The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to take up an Oklahoma tax case involving Muscogee Nation citizen Alicia Stroble. Now the five largest tribes in the state are weighing in, hoping SCOTUS will overturn the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision that ruled Stroble is not exempt from paying state income tax.
Stroble asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case in September. It rests on the argument that she was exempt from paying state income taxes from 2017-19 because she is an enrolled tribal member, worked for the Muscogee National Council and lived inside the tribe's reservation boundaries in Okmulgee.
But, the Oklahoma Tax Commission argued Stroble did not live on land considered Indian Country because her fee title for her residence originated from a non-tribal entity and was not held in trust or federally owned as restricted reservation land.
Over the summer, the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with the state tax commission in a 6-3 opinion.
In the majority opinion, justices wrote the land where she resided was not considered Indian Country and that the landmark McGirt decision did not extend to civil cases. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a critic of tribal sovereignty and the McGirt ruling, appointed four of the concurring justices.
Now, the five largest tribes in Oklahoma — the Muscogee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee and Seminole Nations — are standing behind Stroble because they, too, have an interest in the outcome.
"The petition for a writ of certiorari should be granted because the decision below threatens core principles of federal law relied on by Indian tribes nationwide, unsettles the Nations' sovereignty, and puts their productive relationship with the State at risk," the amicus curiae brief of the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations said.
The Seminole Nation and Muscogee Nation filed separate amicus briefs, as did the National Congress of American Indians.
Four U.S. Supreme Court justices must vote in favor to take up the case. More than 40 cases have been granted to be heard during the 2025-2026 term, but an exact timeline for Stroble's is unclear.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
