The attorneys at mctlaw, specializing in Indian Law, have filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit is on behalf of Native Americans who claim that the government has breached their trust and taken unconstitutional actions regarding their natural gas resources.
The case involves the descendants of an allotment situated on the Choctaw reservation in eastern Oklahoma. It tackles the concerns regarding the management of oil and gas leases by government officials under the 1947 Stigler Act.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Five Civilized Tribes were allocated individual land allotments in Oklahoma.
Under federal law, these allotments were supposed to be safeguarded, necessitating federal authorization for any leasing or sale.
In 1903, a full-blood Choctaw named Noel Pope was granted one of these land allotments.
The Pope family has been leasing the 89-acre plot of land since around 1930 when natural gas was discovered on the site. Oil and gas companies have operated on the land through leases with the Pope family since then.
Under the 1947 Stigler Act, the Secretary of the Interior used to handle lease approvals, but now it is the responsibility of state courts in Oklahoma. This new process requires both state-court approval and the presence of a federal representative to act in the best interest of the Native landowner.
In 2022, the Pope family heirs had a petition filed in district court on their behalf by an oil and gas attorney, without their consent.
The lawyer also represented the oil company that was seeking the lease, which created a conflict of interest.
Later in the case, a federal attorney joined but did not raise any objections to the lawyer’s actions. In a communication with the heirs, she mentioned negotiating a bonus of $500 per acre, but later it was reduced to $200 without providing any explanation.
Despite the fact that 64 out of 84 heirs declined to sign the lease, the Stigler Act judge still approved the lease and mandated payments only to those who signed.
No one who signed up received any royalty payments.
Attorney Jeffrey Nelson, who is associated with mctlaw, is representing the landowners in this case. He firmly believes that this particular lawsuit is indicative of larger trends of exploitation that occur under the Stigler Act.
Multiple judicial districts across eastern Oklahoma are being affected by the issue, which has the potential to impact thousands of Native landowners.
“We believe that these practices are not isolated incidents,” Nelson stated. “In eastern Oklahoma, there are 40 counties across 16 judicial districts that have been granting Indian oil and gas leases for over a century, potentially depriving numerous Indian landowners of their rightful share. It is crucial to bring attention to these practices.”
The United States Court of Federal Claims is currently in the process of hearing the lawsuit titled “Heirs of Noel Pope v. United States” (Case No. 24-1873 L).
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