Gov. Kevin Stitt has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to toss out an agreement between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols and the tribe agreed that the city would not prosecute municipal violations against tribal citizens, but would still enforce those laws. Prosecution would take place in a tribal court.
Stitt said Nichols has made Tulsa a sanctuary city with two systems of justice, one for those with tribal membership and the other for everyone else.
The agreement was entered as part of a resolution to a federal court case.
“If left unchecked, Tulsa’s actions would undermine the uniform application of law, create uncertainty in criminal enforcement, endanger public safety, and encourage other municipalities to follow suit unilaterally ceding jurisdiction without lawful authority,” Stitt’s filing said.
The lawsuit argues the issue is of statewide concern and challenges state’s supremacy in criminal law enforcement.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark McGirt decision, holding that the several reservations had never been dissolved, including that of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It found that the state lacked criminal jurisdiction over Indians committing crimes governed by the federal Major Crimes Act in Indian Country.
Stitt’s brief said the agreement between Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was not approved by the Tulsa City Council, him or the legislative Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations, which represents lawmakers during the compacting process with tribes.
The agreement creates an intolerable conflict between the state and one of its political subdivisions, the lawsuit said.
“Tulsa has ceased investigating and prosecuting certain criminal offenses based solely on the racial and political status of the offender and whether the person qualifies as Indian,” the suit said. “That policy impacts not only criminal defendants but also victims, witnesses, and the broader public that depends on equal enforcement of the law.”
Some of the statements by Stitt and in the filing are inaccurate and “riddled with just lies,” Nichols said Thursday.
“The notion that there has been any time where we have not enforced the law in this city is false,” Nichols said. “It is incorrect. It is an outright lie. The governor knows that. The governor does not care about that.”
Stitt has not come to him about the issue, Nichols said, adding that the governor is trying to get in the way of progress.
The question at hand is who prosecutes who based on the crime they committed, Nichols said.
The latest action is one of a number of disputes between Stitt and Oklahoma’s federally recognized tribes. Stitt unsuccessfully sought to renegotiate voter-approved gaming compacts. He’s also pushed back against tribal tag owners who use turnpikes but don’t pay tolls.
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