Save the Date: McGirt and Victim Protection
As you may know, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a landmark 2020 case, McGirt v. Oklahoma, that the Muscogee Creek Nation’s boundaries encompassed territories originally granted the tribe in treaties of 1833 and 1866 and in subsequent federal laws. Accordingly the tribe, along with the federal government, has criminal jurisdiction over this territory, even though the state has been exercising jurisdiction for generations in violation of those treaties.
While not involving the transfer of any lands, the recognition of the Muscogee Creek Nation’s historic boundaries represents a dramatic expansion of the tribe’s ability to shape its own justice system across the lands its members call home. The decision has already led to implementation of new intergovernmental agreements and system enhancements on the part of the Muscogee Creek as well as the Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Chickasaw Nations, whose tribal lands together now officially encompass most of Eastern Oklahoma.
What will the impacts of McGirt be on the rest of Indian Country? How does it impact victim services providers and the Native survivors and victims they support? Join Victim Assistance to Support Tribes (VAST) for the first in a three part webinar series featuring subject matter expert Casey Ross to get these questions, and more, answered.
Casey Ross (Cherokee) is the Director of the American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center and Clinical Professor of Law at Oklahoma City University, as well as the University General Counsel for Oklahoma City University.
The first webinar will be held on July 13 at 1:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM Central / 11:00 AM Mountain / 10:00 AM Pacific.