The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a motion last week to prevent the deposition of Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell over the government’s alleged mismanagement of Native American timberland in Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation originally filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in 2005 against the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies in Case No. Civ-05-01524W, claiming that the government illegally sold over 1 million acres of timberland held in trust for the tribes. The tribes are seeking an accounting for the timber and land sold.
The Chickasaws and Choctaws are two of the Five Civilized Tribes which were relocated to Indian Territory in Oklahoma before statehood. The Chickasaw Nation’s boundaries encompass approximately 13 counties in south-central Oklahoma. The Choctaw Nation’s boundaries encompass more than 10 counties in southeastern Oklahoma. According to pleadings filed by the tribes, the timberland in question was given to the two tribes by the federal government in exchange for their original lands in Mississippi under the Indian Removal Act by which the Chickasaws and Choctaw tribes were relocated to Indian Territory.
For updates on this litigation, stay tuned to this blog, or call (504) 599-8500.
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