The Supreme Court made a historic decision on Thursday when it ruled that around half of the land in the state of Oklahoma is still part of a Native American reservation. The decision will have a significant impact on the lives of the people living there.

The Supreme Court ruling was on the question of whether the Creek reservation still existed even after Oklahoma became a state under the United States. “Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of fed­eral criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.” That was the opinion of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

The vote was 5-4. Justices Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer are the majority. Those who dissented were Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas.

The ruling will have major legal effects on a large part of the state including Tulsa. Chief Justice Roberts who dissented said that the decision will undermine the convictions obtained by the state. It will also have an impact on the ability of the state and the local governments to prosecute criminals. The ruling means that some crimes committed within the boundaries of reservations should be prosecuted in a federal court rather than state court if a Native American is involved in the crime. That means if a Native American is accused of a major crime in Tulsa, it is the federal government rather than the state government that will prosecute it. For less serious crimes involving Native Americans, tribal courts will be the ones to handle them.

This is seen to cause serious problems and may lead to an uptick in crimes in the affected areas. The case on which the ruling was made involves a Native American who has been convicted of sex crimes. He argued that the state court lacked jurisdiction. The decision will cause problems for those living in the affected areas as they could potentially see a rise in crimes. Reservations are notorious for high crime rates. They have a reputation for being places where criminals go free and are not even prosecuted. Now, the Supreme Court has just voted to put down half a state into that level of criminality and lawlessness. The decision was cheered by leftist groups who do not care about the people living in the affected areas.