For a combined 11 hours across two days in separate federal courthouses, leaders of the Muscogee Nation testified this week about the growth of their criminal justice system, the importance of tribal sovereignty and their requests for injunctions to prevent the City Henryetta and Tulsa County from prosecuting Indians within the Muscogee Reservation that the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in July 2020.
Since the SCOTUS decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, disputes over jurisdictional questions across eastern Oklahoma and Indian Country reservations have only grown more complicated and contentious, often causing other major court cases and derailing the diplomacy that many state and tribal leaders had enjoyed for decades.
The first two weeks of October have seen no shortage of developments in the topic of state-tribal relations. Among other issues, the following roundup offers updates on the legal case of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s brother, yearbook photo rules in Durant, a non-Indian’s criminal prosecution by the Muscogee Nation and a renewed feud over hunting and fishing rights with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
SCOTUS declines to hear Keith Stitt appeal
Providing no commentary to explain their decision, U.S. Supreme Court justices denied Keith Stitt’s petition for certiorari that sought review of a City of Tulsa traffic citation Oct. 6. Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s older brother, petitioned the court to review an Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decision which held that municipalities in Oklahoma have concurrent jurisdiction with tribal governments over non-member Indians who commit crimes within other tribes’ reservation boundaries.
The high court’s order offered little insight into why the petition was denied. With the court declining to take up Stitt’s case, Oklahoma state courts retain concurrent jurisdiction to adjudicate cases involving non-member Indians in Indian Country, a power affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in the DUI case of Nicholas O’Brien.
Brett Chapman, the lead attorney on Stitt’s appeal, released a statement arguing the denial of certiorari allowed courts in Oklahoma to continue violations of federal law by prosecuting Indians for crimes committed in Indian Country, a legal term of art that defines land where only tribes and the federal government have historically had criminal and civil jurisdiction.
“The OCCA precedent remains. State prosecutors across Oklahoma can continue to cite it. The United States Department of Justice has been forced to file federal lawsuits against Oklahoma prosecutors to enjoin these unlawful prosecutions,” Chapman said. “Tribal nations are filing case after case trying to protect their citizens. And every defendant, every tribe, every federal prosecutor must now litigate around a state court precedent that should never have been allowed to stand. Indian defendants across Oklahoma remain vulnerable to prosecutions that the federal constitution simply does not permit.”
Since the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, no federal court has held Oklahoma possesses concurrent jurisdiction over non-member Indians who commit crimes in Indian Country, but the state’s highest criminal court did so in its O’Brien decision late last year.
Chapman argued the City of Tulsa’s failure to work proactively to help overturn his client’s case has hurt Indians throughout eastern Oklahoma by allowing other cities to cite Tulsa’s precedent.
“There is a fundamental difference between declining to prosecute Indians in Indian Country within one municipality’s city limits, a policy choice within Tulsa’s control, and challenging the legal authority to prosecute Indians in Indian Country: a precedential question affecting all of Oklahoma. Tulsa has done the former,” Chapman wrote. “Tulsa’s policy changes only control what happens within the city limits of this one city. They do not control what the OCCA precedent allows every other state jurisdiction in eastern Oklahoma to do. Oklahoma has 594 municipalities and 354 state municipal criminal courts. A slight majority of state municipalities, approaching 300 in number, are within the nine reservations Congress established for 10 tribes prior to statehood and reaffirmed through McGirt. Approximately three out of every five of these municipalities have a state municipal criminal court. Within these nine reservations are dozens of state district courts with many different district attorneys. Right now, hundreds of state and municipal prosecutors across eastern Oklahoma can cite the two City of Tulsa cases as binding authority to prosecute Indian defendants in Indian Country.”
While Chapman acknowledged the City of Tulsa’s settlement agreement with the Muscogee Nation as a “meaningful step,” he argued that Mayor Monroe Nichols, who campaigned on co-governing with tribal governments, should take an even more explicitly pro-tribal sovereignty stance.
“I want to be clear: I do not question the sincerity of Mayor Nichols’ commitment to improving relations with tribal nations. The changes his administration has implemented are real and meaningful. But good intentions are not enough when dangerous precedent remains in place,” Chapman said. “True partnership with tribal nations means more than changing prosecutorial practices. It means challenging the legal frameworks that enable unlawful assertions of state power. It requires affirmatively working to eliminate precedent that harms Indian Country, not simply refraining from relying on it. The fight continues.”
Nichols’ office declined to comment on the court’s order or Chapman’s criticism.
Stay lifted in cases against Matt Ballard, Carol Iski
After attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice asked federal courts in Oklahoma to continue a stay in two lawsuits filed against district attorneys until after the conclusion of the October 2025 government shutdown, Senior Judge Claire Eagan lifted the stay and indicated she would rule on pending motions to dismiss.
