Supreme Court Tribal Treaty Decision Praised as Game Changer (3)

In a landmark 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the 19th-century reservation status of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, in a criminal case that American Indian law practitioners and scholars are applauding for its powerful affirmations of tribal sovereignty.

Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion on Thursday, joined by the four Democratic-appointees, over dissent from the remaining four Republican-appointees, was immediately praised by tribal supporters who labeled it a game changer.

Riyaz Kanji, who represented the Creek during the rare remote argument session in May, cheered the opinion’s “ringing endorsements that the ‘rule of law’ should prevail over the ‘rule of the ...