1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i This Land Is Whose Land? The McGirt v. Oklahoma Decision and Considerations for Congress July 24, 2020 On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court announced its decision in McGirt v. Oklahomahailed by some as the
2、“most significant Indian Law case of the century.” In a 5-4 ruling, the Court held that land reserved for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the 19th century remained “Indian country” for criminal jurisdiction purposes. In an opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that Congress had est
3、ablished a reservation for the tribe (Creek Nation). Despite creating the State of Oklahoma and limiting tribal sovereignty within that area in the intervening years, the Court further held that Congress had never disestablished the Creek reservation in eastern Oklahoma. This Legal Sidebar explains
4、the origins of the case, sketches the contours of the decision, explores what remains undecided or unknown, and discusses what Congress could do to clarify, change, or cement this new status quo. How the Question Came to the Supreme Court In 2018, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider an
