Oklahoma congressional candidate John Bennett ignited rebuke from tribal leaders over “anti-tribal arguments” this week following his comments on the landmark 2020 Supreme Court decision that deemed the eastern half of the state as Native American land.
Members of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes signed a letter Wednesday saying they were “disappointed to hear” Bennett’s priority to disestablish the Muscogee (Creek) Nation reservation if he is elected to represent the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
Bennett, the former GOP chairman for the state, initially told the Washington Examiner this week that “Congress needs to go back, and they need to de-establish the Muscogee (Creek) Nation reservation,” adding it would be “one of my priorities” if elected to the seat being vacated by Markwayne Mullin after his decision to run for the Senate.
SUPREME COURT RULING EXPANDING INDIAN LANDS LOOMS OVER OKLAHOMA HOUSE GOP FIGHT
A bipartisan array of leaders and political hopefuls support the tribes assertion of their #McGirt rights. CD2 candidate John Bennett is not one of them. His anti-Indian views- calling for the destruction of our reservations- reflect a 19th century mindset. pic.twitter.com/pEF6CiAnP1
— Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. (@ChuckHoskin_Jr) April 20, 2022
“Oklahoma is strongest when our tribes are at the table,” leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes wrote in a statement. “Candidates who seek to restrict our rights and disestablish our reservations, after the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed twice that they have always existed, do not deserve to represent our state.”
The letter was signed by Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chief Gary Batton, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Chief Lewis L. Johnson, Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby, and Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., who took to Twitter on Wednesday to levy additional criticism of Bennett’s comments.
Hoskin argued a “bipartisan array of leaders and political hopefuls” support the outcome of the July 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision. “CD2 candidate John Bennett is not one of them. His anti-Indian views — calling for the destruction of our reservations — reflect a 19th century mindset,” Hoskin said.
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John O’Connor have vehemently opposed the McGirt ruling, which voids the state’s criminal jurisdiction in a significant portion of the eastern part of the state when a case involves a member of a federally recognized tribe.
State records indicate that since the consequential ruling, 235 inmates were released from prison to the street, nearly a quarter of that number being people who were released with no tribal or federal charges filed. Still, nearly 71% of the group was later charged or held on unrelated charges.
“Since the McGirt decision, our tribes have focused on expanding our criminal justice systems to prosecute crimes, support victims and protect everyone on our reservations,” Hoskin and other tribal leaders wrote in the letter.
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“The truth is McGirt was never about whether justice would be served with respect to lawbreakers. … McGirt was always about who would mete out that justice,” Hoskin told the Washington Examiner on Thursday.
“And I think the facts demonstrate that justice is being administered by the various jurisdictions,” Hoskin said, adding that the Cherokee Nation has been working with other jurisdictions and law enforcement “for a long time.”
