and federal agencies to work together in victim support and Oklahoman safety,” said Hoskin. “After over a century of illegal activity by the state of Oklahoma outside of its jurisdiction, it is not surprising that there are still defendants to be tried in tribal or federal courts, still victims to be assisted during this transition period must, and other work that must be done to reverse the suppression of our nation’s judicial system. But tribes and our partners are up to the task. “

The case revolves around the conviction of Shaun Bosse, a non-American who brutally murdered a Chickasaw mother and her two young children. In May, the US Supreme Court agreed to keep bosses on Oklahoma death row while considering examining Oklahoma criminal justice issues.

“Oklahomans were not notified or given due process until their rights were so strictly enforced. The Biden administration was quick to take up the McGirt ruling and take control of the Oklahoma open pit, ”said O’Connor.

The AG added that it had sued the Biden government to reverse this encroachment on Oklahoma’s sovereignty over land within its borders.

Governor Kevin Stitt’s office earlier this year identified the McGirt impact as “the most pressing issue” for Oklahoma’s future.

“For the reasons the Chief Justice (John Roberts) cited in his dissent, McGirt was wrongly ruled and his disruptive effects in Oklahoma are unprecedented. While the court felt that compromise or action by Congress could limit the disruption of its decision, it is now clear that neither is imminent, ”the petition reads. “The tribes disagree with each other, let alone with the state, on the right path, and it is unlikely that Congress will adopt a proposal that is not supported by all parties involved.”

Hoskin said that instead of joining forces to solve problems, the governor and the corporation are again trying to undermine the cooperation by trying to overturn the Supreme Court ruling.

“With today’s filing in Bosse v. Oklahoma, you made it clear that it was never about protecting victims or stopping crime, it was simply promoting an anti-Indian political agenda,” said Hoskin. “The governor has never tried to work with the tribes to protect all Oklahomans. It is perfectly clear that his intention has always been to destroy Oklahoma’s reservations and the sovereignty of the Oklahoma tribes, no matter what the cost. “

Hoskin said the Cherokee Nation is waiting for the Supreme Court to reconfirm the law and all tribal reservations.

“(We) hope that the governor and attorney general can put their political conduct aside to do what’s right for all of Oklahoma,” he said.