The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected a settlement agreement between the City of Tulsa and Muscogee Nation on Wednesday that would have deferred some criminal prosecution of Native Americans to the tribe.
Muscogee Nation and the City of Tulsa entered into the agreement last June, when they determined the city would not prosecute Native American defendants within the tribe's reservation, which extends into the southern half of Tulsa's city limits. That signing settled a lawsuit the nation filed in 2023, which alleged the city infringed on tribal jurisdiction over criminal offenses, such as traffic violations.
But Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court last August opposing the settlement, arguing it infringed on state sovereignty.
In its 8-1 decision, the court ruled the city did not have the statutory authority to enter into the agreement, writing that municipalities require approval from the governor and the state's Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations before executing deals with tribes.
The justices also wrote the settlement was not an extension of the two parties' 2006 cross-deputization agreement, but rather an independent measure that "establishes a new legal framework."
"To be legally enforceable, intergovernmental cooperative agreements made on behalf of a political subdivision must comply with statutory requirements," the court wrote. "Here, neither the Joint Committee nor the Governor approved the Settlement Agreement. The Court holds that the Settlement Agreement is invalid as a matter of law until such time as Tulsa secures the mandatory statutory approvals."
Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill and Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said the two governments will continue working together despite the ruling.
"The amount of effort and financial resources from the state expended by the Governor, in order to block cooperation agreements that make our communities safer, is baffling and shameful … ," Hill wrote in a statement.
Both Hill and Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said they plan to work with the Oklahoma State Legislature moving forward.
"Political posturing on this federal court settlement agreement will not obstruct the City of Tulsa's cooperative working relationship with our tribal partners," Nichols wrote. "... We will continue to work closely with the Muscogee Nation and the Cherokee Nation to protect public safety, as we are specifically authorized to do under the terms of the state-approved cross-deputization agreements."
On Thursday, Stitt said the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision affirms his position that cities "cannot unilaterally enter into an agreement without the Governor's consent."
Stitt also challenged the settlement in federal court. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled the state could not intervene in the case, but declined to approve the agreement.
Justice Douglas Combs, the sole dissenter and a member of the Muscogee Nation, wrote the court should wait for a federal decision in Muscogee Nation v. Kunzweiler.
That case questions whether Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has the authority to prosecute non-member tribal citizens on the Muscogee reservation. It is currently awaiting a decision in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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.
