Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player...
Lawsuit alleges oil and gas companies are cheating Native American landowners in eastern Oklahoma | News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Indian Law attorneys at mctlaw filed a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Native Americans for breach of trust and unconstitutional action in regard to their natural gas resources.
The case includes the heirs to an allotment located on the Choctaw reservation in eastern Oklahoma and addresses issues in how government officials have managed oil and gas leases under the 1947 Stigler Act.
Members of the Five Civilized Tribes were given individual land allotments in Oklahoma in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
These allotments were expected to be protected under federal law, requiring federal approval for any leasing or sale.
One of these land allotments was given to Noel Pope, a full-blood Choctaw, in 1903.
The 89-acre plot contained natural gas, which was discovered around 1930. Oil and gas companies have operated on the land through leases with the Pope family since then.
Under the 1947 Stigler Act, lease approvals went from the Secretary of the Interior to state courts in Oklahoma, which required both state-court approval and the presence of a federal representative to act in the interest of the Native landowner.
In 2022, an oil and gas attorney filed a petition in district court on behalf of the Pope family heirs without their consent.
The lawyer also represented the oil company seeking the lease, creating conflict of interest.
A federal attorney entered the case later but did not object to the lawyer’s actions and wrote to the heirs that she negotiated a bonus of $500 per acre, which was later reduced to $200 without any explanation.
64 out of 84 heirs declined to sign the lease but the Stigler Act judge approved the lease anyway and ordered payments only to those who signed.
For those who signed, no royalty payments were ever made.
Attorney Jeffrey Nelson of mctlawrepresents the landowners and believes this case reflects broader patterns of exploitation under the Stigler Act.
The issue affects multiple judicial districts across eastern Oklahoma and can affect thousands of Native landowners.
“We don’t think these practices are isolated incidents,” said Nelson. “There are 40 counties in what are now 16 judicial districts in eastern Oklahoma that have been approving Indian oil and gas leases for over 100 years, possibly cheating many thousands of Indian landowners out of their fair share. It’s time to shine a light on these practices.”
The lawsuit, Heirs of Noel Pope v. United States (Case No. 24-1873 L) is currently proceeding in the United States Court of Federal Claims.
To read the full lawsuit, click here.
Keep Up to Date with the Most Important News
