Episode 9: McGirt v. Oklahoma: Revealing and Concealing Domination

On 17 December 2025 • Duration 47:17

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Steve Newcomb and Peter d'Errico provide an analysis of *McGirt v. Oklahoma* that examines how the decision reveals and conceals domination in U.S. law, jurisdiction, and federal power over Indigenous nations.

WORDS: REVEALING AND CONCEALING

Our springboard today is the 2020 Supreme Court decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma, that upheld US criminal law jurisdiction over "major crimes" in "Indian country" (via the 1885 Major Crimes Act, an act based on the claim of a right of domination by the US over the Original Nations).

We focus on the way the US claim of "a right of domination" under federal anti-Indian law is both visible and invisible in the majority opinion (authored by Justice Gorsuch).

We discuss how the widespread media and professional celebration of the decision as a "win" for the Creek Nation missed or ignored the decision's continuing claim of a right of domination. The celebration of McGirt pointed to the fact that the court said the Creek still exist as part of "Indian country". The celebration ignored or missed clear language in the decision saying Congress has power to abolish the Creek "at any time" it wishes, but it hasn't done so yet.

We also discuss the US argument that a slew of federal attacks on the existence of the Creek had abolished the Nation and show how that argument reads like a confession of attempted genocide.

Our conversation moves beyond McGirt into other claims of a right of domination—including claims of "bureaucratic expertism" that seek domination over all people. We say that free existence requires free inquiry into all claims of a right of domination.

Transcript

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Resources

• McGirt v. Oklahoma https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/591us2r61_c0nd.pdf

• Major Crimes Act https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-679-major-crimes-act-18-usc-1153

• "Historic Win in McGirt v. Oklahoma" https://narf.org/mcgirt/

• Brief of United States in Support of Oklahoma https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-9526/138804/20200320212530248_18-9526bsacUnitedStates.pdf

• Raphael Lemkin first coined the term "genocide." https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/defining-genocide-after-world-war-ii

• Emory Washburn, A Treatise on the American Law of Real Property (1864), Book III, Ch. III, Title by Grant, § 1 Public Grant. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Treatise_on_the_American_Law_of_Real_P/3c8DAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA164&printsec=frontcover&dq=christian

• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/187/553/

• Justices Gorsuch and Thomas criticize the doctrine of "plenary power" https://peterderrico.substack.com/p/supreme-court-justices-attack-plenary

• Felix Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law 1941 edition https://thorpe.law.ou.edu/cohen.html, 

  • 2005 edition https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facbookdisplay/65/

• Indian Reorganization Act https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-5299/pdf/COMPS-5299.pdf

• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson comments on "experts" https://jonathanturley.org/2025/12/09/humphreys-estate-and-jacksons-experts-supreme-court-justice-offers-surprising-view-of-the-separation-of-powers/

Citation

Steve Newcomb and Peter d’Errico, "Episode 009: McGirt v. Oklahoma: Revealing and Concealing Domination," Domination Chronicles (Podcast), December 17, 2025. https://dominationchronicles.com/episodes/e009-mcgirt-oklahoma-revealing-concealing/

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