This Land podcast: A murder, a Supreme Court decision, and half the land in Oklahoma

Patrick Murphy murdered George Jacobs on the side of a dirt road in Henryetta, Oklahoma, in 1999. The State sentenced Murphy to death, but Murphy argued that he shouldn't be tried by the State because the murder took place on the land of Muscogee Creek Nation. 

Murphy, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, was convicted nearly two decades ago, but his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is now the centre of a heated debate. What is at stake is whether a large swath of Oklahoma — 19 million acres, to be exact — is, in fact, Indigenous land.  

The case is also the centre of a podcast called This Land, hosted by Cherokee journalist Rebecca Nagle. 

It was a surprise move. It was something that not a lot of people saw coming.- Rebecca Nagle

"The central question [of this case] is, did the U.S. government … ever abolish or take away the reservation of Muscogee Creek Nation?," said Nagle.  

The outcomes of this case could mean big changes for, not only Muscogee Creek Nation, but also, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations.

"The land that is in dispute is about half of the state of Oklahoma, 19 million acres," said Nagle.

Last year, Nagle wrote an opinion piece about the Supreme Court case, and its potential impacts for the Cherokee Nation, and was approached by Crooked Media to turn it into a podcast. 

"I think outside of Oklahoma and outside of Indian country and Native media, not a lot of people were talking about this case," said Nagle.

"Through the podcast we've really been able to educate people about what's at stake, and the history of how we got here." 

For Nagle, this case is personally very important. Her ancestors signed the Treaty of New Echota, which resulted in the relocation of the Cherokee from Georgia to Oklahoma. 

"It's a controversial treaty in Cherokee history ... at the time [my ancestors] were considered traitors, they were actually assassinated for their decision to do that," said Nagle. 

"My belief is that they were trying to do the best they could to preserve a future for Cherokee Nation and to preserve Cherokee sovereignty." 

"For the first time in over a century, the land that my ancestors died for could be acknowledged for what it is — [it] could be acknowledged as Cherokee land." 

'A surprise move'

In June 2019, the Supreme Court decided to postpone the ruling. 

"It was a surprise move. It was something that not a lot of people saw coming," said Nagle.

"Because of the way the Supreme Court is, an opaque institution, they don't share their reasons why [it's postponed] … we'll just have to wait and see what happens." 

The postponement was announced while This Land was still in production, forcing the team to focus on other contemporary issues impacting Native Americans in the state of Oklahoma. Issues covered include the loss of culture and language, the child welfare system, and how Oklahoma Cherokees are in a fight with an influx of chicken farms. 

'Indigenous voices in my earbuds'

"Natives stories are a fraction of one per cent of all the media stories and content that's out there … it's a real uphill climb where every step of the way there is so much educating that we have to do, telling our stories." 

"If we're going to get an accurate story in the mainstream media, I think that it needs to be coming from Indigenous voices." 

"I hope that we're just at the cusp and the beginning of Indigenous podcasting, and [of] being able to put Indigenous voices in my earbuds," said Nagle.