Updated April 6, 2026 at 12:48 PM CDT
Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill released a statement saying the tribe is considering multiple options, such as a remedy in a lower federal court. He argues that according to the high court, tribal citizenship is a political affiliation supported by decades-old legal protections.
"We had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would step in to address an egregiously wrong Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that disregards decades of settled federal law," Hill wrote. "While the Court declined review, this matter is far from resolved.
"The State of Oklahoma's ongoing pattern of selectively complying with settled law poses a danger to all Oklahomans. The rule of law cannot be optional."
A representative for the Muscogee Nation declined to comment further.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt released a statement celebrating the decision, and the governor's office wrote that tribal sovereignty efforts will fail to extend beyond what is outlined in McGirt v. Oklahoma.
"Time and time again, the courts have limited the McGirt decision, rightfully upholding state jurisdiction," Stitt said. "This decision made it clear that someone's tax bill will not be based on their race."
Oklahoma's attorneys have argued to let an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision requiring tribal citizens who work for their tribe to pay state income tax.
Stroble v. Oklahoma
The case involved Alicia Stroble, a Muscogee Nation employee, citizen and resident living on fee title land within the reservation. She sought state tax exemption from 2017-19, citing a section of Oklahoma's administrative code that states individuals living within and working for their tribes could avoid taxation.
The Oklahoma Tax Commission rejected her appeal in late 2022, and a month later, Stroble took the case to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
But the court affirmed the tax commission's decision 6-3 last July, arguing the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling that decided half of Oklahoma was reservation land did not extend to civil law.
Stroble took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in September, eventually aided by Oklahoma's five largest tribes.
In October, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation cited the Stroble ruling as a key factor in its decision to ticket tribal citizens hunting and fishing on non-trust land. That issue is now being litigated in federal court.
Now, the Muscogee Nation will decide what to do next, likely involving further litigation.