United Keetoowah Band hails jurisdiction ruling while Cherokee Nation plans legal challenges

The United Ketoowah Band of Cherokees is celebrating a recent opinion saying the tribe shares jurisdiction on Cherokee land.

The larger Cherokee Nation disagrees, and both sides expect to go to court. When the case goes to court, it will be a federal case and has the potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians has a 76-acre campus in Tahlequah, but their tribal leadership has long said their sovereign land is much larger than this.

"This opinion right now reaffirms that we are who we've been saying we are for the last 75 years," said United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma Chief Jeff Wacoche

Wacoche is happy with a new federal opinion on Keetoowah jurisdiction but recognizes it's likely not the final decision. The Keetoowah's though, are celebrating the moment they hope marks the beginning of a new era.

Tori Holland, Tribal Council Attorney:

"This opinion reaffirms what the United Keetoowah Band has been saying. That we have jurisdiction over the Cherokee Reservation concurrent with the CN of Oklahoma," said Tribal Council Attorney Tori Holland.

The UKB points to its new Courthouse as one of the ways they’re demonstrating that they are ready to exercise their new validated authority alongside the Cherokee Nation. They say they’re ready to do that today but they are certain that there is more litigation ahead.   

The Cherokee Nation describes the Solicitor's opinion as an affront to their sovereignty, unsupported by law and history, that they plan to review to determine the next steps. When the case goes to court, it will be a federal case and has the potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cherokee Nation Statement On UKB Solicitor Opinion

"Following the issuing of an opinion from the Department of the Interior’s Solicitor regarding the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. issued the following statement:

“Today’s opinion from the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior is an affront to Cherokee Nation’s sovereignty, treaty rights, and established legal precedent. His opinion is unsupported by law and history. In fact, as the Cherokee Nation demonstrated in its submissions to the Department, applicable law and the Nation’s history dictate a completely opposite outcome. The Solicitor has chosen to ignore Acts of Congress regarding the status of Cherokee Nation, rulings of the Supreme Court on treaty interpretation, and other federal courts holding that the Cherokee Nation of today is the Cherokee Nation that entered into treaties with the United States. Indian tribes and lawmakers alike should be deeply alarmed by this opinion of a federal lawyer re-writing generations of tribal sovereignty and historical and legal precedent with a stroke of his pen.

“Experts, history, and the law agree, the Cherokee Nation that exists today has maintained a continuous government to government relationship with the United States since the union was founded. There is nothing — in the historical record, statutes, legislative history, court decisions, or elsewhere — that would entitle the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) or any other tribe to the Cherokee Nation’s treaties or reservation.

“Moreover, the entirety of the United States government acknowledges the Cherokee Nation Reservation is Cherokee Nation’s through its treaty rights, and that Cherokee Nation holds jurisdiction over the 7,000 square-mile reservation. This unfounded, careless opinion will quickly spawn jurisdictional conflict and uncertainty — if not chaos — directly into the middle of the enormous efforts the Nation has undertaken to ensure public safety on its Reservation following the Supreme Court’s watershed decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

“Today’s DOI opinion, in addition to being detached from the facts and the law, is unfortunately history repeating itself. This marks the second time in the last twenty years that the DOI has been wildly wrong on this subject. On the previous occasion the DOI quickly reversed itself, which is the only acceptable action here.

“We call on the incoming Administration to withdraw this opinion post haste and to follow instead the well-established historic and legal precedent. DOI’s failure to reverse its destructive decision will be met with swift and determined action by the Cherokee Nation.

“We are reviewing the Solicitor’s opinion to determine our next steps. Rest assured, however, the Cherokee Nation is prepared to take any and all lawful actions necessary to protect its exclusive tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Cherokee Nation Reservation, to protect our treaty rights, and to protect our citizens and public safety. The Department of the Interior has no authority to “share” or otherwise carve up and transfer a portion of Cherokee Nation’s sovereignty, treaty rights, and jurisdiction to UKB or any other Indian tribe.

“We know UKB will continue to misinterpret the law and misrepresent its own and the history of the Cherokee Nation. But the truth remains: the Cherokee Nation has sovereign authority and exclusive tribal jurisdiction over our 7,000 square-mile Reservation in Oklahoma. We look forward to working with the members of our congressional delegation to ensure this ill-advised opinion is not implemented.”