The lawsuits were filed by the DOJ against District Attorneys Matt Ballard and Carol Iski for prosecuting tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country. Both Ballard and Iski filed motions to dismiss, but before the court ruled on the motions, the parties agreed to enter settlement negotiations, and their cases were administratively stayed.
The DOJ’s requests to continue the stays conceded the parties could not reach a settlement, but federal attorneys asked for the cases to be continued until after the government shutdown ends.
“The parties have not reached an agreement that would resolve this case,” DOJ attorneys wrote. “However, at the end of the day on Sept. 30, 2025, the appropriations act that had been funding the Department of Justice expired and those appropriations lapsed. Accordingly, the United States requests that the stay be extended until Congress has restored appropriations to the department.”
The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations opposed the request to continue the stays.
“The parties have not reached an agreement that would resolve this case. Accordingly, the nations request that the previously pending motions be re-noticed and taken under submission, and the briefing schedule for further proceedings be reinstated,” attorneys for the nations wrote. “The federal government shutdown should not interfere with the court’s decision on the pending motions to dismiss, as those motions have been fully briefed.”
Eagan lifted the stay Oct. 6 but has yet to rule on the motions to dismiss.
Judge weighs Muscogee Nation’s injunction against Henryetta
A magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma is weighing whether to issue a preliminary injunction against the City of Henryetta that would prevent the city’s prosecution of Muscogee Nation citizens and other Native Americans in municipal court.
During an Oct. 7 hearing in Muskogee that lasted six hours, attorneys for the Muscogee Nation argued that Henryetta’s prosecutions violate federal law because the city sits within the nation’s reservation boundaries. The tribe filed suit in July, seeking a preliminary injunction while the case moves forward.
“The city has its understanding of the law backwards,” said Muscogee Nation attorney Riyaz Kanji, arguing that long-standing federal law does not permit municipal courts to exercise criminal jurisdiction over tribal citizens within Indian Country. “Henryetta is making a choice. I think Henryetta is making an illegal choice.”
City attorneys countered that Henryetta shares concurrent jurisdiction with the Muscogee Nation, citing recent the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rulings in Tulsa v. O’Brien and Stitt v. Tulsa.
“The tribe has concurrent jurisdiction over tribal members and can still prosecute without it being double jeopardy,” said Keith Wilkes, an attorney representing Henryetta.
Henryetta Police Chief Steve Norman said in his testimony that he opposes the Muscogee Nation’s standard cross-deputization agreement in its current form but remains “open to negotiations.” Muscogee Nation attorney Philip Tinker said the tribe had tried to reach an agreement with the city before filing suit and remains willing to do so.
During his closing argument, Henryetta attorney Bryan Nowlin acknowledged that “what happens to the revenue” from traffic tickets was among the city’s concerns.
“Is this about revenue?” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason Robertson asked. “That seems like the elephant in the room.”
Nowlin replied, “Revenue is an elephant, but it is not the only concern.”
Robertson took the case under advisement and said he would issue a ruling at a later date.
Muscogee case against Kunzweiler also awaits ruling
Two days later and 50 miles northwest, Kanji and his colleagues appeared in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma to make similar jurisdictional arguments, calling Secretary of the Nation Zechariah Harjo, court administrator Kevin Dellinger, Coweta Police Chief Michael Bell and Attorney General Geri Wisner to testify.
Wisner told Judge Gregory Frizzell that Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler could pursue charges or sentences outside the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation’s preferences if the state is allowed to retain concurrent criminal jurisdiction over non-member Indians within the Muscogee Reservation, the northern edge of which bisects downtown Tulsa.
The term “non-member” refers to tribal citizens within the reservation boundary of a tribe other than their own, and Wisner said the idea that Oklahoma can simultaneously or subsequently charge crimes against someone prosecuted by the Muscogee Nation is problematic and violates tribal sovereignty.
“I think that is highly discouraging for victims’ families to come forward,” Wisner said. “Every nation has their own, unique healing system.”
Kunzweiler was represented by Trevor Pemberton and Phillip Whaley, who cross-examined Harjo about the state of the Muscogee Nation.
“It’s good,” Harjo said. “We’re trending upward.”
Whaley asked and Harjo answered that he, as a Tulsa resident, wanted the area to be as “safe” as possible.
“Can you tell me how the prosecution of non-member Indians by Tulsa County affects how you do your job day-to-day?” Whaley asked.
Harjo said that was “not necessarily a question I can answer,” but he noted that “it undermines tribal sovereignty.”
