Cherokee Nation juggles tribal sovereignty with Trumpers in a red state

In light of its newly recognized reservation, Cherokee Nation, and all of Oklahoma’s 38 tribal nations, finds themselves in the crosshairs between tribal sovereignty and Trumpism, between protecting the environment and Big Oil.

In the July 2020 McGirt decision, the US Supreme Court affirmed that much of eastern Oklahoma was reservation land, under the jurisdiction of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole. While many were thinking about jurisdiction over criminals on various parcels within reservation lands, the Washington Post noticed the elephant in the room: Big Oil. Their headline said it all: “Now that half of Oklahoma is officially Indian land, oil industry could face new costs and environmental hurdles: The landmark Supreme Court decision give the five tribes a say over oil and gas wells, refineries, and pipelines—including those running to the Cushing hub of the Keystone XL, legal experts say.”Cushing, the“center of the…