A Latimer County judge ruled that the reservation status of the Choctaw Nation was never disestablished by Congress. “It appears that at one time Congress considered or anticipated the disestablishment of the Indian nations and some steps were taken forward that goal through the granting of allotments and possible other measures,” District 16 Associate District Judge Bill Welch wrote in his ruling. “But steps in the direction of disestablishment fall short of clear language by Congress disestablishing the Choctaw Nation.”