While Harjo, Dillenger and Wisner emphasized the Muscogee Nation District Court’s significant capacity growth since 2020, Whaley and Pemberton cross-examined the witnesses to note that tribal courts face a three-year incarceration cap per charge, a provision tribal leaders have asked Congress to change.
“If the maximum punishment for [child sexual abuse] would be three years, would you be OK with that?” Pemberton asked Bell.
The Coweta police chief responded, “No,” and he agreed that “something like 15 years” would be “better.”
Pemberton emphasized that non-member Indians can establish rights as Oklahomans — such as voting, running for office or serving on a jury — that they cannot establish with the Muscogee Nation.
“There has been collaboration between the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, hasn’t there?” Pemberton asked Wisner during his cross-examination.
Wisner responded cautiously to questions from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s former general counsel.
“If there has, it was on a prosecutorial basis,” Wisner said, acknowledging a recent Tulsa County training that Muscogee prosectors attended and mentioning a nation event this summer with similar participation.
Kunzweiler took the stand in his own defense to close the day. Frizzell said he would issue a written order on the topic, reminding the parties that “I think I know the issues” in an effort to limit the day’s loquaciousness.
“This is not a policy court,” Frizzell said at the beginning of Thursday’s hearing. “I am not deciding policy at all. I am deciding law.”
Wichita and Affirmed Tribes mourn loss of former president
The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes announced the death of former President Gary McAdams, who led the sovereign tribal nation from 1990 to 2008. He was 70 years old.
“Mr. McAdams dedicated his life to the service and strength of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes,” current President Amber Silverhorn-Wolfe said in an Oct. 8 statement. “He worked tirelessly to preserve our traditions, protect tribal sovereignty, and build a better future for generations to come.”
In addition to his 18 years as president, McAdams served as the tribe’s Tobacco Man — a sacred and highly respected role responsible for ensuring that prayer and ceremony are upheld within the community. Silverhorn-Wolfe called the position “the highest honor” that is “often thankless but deeply vital to our nation.”
“His spirit will continue to guide and inspire us as we honor his legacy and move forward together,” she said.
Durant High School changes position on tribal regalia in yearbook
The Durant Public School District said it will allow a Durant High School senior to wear tribal regalia in his yearbook photo after he challenged a policy that restricted seniors to approved attire.
Choctaw Nation citizen Jordan Davenport urged the Durant School Board of Education on Oct. 6 to let native students wear traditional regalia in their senior portraits.
Davenport wore a handmade beaded collar with his cap and gown during his July photo session. Faculty later told him the collar violated policy and required him to retake the photo, according to KXII.
Durant Public Schools Superintendent Mark Moring said Oct. 6 the district limits yearbook attire to school-provided caps and gowns to keep photos “fair and consistent to all students” and noted the district does allow native regalia at graduation — a requirement placed into law by the Oklahoma Legislature in 2023.
Amid swirling criticism, the district agreed Oct. 9 to permit Davenport’s original cap and gown photo showing his tribal regalia and to review its yearbook photo policy.
“Jordan’s courage in sharing the importance of his cultural heritage with the Board of Education was inspiring, and we appreciate all feedback from stakeholders on issues of importance to out students,” Moring said in a press release.
Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton praised the district “for working with us to support Native American students.”
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation renews fishing, hunting rights right
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation claims a recent state Supreme Court ruling about income taxation also confirms that state fish and wildlife laws apply to everyone in the state, even tribal citizens hunting and fishing with their sovereign nation’s approval within Indian Country reservation boundaries.
In an Oct. 8 press release, ODWC communication and education chief Micah Holmes said game wardens will continue enforcing state laws and issuing citations for violations “regardless of tribal citizenship.” The agency pointed to the Stroble v. Oklahoma Tax Commission decision, a July 2025 ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, as evidence that McGirt v. Oklahoma only affirmed Indian Country reservations within the state for purposes of prosecutions under the federal Major Crimes Act. In the Stroble case, which the petitioner has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review, the Oklahoma Supreme Court said the McGirt decision was limited to criminal jurisdiction.
“To date, the United States Supreme Court has not extended its ruling in McGirt beyond the Major Crimes Act. To date, the United States Supreme Court has not extended its ruling in McGirt to the state’s civil or taxing jurisdiction,” the justices wrote in a per curiam opinion. “And it is not this court’s place to do so.”
Beef between Gov. Kevin Stitt and tribal nations over state compacts to provide hunting and fishing licenses began in 2021, with Stitt letting agreements with the Choctaw Nation and Cherokee Nation lapse at the end of the year. First signed in 2015 and 2016, the agreements allowed the two tribes to purchase a minimum number of combination hunting/fishing licenses for their citizens at only 5 percent of the cost for other Oklahomans, including other tribal citizens. The increased registration of licenses, however, also boosted the draw down of federal dollars for the state and supported the hunting and fishing industry.
