Quote:
Jonodev Chaudhuri, ambassador of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a former chief justice of the tribe's Supreme Court, said the argument about legal havoc in the state was overblown.
?All the sky-is-falling narratives were dubious at best," Chaudhuri said. ?This would only apply to a small subset of Native Americans committing crimes within the boundaries.
?This case didn?t change ownership of any land. It didn?t impact the prosecutions of non-Indians in any way. All it did was bring clarity to jurisdictional questions regarding the border, and it enhanced the Creek Nation's ability as a sovereign nation to work with other sovereign interests to protect people and to work in common interests."
Forrest Tahdooahnippah, a Comanche Nation citizen and attorney who specializes in tribal law, said the ruling's short-term implications are largely confined to the criminal context and that serious felonies committed by Native Americans in parts of eastern Oklahoma will be subject to federal jurisdiction.
?In the long term, outside of the criminal context, there may be some minor changes in civil law," he said. ?The majority opinion points out assistance with Homeland Security, historical preservation, schools, highways, clinics, housing, and nutrition programs, as possible changes. The Creek Nation will also have greater jurisdiction over child welfare cases involving tribal members."
An analysis published in The Atlantic notes of a possible estimated 1,887 impacted cases, fewer than 10% appeared to qualify for a new trial based on a statutory one-year time limit to file for relief.
