From this case, beware, you could get hurt.
Not by McGirt. No, not by him.
But maybe from other men.
It’s just a Supreme Court decision
But some say without any future vision
Indeed McGirt himself is a very bad dude,
One you never want around your little brood
Because it’s sad to say, he is a child molester
And given the chance he’ll again do more than just pester
So there you have it, the law at work in mysterious ways
Which means for coppers nothing ahead but very long days
And don’t blame me for this, at least not very much
Rather a man in a black robe named Gorsuch
Because on this ruling, and many more, he was the fifth of five
Who had to decide … who lives and who will die.
And with the close of that sad poem I’m trying to simplify a United States Supreme Court ruling of 2020 that is having a profound and long-term impact on our state.
As of this writing it appears the major consequence of McGirt may be limited to a category of especially egregious crimes committed on Indian reservations in Eastern Oklahoma, notably made up of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes. They are the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations.
However, there are now civil cases being filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission by tribal residents who live on the reservations claiming they do not have to pay Oklahoma income, corporate or use taxes. Some also speak about imposing severance taxes on oil and gas production in the affected counties over and above that currently levied by the Legislature.
If that proves to be true – which I personally doubt – what about coal, gypsum, zinc and other valuable minerals or how about the sun, air and water? How should those natural resources, also currently assessed fees or taxes by The White Man and his Nation, or in this case, the sovereign state of Oklahoma?
All that makes for a sticky wicket you see,
well beyond the mental capacity of me!
And indeed, even Attorney General Hunter is having a fit,
But much better him than a fellow by the name of Stitt!
Map: Kmusser/WikipediaCommons
