Muscogee Creek Nation files suit against the City of Henryetta

Written By: Jerrad Moore

(MUSCOGEE RESERVATION) The Muscogee Creek Nation has filed suit against the City of Henryetta in federal court. The suit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, alleges that Henryetta continues to assert jurisdiction over Native Americans on the MCN reservation.

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According to the filing,

“On September 23, 2024, in response to reports that the City was continuing to prosecute Nation citizens and other Indians notwithstanding the McGirt decision, the Nation sent a letter to the City Attorney, informing him of the controlling jurisdictional principles in effect within the Nation’s Reservation and seeking additional information regarding the City’s practices and policies with respect to prosecuting Nation citizens and other Indians. Although the City Attorney did not respond to this letter, the Nation subsequently received information that the City’s Chief of Police had instructed his officers not to call the Nation’s Lighthorse Police Department for assistance regarding the arrest or ticketing of Nation citizens or other Indians detained or arrested within the City. In response to this information, the Nation’s Attorney General contacted the City Attorney, who confirmed the City’s position that it possesses jurisdiction over Nation citizens and other Indians within the Creek Reservation notwithstanding the McGirt decision. Although the Nation’s Attorney General informed the City Attorney that these prosecutions violated federal law and the Nation’s sovereign rights, and offered to assist the City Attorney in ensuring that the City’s policies conform to law, the City Attorney has declined the Nation’s offer. The Nation is aware of multiple instances of the City pursuing prosecutions against Nation citizens since the Nation’s Attorney General raised the issue with the City Attorney. These prosecutions have been undertaken despite clear knowledge on the part of the City that the defendants in question were Creek citizens. In many instances, the City’s refusal to recognize and honor the Nation’s jurisdiction has resulted in significant hardships for the Nation citizens in question. The City is engaged in law enforcement practices that conflict with the Nation’s own considered approach to law enforcement involving Indians within its Reservation and in so doing is further impairing the Nation’s federally guaranteed rights of self-government.”

The suit asks for a declaratory judgement that the City of Henryetta lacks criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans. It also asks for a preliminary and permanent injunction barring the City from exercising jurisdiction over Native Americans on the MCN reservation.

Mvskoke Media will have ongoing coverage of this developing story.