The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday that it had not reached a decision over whether the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation had ever been officially terminated. Chief Justice John Roberts said the court will hear arguments in the case again in the term that begins in October.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2017 that the Creek reservation had not been disestablished by Congress. The circuit court put its ruling on hold pending a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. That stay will apparently remain in place, preserving the status quo until the justices reach a decision.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was a judge on the 10th Circuit when the case was before that court, recused himself when the case got to the Supreme Court, leaving eight justices to decide the complex question.

Roberts did not say Thursday whether the court had deadlocked. However, justices clearly struggled with the question before them: Did Congress disestablish the Creek reservation before Oklahoma became a state in 1907?