Oklahoma spent millions on a legal and PR campaign to paint reservations as ‘lawless dystopias’ and convince the Supreme Court to weaken tribal sovereignty,
Indigenous and environmental activists protest in front of the White House in Washington, Oct. 11, 2021.Sue Ogrocki, File/Associated PressThe Supreme Court ruled last week the state of Oklahoma has some jurisdiction over tribal lands.Native law experts told Insider the ruling ran counter to decades of Native law.They said the court bought into Oklahoma's dubious narrative of reservations as "lawless dystopias."Oklahoma engaged in a coordinated effort to disparage Native American tribes and convince the Supreme Court to weaken tribal sovereignty — and it worked, according to Native law experts.On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sided with the state in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta in a 5-4 opinionholding that the state of Oklahoma had concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government to prosecute some crimes committed on reservations.But Native law experts said the decision ran…