As Long as the Grass Grows · Episode 15 of 15 · 46 min
The Broken Treaties That Are Still Winning in Court
The treaties are not dead law. In 2020 the Supreme Court held a nineteenth-century Muscogee reservation was never disestablished, and old treaty words have won tribes half the salmon in Washington, hunting rights in the upper Midwest and elk in the Bighorns. At Standing Rock an 1868 treaty became a rallying cry, and the Sioux still refuse the Black Hills fund.
Who's who
- Neil Gorsuch+5 more episodesJustice who wrote the McGirt majority, we hold the government to its word
- Brett Kavanaugh+1 more episodeJustice who wrote Castro-Huerta, narrowing McGirt
- George BoldtFederal judge whose 1974 decision affirmed tribes' right to half the salmon harvest
- Pope Francis+1 more episodeIssued the 2023 Vatican statement repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery
- Joe Biden+4 more episodesPresident who apologized for boarding schools in 2024
- Sonia Sotomayor+3 more episodesJustice who wrote the Herrera v. Wyoming opinion
Where it happens
- Eastern OklahomaMuscogee reservation held never disestablished in McGirt
- Lake Oahe, North DakotaDakota Access Pipeline crossing contested at Standing Rock
- Sand Lake, WisconsinWhere the series began and ends
- Black Hills, South Dakota+4 more episodesSioux still refuse the compensation fund
Timeline
- February 12, 1974The Boldt decision affirms treaty tribes' right to half the harvestable salmon and steelhead
- March 29, 1999Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band upholds Ojibwe rights reserved in the 1837 treaty, 5-4
- July 9, 2020McGirt v. Oklahoma holds the Muscogee reservation was never disestablished, 5-4
- June 29, 2022Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta gives states concurrent jurisdiction over some crimes in Indian country
- March 30, 2023The Vatican repudiates the Doctrine of Discovery
Still debated
Commentators disagree on how much of McGirt's force survives Castro-Huerta, and the Dakota Access Pipeline's legal status was still moving. The Black Hills fund is reported at over $2 billion, and critics argue the thesis under-weights the treaties' vitality or that the wins are narrow and reversible.
Connected episodes in other series
The Lemon Test: The Rule That Governed Church and State for 50 YearsA Wall of Separation · Episode 6Also features Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor
Grants Pass, Encampment Sweeps, and the Right to ShelterNo Fixed Address · Episode 10Also features Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor
Chapter ElevenScouting America · Episode 9Also features Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch
Nitrogen and the Firing SquadTo Die or Not to Die · Episode 11Also features Joe Biden, Sonia Sotomayor