The borders include 7,000 miles in northeast Oklahoma, which includes the cities of Owasso and Collinsville.

The Cherokee Nation’s decision to add the perimeters came in response to the recent McGirt v. Oklahoma, which determined that Oklahoma prosecutors did not have the authority to prosecute Native American defendants in much of the region.

“… We have had many questions about the boundaries of our reserves, which have always existed on paper maps,” Cherokee Nation Senior Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a press release. “Now that our reservation is tagged on Google Maps, it’s easy for people around the world to search and see our reservation limits.”

In early July, the United States Supreme Court redefined what for decades federal and state prosecutors believed to be an “Indian country” in eastern Oklahoma with respect to the jurisdictional goals of enforcement. of the law.

The court upheld the challenges of two American Indians who said the criminal proceedings against them in state court should have been tried in federal court because Congress never removed the 19th century boundaries of the Muscogee Nation (Creek) reserve.

“In response to the July Supreme Court ruling, we worked to assess authoritative data and then used that information to add labels and borders for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw reserves and Seminole to Google Maps, ”said Raleigh Seamster, program manager for Google Maps.