The Osage Nation argues the Irby case should be declared invalid because there are no material differences between the statutes of their nation and the Muscogee Nation— which had their reservation reaffirmed in 2020 in the landmark McGirt case.

The recently filed motion also explains that the legal histories of multiple tribes, including the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Quapaw, who have had their reservations upheld, are the same.

“The Osage Nation purchased our reservation with our funds in 1872, and an act of Congress has never disestablished it,” Osage Nation Attorney General Clint Patterson said in a news release. “In their opinion, the 10th Circuit wrote exactly that before going to some extrinsic sources of history. The McGirt decision highlights the flaws in the Irby decision, and this motion gives us a chance to fix those flaws.”

Without an established reservation, the Osage Nation lacks criminal jurisdiction over tribal citizens who commit crimes in Osage County. Instead, the state holds that power.

Therefore, the tribe is arguing the Irby case is undermining Osage sovereignty and limiting the resources it can use to combat violence and criminal activity in the community.

This is not the first time the Osage Nation has sought to undo the decision.