Promised Land | July

(OKLAHOMA) These stories are part of the Oklahoma Media Center’s Promised Land collaborative effort, which shows how the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision affects both tribal and non-Indigenous residents in the state.

Here is a look at some of the stories that have been published through the collaborative this July:

Cherokee Businesses to contribute $10 million for expansion of tribe's law enforcement

Tulsa World | By Michael Overall

Cherokee Nation Businesses will contribute another $10 million to the tribe’s effort to expand law enforcement capabilities in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision, officials announced Tuesday. 

Read the full story here.

SCOTUS hands down ‘terrible’ jurisdiction decision, AG says

Cherokee Phoenix | By Chad Hunter

A June 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives Oklahoma permission to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Native Americans in Indian Country is a blow to tribes, according to Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill, who described the outcome as “heartbreaking.” 

Read the full story here.

A Muscogee citizen appealed her Oklahoma taxes after McGirt. Here's where the case stands

The Oklahoman | By Molly Young 

The Oklahoma Tax commission will hear arguments next month over the state’s right to tax a Muscogee Nation citizen who works for her tribe and lives on its eastern Oklahoma reservation.  

Read the full story here. 

‘Elephant in the room’: U.S. Senate committee invites Five Tribes for Freedmen hearing

NonDoc | By Tres Savage and Joe Tomlinson

Leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs have invited representatives of the Five Tribes to testify at a July 27 hearing on the status of their Freedmen, the descendants of slaves formerly held by the Muscogee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Cherokee nations. 

Read the full story here.

“Promised Land” is a project of the Local Media Foundation with support from the Inasmuch Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Democracy Fund. 

Print, digital and broadcast media partners include: CNHI Oklahoma, Cherokee Phoenix, Curbside Chronicle, The Frontier, Griffin Communications, KFOR, KGOU, KOSU, The Lawton Constitution, Moore Monthly, Mvskoke Media, the Native American Journalists Association, NonDoc, The O’Colly, Oklahoma City Free Press, The Oklahoma Eagle, Oklahoma Gazette, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma Watch, Osage News, StateImpact Oklahoma, Tulsa World, Telemundo Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Student Media and VNN.

Read more about the Promised Land project here.