The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling from 2021, instead deciding that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Oklahomans who commit crimes against tribal members on tribal land.

The court’s decision overturns a previous ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that vacated the Tulsa County conviction of Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta.

Castro-Huerta, a non-Native American, was convicted in 2017 of child neglect after his 5-year-old stepdaughter, who is Native American, was found in terrible conditions. 

On this episode of Listen Frontier, I speak about the decision with KOSU Indigenous Affairs reporter Allison Herrera, as well as Ryan Leonard, who serves as Special Counsel for Native American Affairs to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.