Native American Law Report articles from December 2005

Native American Law Report archives from December 2005

Supreme Court ruling.(imposing taxes on fuel sold at Indian-owned gas station)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... SUPREME COURT RULING--In a case watched for its tribal sovereignty implications, the U.S. Supreme Court this month said a state could impose taxes on fuel ultimately sold at an Indian-owned and -operated gas station. The Prairie Band Potawatomi...

Federal appeals court, Congress continue action on Cobell case.
December 1, 2005... The long-running battle over billions of dollars held in trust for Indians took another unexpected twist last month when a federal appeals court overturned a lower court decision on the accounting of those assets. At the same time, Congress is...

Video poker ruling comes up aces for Catawba Nation in South Carolina.(Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina v. State of South Carolina)
December 1, 2005... Once again, the Catawba Nation can play its part in the country's exploding poker industry, as a recent court ruling sanctioned the gaming rights of the South Carolina tribe. Several years ago, South Carolina banned video poker games in the...

Judge upholds tribal legitimacy of Shinnecock Nation of New York.(State of New York v. Shinnecock Indian Nation)
December 1, 2005... The Shinnecock Nation of New York is a legal Indian tribe in the eyes of the courts. That ruling came Nov. 7 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, with Judge Thomas Platt saying the Shinnecocks are a distinct...

U.S. owes Shoshone-Bannock Nation $595,000 for old health care contracts.(Shoshone-Bannock Nation of Idaho v. Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service)
December 1, 2005... The federal government must pay the Shoshone-Bannock Nation of Idaho $595,000 for failing to fully fund the tribe's self-determination and self-governance contracts for health care, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho ruled Dec....

Federal Panel approves the first step toward gaming for Cowlitz Indian Tribe.(National Indian Gaming Commission)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The National Indian Gaming Commission last month approved a tribal gaming ordinance proposed by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe as a first step toward allowing gaming on property in southwestern Washington. To conduct gaming on the site, the tribe...

Language added to Patriot Act measure to protect tribal interests on taxation.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Spearheaded by the only enrolled tribal member in Congress, language designed to protect tribal sovereignty was added this month to the controversial Patriot Act reauthorization. The language, inserted by Rep. Tom Cole (ROkla.), seeks to...

Interior Department.(COMINGS AND GOINGS)(P. Lynn Scarlett to replace deputy secretary Steven Griles)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... P. Lynn Scarlett has been confirmed as deputy secretary of the Interior Department, replacing Steven Griles, who left the department Jan. 31. Griles has become the subject of controversy since leaving Interior, as his name has been raised in...

National Indian Gaming Commission.(Nelson Westrin leaving office)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Nelson Westrin is stepping down as vice chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission when his current three-year term expires this month. Westrin announced plans to join a law firm in his home state of Michigan. Westrin has been part of...

Supreme Court upholds state fuels tax.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2005... Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Supreme Court of the United States, No. 04-631 (December 6, 2005) The Supreme Court has reversed an appeals court decision and allowed state taxation of motor fuel ultimately retailed on an Indian...

State cannot regulate billboards on trust land.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians v. Utah)
December 1, 2005... Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians v. Utah U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Ci.r, No. 03-4274 (November 9, 2005) A federal appeals court has ruled that state government lacks authority to regulate billboards on Indian trust land. Kunz Outdoor...

Expansion of trust land was proper.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(State of South Dakota v. U. S. Department of Interior)
December 1, 2005... State of South Dakota v. U. S. Department of Interior U.S. District Court, D. S.D., No. 04-4073 (November 18, 2005) A federal district court has ruled that BIA followed applicable regulations when allowing a tribe to expand its trust lands....

Arbitration was question for tribal court.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Attorney's Process and Investigation Services Inc. v. Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi)
December 1, 2005... Attorney's Process and Investigation Services Inc. v. Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa U.S. District Court, N.D. Iowa, No. C-05-0168 (November 15, 2005) A federal district court has ruled that contract language calling for...

Cigarette prosecution allowed.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(United States v. Fiander)(Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act)(Yakima Treaty of 1855)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... United States v. Fiander U.S. District Court, E.D.Wash., No. CR-05-2099 (November 21, 2005) A federal district court has ruled that prosecution of a tribal member for possession of unstamped cigarettes did not violate tribal rights. ...

Limited waiver of immunity imposed limitation period.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(DCD Development, Inc. v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 4th Dist., No. E037564)
December 1, 2005... DCD Development, Inc. v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Court of Appeal of California, 4th Dist., No. E037564 (November 10, 2005) A California court has ruled that a tribe's limited waiver of sovereign immunity imposed a limitation period...

Land gift case sent back to BIA.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Miami Tribe of Oklahoma v. United States U.S. District Court, D. Kan., No. 03-2220)
December 1, 2005... Miami Tribe of Oklahoma v. United States U.S. District Court, D. Kan., No. 03-2220 (November 23, 2005) A federal district court has reversed an earlier decision and decided not to order BIA to approve a gift of land to a tribe. Instead,...