Responding to Roe, Republican Rallies, Reversal on Reservations

KTF Weekly Newsletter

Hi everyone, 

We have a whole lot on the Supreme Court this week, Roe and otherwise, and we recognize how many layered, complicated thoughts people are having right now. We will continue to pray and speak about everything going on, and we want to emphasize the importance of leaning into community at times like this. To that end, Suzie and Jonathan both have words from their own pastors this past weekend that we think will be comforting, cathartic, and hopeful. Take care of yourselves, and may God be with you. 

Sy’s recommendations: 

• Reversing Roe dominated Supreme Court news this week for obvious reasons. But another important decision from yesterday drastically decreased tribal sovereignty by declaring for the first time that states have jurisdiction to prosecute crimes on Indian reservations equal to that of tribal governments. You can read about the decision here. The case is a triumph for racists in Oklahoma who have been working for two years to undo the 2020 ruling that nearly half of the state was reservation land, despite the government’s argument that the treaties which established the reservations were invalid. After failing to (re)strip tribes of their power through the Oklahoma legislature, they took to the courts, claiming the 2020 ruling caused complete chaos in the state’s criminal legal system. But as Native American journalists Rebecca Nagle and Allison Herrera reported in April, the facts used as evidence for this narrative are unverifiable. The Supreme Court leaned on them anyway.