5 THINGS TO KNOW: What does the Hooper v. Tulsa ruling mean for Native Americans in eastern Oklahoma?

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read
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Jul. 20—Information is given on the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Hooper v. Tulsa and what it means for Native Americans living within seven tribal nations in eastern Oklahoma.

1 How did the Hooper v. Tulsa case begin?

The case began after Justin Hooper, a member of the Choctaw Nation, was fined $150 for a traffic violation in 2018 by the Tulsa Police Department.

Hooper filed for post-conviction relief following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma recognizing the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was never disestablished and the state of Oklahoma did not have criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed by Native Americans.

2 How did the case get to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals?

Hooper filed an appeal of the ticket with Tulsa's municipal court with a judge agreeing with the city's argument that the 1898 Curtis Act still applied to the city. A complaint was then filed with the Northern District of Oklahoma with the court agreeing with the city that Congress granted Tulsa through the Curtis Act the authority over municipal violations "by all its inhabitants, including Indians."

The Appeals Court ruled the Act no longer applied to Tulsa after Oklahoma became a state.

"Upon statehood, Tulsa became a municipality subject to the laws of the Oklahoma Territory, until the point it was reorganized under Oklahoma state law. So, by its express terms, Section 14 of the Curtis Act no longer applied to Tulsa upon statehood," and Tulsa had no "present rights and powers stemming from the Curtis Act to be preserved by the Oklahoma Constitution," the court wrote in its ruling."

3 What is the Curtis Act?

Congress passed the Curtis Act in 1898 to force allotment of Indian Country and subjecting all persons in the territory to federal law and allow the incorporation of cities, such as Tulsa, to operate under the laws of Arkansas prior to Oklahoma's statehood.

4 Does the Tenth Circuit's ruling mean Native Americans can't be ticketed?

No, the ruling means only tribal or federal courts in the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Muscogee (Creek), Quapaw, Ottawa and Peoria Reservations can charge Native Americans with criminal offenses, including traffic citations.

5 Can non-tribal law enforcement write citations to Native Americans?

Yes, non-tribal law enforcement agencies that are cross-deputized through the tribal nation their agency is located within can write tickets to Native Americans with the tickets forwarded on to the tribe's judicial system. Cross-deputization agreements between tribal nations and agencies can be found online at https://www.sos.ok.gov/gov/tribal.aspx.

—Derrick James