In a major decision on July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that an 1833 treaty still applies to the Muscogee Nation, also known as the Creek. In McGirt v. Oklahoma, the court holds 5-4 that, while still falling under federal jurisdiction, nearly half of Oklahoma remains Indian land and is not subject to state jurisdiction in cases involving major crimes

The land in question had been designated “a permanent home to the whole Creek Nation of Indians” by a treaty in 1833. This was not an act of generosity or tolerance on behalf of the United States, but rather a facet of the forced relocation known as the Trail of Tears. Pushed out of their southeastern homes, the Muscogee and other tribes were made to settle in the officially designated Indian Territory. After the former Indian Territory became the state of Oklahoma in 1907, the state commonly dealt with major crimes committed in the nearly 50 percent of its land occupied by various tribes.

In 1997, a Muscogee man named Jimcy McGirt was convicted of sexually abusing a child. After his conviction, McGirt’s attorneys argued that, since his crimes had been committed on tribal lands, Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction over them. In 2020, after hearing oral arguments remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court sided with McGirt, as Justice Neil Gorsuch joined Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer.

Rejecting the state’s argument that the 1833 treaty was no longer valid due to having been ignored for over a century, the majority found that the State of Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction over major crimes committed on tribal lands.

Source: history.com

The HEARTH Act is a law that allows federally recognized Tribes to opt out of the secretarial approval requirement when leasing their own lands for various purposes. The Act was passed in 2012 and amended the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955. To take advantage of the HEARTH Act, Tribes must submit and obtain approval for their own leasing regulations that are consistent with the Department of the Interior’s leasing regulations and provide for an environmental review process.

The HEARTH Act gives Tribes more flexibility and self-determination in managing their trust lands. The Act only applies to surface leases, not mineral leases, and only to Tribal lands, not individually owned Indian lands¹.

The HEARTH Act promotes greater tribal self-determination and will help create jobs in Indian Country. Under the Act, federally recognized tribes can develop and implement their own regulations governing certain leasing on Indian lands. Upon Secretarial approval of these tribal regulations, tribes will have the authority to process land leases without Bureau of Indian Affairs approval. This new authority has the potential to significantly reduce the time it takes to approve leases for homes and small businesses in Indian Country.

By allowing tribes to more quickly and easily lease their lands, the bill promotes investment in tribal communities and more broadly facilitates economic development.

In Memory of the obamawhitehouse

Happy Birthday, Medicare!

The anniversary of what became Title XVIII of the Social Security Act: the Medicare program.

(Today is also the 56th anniversary of Title XIV of the Social Security Act: Medicaid).

Medicare has been expanded, cut, reformed, and changed numerous times since President Johnson signed it into law in 1965. The most recent reforms came under Obamacare, which strengthened the Medicare Trust Fund, reformed payments to providers, cut hundreds of billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies to private insurance companies, and provided seniors with an array of new or improved benefits.

In particular, Obamacare is closing the notorious prescription drug donut hole and in the meantime has saved 6.6 MILLION seniors more than $7 BILLION on their prescriptions. In addition, during just the first six months of this year, more than 16.5 MILLION seniors have taken advantage of preventive care services that are now free thanks to Obamacare.

Unfortunately, Republicans opposed the creation of Medicare 48 years ago, and they are doing their best to force Draconian cuts to the program today and for decades to come. Just this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposed shifting billions in costs to seniors and businesses by raising the Medicare eligibility age and House Republicans are planning their 40th dead-end vote to repeal Obamacare.

BOTTOM LINE: Thanks in part to Obamacare, Medicare is still going strong 48 years later. And that’s definitely something worth celebrating.