The U.S. Justice Department, representing the Department of the Interior, has filed a motion to intervene in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s lawsuit against the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The lawsuit, which also includes the city's mayor, chief of police and city attorney as defendants, is currently before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Alongside its motion to intervene, the Justice Department has lodged a proposed complaint against Tulsa. It alleges that the city has unlawfully asserted criminal jurisdiction over tribal members within the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation initiated its legal action against Tulsa on November 11, 2023. This followed continued attempts by Tulsa to prosecute tribal members within reservation boundaries for alleged violations of Tulsa’s traffic ordinances. The city has utilized these court prosecutions to argue it possesses criminal jurisdiction over Indians in Indian country.
The Justice Department's intervention and proposed complaint contend that Tulsa's assertion of jurisdiction contravenes fundamental principles of federal Indian law. These principles are enshrined in the Constitution and were reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma.
According to these filings, these principles prohibit states and their political subdivisions from exercising criminal jurisdiction over Indians in Indian country unless Congress expressly authorizes it. In this case, no such authorization exists; thus leaving exclusive criminal jurisdiction over Indians in Indian country to both the United States and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Both documents underscore the United States' governmental interest in supporting federally recognized tribes' inherent sovereign power to exercise criminal jurisdiction over Indians for conduct occurring on their reservations. They also defend Congress’ plenary and exclusive authority over Indian affairs.
In addition, they cite provisions from the 1832 Treaty with the Creeks stipulating that no “State or Territory [shall] ever have a right to pass laws for the government of such Indians, but they shall be allowed to govern themselves.”
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced these developments. The case is being managed by the Indian Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.