Cherokee Nation: Legal Status of the Cherokee Nation Reservation

The Office of the Attorney General represents the Cherokee Nation as a government. The OAG does not represent individual Cherokee citizens. The OAG cannot provide legal advice to individuals regarding dismissal of criminal charges; vacating criminal convictions; taxation; or any other criminal or civil implications of the McGirt decision.

If you have questions about how the McGirt decision impacts you, you should consult an attorney, accountant, or other professional.

The information contained here is for Cherokee citizens, the general public, as well as attorneys and courts. The Office of the Attorney General receives multiple daily inquiries about the effect of the United States Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma on the Cherokee Nation, and our position is clear: the Cherokee Nation Reservation continues to exist today as it has since it was created by the “patents of 1838 and 1846 diminished only by the Treaty of July 19, 1866 and the Act of March 3, 1893.” Cherokee Nation Constitution, Art. II.

The information below will help answer some of the most common questions.

Municipal Agreements

Agreements allowing municipalities to retain, in the form of a donation, fees, and fines for Cherokee Nation traffic tickets.

Other Information

Our office cannot provide legal advice to individuals seeking to overturn criminal convictions.

Legal Briefs

Downloads

BIA Letter Withdrawing 2012 Opinion

886.7 KB / Created December 6, 2021 / Updated December 6, 2021

Letter from Asst Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland withdrawing 2012 Opinion accepting land into trust for gaming purposes for the United Keetoowah Band.

Brief of Amicus Curiae Chickasaw Nation and Cherokee Nation

1.3 MB / Created August 4, 2021 / Updated August 4, 2021

Brief supporting tribal state ICWA jurisdictional agreements following McGirt.

Curtis Act Memorandum

351.1 KB / Created June 1, 2021 / Updated June 1, 2021

Oklahoma municipalities have no jurisdiction over On-Reservation offenses committed by or against Indians.

Hogner – Amicus Brief

27.9 MB / Created November 5, 2020 / Updated November 5, 2020

Craig County; CF-2015-263 - Amicus Brief filed on September 14, 2020

Hogner – Opinion of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

793.4 KB / Created March 11, 2021 / Updated March 11, 2021

Hogner – Opinion of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals