{"id":13832,"date":"2021-07-09T17:34:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T21:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=13832"},"modified":"2021-07-09T17:34:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T21:34:42","slug":"muscogee-nation-proclaims-sovereignty-day-on-anniversary-of-historic-supreme-court-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/07\/09\/muscogee-nation-proclaims-sovereignty-day-on-anniversary-of-historic-supreme-court-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"Muscogee Nation proclaims Sovereignty Day on anniversary of historic Supreme Court ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Muscogee Nation: Sovereignty Day – July 9, 2021<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Muscogee Nation Proclaims Sovereignty Day on 1-Year Anniversary of Historic U.S. Supreme Court McGirt Decision<\/div>\r\n
U.S. Court Ruling Confirmed the Muscogee Nation\u2019s Sovereignty, Territorial Boundaries in Eastern Oklahoma<\/div>\r\n
Muscogee Nation Marks Year of Post-Ruling Operational Expansions, Partnerships<\/div>\r\n
Friday, July 9, 2021<\/div>\r\n
Source: Muscogee Nation<\/div>\r\n
muscogeenation.com<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe following is the text of a July 9, 2021, press release from the Muscogee Nation<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOKMULGEE, Oklahoma — Today the Muscogee Nation<\/a> declared July 9 as \u201cMuscogee Nation Sovereignty Day.\u201d The date marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma<\/em>, confirming the sovereignty and territorial boundaries of the Muscogee Nation<\/a>.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cGenerations of Mvskokvlke (Muscogee) will always look to this historic day as a reminder of our remarkable past, our perseverance and survival and our inherent right to exist as a sovereign nation that pre-dates both the United States and Oklahoma,\u201d reads the proclamation that Principal Chief David W. Hill ratified today.

<\/p>\r\nThe protected reservation, established in a treaty between the United States and the Muscogee Nation, encompasses much of Eastern Oklahoma, including Tulsa. The parties formed that treaty coincident with the United States\u2019 forced relocation (later known as The Trail of Tears; 1834) of the Muscogee Nation and its citizens from their cultural homeland in Georgia and Alabama to Eastern Oklahoma.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe celebrate and hold sacred the sovereignty of the Muscogee Nation and our inherent authority to exercise jurisdiction within the borders of our reservation,\u201d Hill said.

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<\/p>\r\nAs a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling a year ago, the Muscogee Nation has taken actions in support of its jurisdictional authority and its efforts to work collaboratively with non-tribal entities toward the safety and economic prosperity of all peoples within Oklahoma:\r\n

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\r\n• Doubled its cross-deputization agreements law-enforcement agencies to more than 60, including the Oklahoma Highway Patrol;

<\/p>\r\n• More than doubled police officers on the ground;

<\/p>\r\n• Bolstered its law-enforcement budget in the initial six-month, post-ruling period with an additional $7 million in tribal funds through special appropriation and supplemental legislation;

<\/p>\r\n• Commissioned a mobile-command unit to serve as the collaborative headquarters in cases that call for multiple agencies reporting;

<\/p>\r\n• Bolstered its prosecutorial capacity through broad actions, including a $1 million budget increase for the Muscogee Nation Attorney General\u2019s Office and adding five prosecutors, a criminal investigator, as well as additional legal assistants and records clerks;

<\/p>\r\n• Added district-court judges to the Muscogee Nation Tribal Bench;

<\/p>\r\n• Amended pertinent and critical areas of Tribal Code to be more compliant and uniform with State statutes; and

<\/p>\r\n• Convened a commission of more than 40 experts in law, tax, land and minerals, social services and law enforcement to work through the array of issues relevant to the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling.\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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