The Five Tribes responded by issuing their own hunting and fishing licenses, and the decrease in license numbers for the state resulted in a loss of federal funding for ODWC. The Five Tribes then signed reciprocal agreements in July 2024 allowing each’s citizens to hunt and fish on lands of the other tribes.
The ODWC’s Oct. 8 statement renewed the dormant dispute, with the agency indicating its game wardens directed to “enforce the law uniformly for all Oklahomans.”
The Inter-Tribal Council for the Five Tribes convened in Durant this week and voted to approve a resolution — albeit not posted on the ITC’s website — proclaiming the tribes’ authority to manage and enforce their citizens’ hunting and fishing rights within their reservations.
In a statement, Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said tribal citizens retain “the inherent right to hunt and fish on our reservation.” He noted that since 2022, Choctaw citizens have used their tribal membership cards as hunting and fishing licenses within the reservation.
“These rights were not granted by the federal government but retained by tribes and affirmed through treaties, federal law, and court decisions,” Batton said. “The Choctaw Nation will defend our members’ rights against intimidation and harassment that violate tribal and federal law.”
Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill said Gov. Kevin Stitt is “using fear to entice tribal citizens to purchase a state license.” Hill noted that the nation’s wildlife department funds its own conservation programs and that ODWC wardens are cross-deputized to enforce tribal laws within the reservation — a reality at the heart of another recent jurisdictional question being litigated in federal court.
Both tribal nations urged citizens cited by state wardens to contact their tribal offices for legal help.
After 16 months, magistrate recommends MCN’s Matthew Douglas charge should proceed
A federal magistrate judge has recommended that Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s habeas corpus petition on behalf of a non-Indian jailer charged in Muscogee Nation District Court can move forward over the tribe’s objection.
Drummond filed the petition in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma on Feb. 28, 2024, seeking dismissal of a protected-status battery charge against Okmulgee County Jail detention officer Matthew Douglas. The Muscogee Nation charged Douglas after a Dec. 18, 2023, physical altercation between Muscogee Lighthorse police and county jailers when the tribal officers attempted to book a non-Indian on drug-related offenses under their cross-commissioned status as law enforcement for Oklahoma’s Grand River Dam Authority.
Douglas became the first non-native charged in the Muscogee Nation under the “protected status battery” offense authorized by Congress in 2022.
By intervening, Drummond argued that 25 U.S.C. Section 1304 of federal law limits tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians to cases involving specific “covered crimes.” Those crimes include assault on tribal justice personnel, domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, obstruction of justice and similar offenses. But Drummond contended that because the Lighthorse officers were working a narcotics case — not a “covered crime” — the Muscogee Nation lacks authority to prosecute Douglas.
“Congress does not include narcotics charges or violations of state law as ‘covered crimes,’” Drummond wrote. “The MCN does not have jurisdiction to charge petitioner with a violation of tribal law for his conduct on Dec. 18, 2023.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Edward Snow issued a recommendation Oct. 1 that Drummond’s habeas challenge be allowed to continue. Snow rejected the Muscogee Nation’s argument in its motion to dismiss that Douglas’ petition arrived prematurely because he had not yet been convicted and had yet to exhaust tribal court remedies. The nation had asked the federal court April 30, 2024, to dismiss or stay the case until Douglas’ tribal court proceedings concluded.
In his recommendation, Snow said federal law does not limit pre-sentencing habeas review under Section 1303, which reads:
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall be available to any person, in a court of the United States, to test the legality of his detention by order of an Indian tribe.
Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1978 decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, Snow wrote that the prosecution of a non-Indian likely exceeds tribal authority if Congress has not granted it.
“Given the credible claim that the tribal court’s assertion of jurisdiction is patently violative of express jurisdictional prohibitions under Oliphant and its progeny, [Douglas] is not required to exhaust tribal remedies prior to seeking relief,” Snow wrote.
The Muscogee Nation has until Oct. 15 to file any objection to Snow’s recommendation.
Muscogee Nation breaks ground on courthouse, opens Tulsa area traffic court
The Muscogee Nation broke ground this week on a new tribal courthouse in Okmulgee and opened a new traffic court in Jenks.
On Oct. 8, tribal officials broke ground on the new Muscogee Nation Courthouse. The 52,000-square-foot facility will house both the nation’s district court and its Supreme Court.
Muscogee Nation leaders said the new courthouse will streamline court operations and expand access to justice as the nation’s caseload continues to increase.
In addition to the Okmulgee project, the nation’s district court opened a new traffic court in Jenks to adjudicate cases involving citizens living in the northern part of the reservation. The new courthouse, located on the Jenks Riverwalk, shares space with other Muscogee Nation offices.
