Formal recognition of four other tribal reservations could come by year's end

This map, from the Oklahoma Historical Society, shows the historical reservations of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles.


When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation had never been terminated, it was widely expected that the decision would apply to the other four members of the Five Civilized Tribes because of their parallel histories.

Cases now underway in state courts in several counties could lead — perhaps before the end of this year — to formal legal recognition that the reservations established for the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations still exist.

Last week, in a case in Craig County, the Cherokee Nation presented evidence regarding its reservation during a hearing for a Native American charged with crimes within the tribe’s historical boundaries, which includes all or part of 14 counties.

On Wednesday, a McClain County judge is set to hold a hearing involving Oklahoma death row inmate Shaun Bosse, a non-Indian convicted of killing a mother and her two children, all of whom were Chickasaws, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw historical reservation.

Read more: https://oklahoman.com/article/5672522/formal-recognition-of-four-other-tribal-reservations-could-come-by-years-end