tribal sovereignty

An obscure case of illegal hunting in south-central Oklahoma could point to new ways the state is trying to assert jurisdiction inside newly affirmed tribal reservation boundaries.

This episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma features reports on a Tulsa company supporting political candidates who push misinformation, a museum exhibit exploring the history of Cherokee Freedmen and the rural beginnings of DJ LiTEBRiTE.

At issue is whether the the Indian Child Welfare Act — aimed at preventing Native American children from being separated from their tribes — is tribal protection or racial classification.

A case to determine who has the rights to adopt Native children goes before the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday. It’s another challenge of the Indian Child Welfare Act, and if the law is overturned, it could jeopardize other laws protecting tribal sovereignty and water and land rights.

Fourteen percent of Oklahoma's voters identify as Native American, according to the United Indian Nations Council of Oklahoma, which means they’re a voting block that could play a significant role in this election.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and his Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister faced off in the only gubernatorial debate leading up to the general election on Nov. 8.

When U.S. Supreme Court Justices ruled in Oklahoma v Castro-Huerta in June 2022, some thought it might provide clarity about the relationship between states and tribal nations around criminal justice matters. But this change in legal precedent may be creating more questions than answers, and a Congressional subcommittee is trying to figure out if there is a solution.

Tribes and tribal law experts see the Castro-Huerta ruling as an alarming turn in the Supreme Court's treatment of Indian law and tribal affairs.

This Week in Oklahoma Politics discusses a U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying the state has the right to prosecute non-Native suspects who commit crimes on tribal lands against Native Americans and supporters of a ballot measure to put recreational marijuana on the ballot turn in 164,000 signatures to the Secretary of State.

Four federal Indian law experts digest the Supreme Court's 'shocking' decision to grant state governments the power to prosecute crimes in Indian Country.