Native American Law Report articles from May 2004

Native American Law Report archives from May 2004

The Supreme Court may have dealt.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... THE SUPREME COURT MAY HAVE DEALT a big blow against the Navajo Nation in U.S. v. Navajo last year, but don't let it slip from your radar screen just yet. The breach-of-trust case still has life in it. In March 2003, the high court ruled...

Overheard in a Senate hearing.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... OVERHEARD IN A SENATE HEARING last month was Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell's (R-Colo.) "disappointment" that Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Dave Anderson "has not appeared more than he has appeared" to testify on tribal issues. Upon...

Supreme Court: sovereignty is inherent; Congress may restore tribes' powers.(Tribal Jurisdiction)
May 1, 2004... The federal government may have removed and later given back to tribes their jurisdictional power over non-member Indians, but that power is still considered "inherent," according to the Supreme Court in a major ruling last month. As a...

Tribe's lawsuits against coal company, government not redundant, court says.(Lease Negotiations)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Navajo Nation may continue pursuing damages from Peabody Holding Company now that a federal judge has refused to dismiss its lawsuit. The coal company argued that the case should be dismissed because the issues were already addressed...

NCAI, tribes take action in state lawsuit that charges 'land-to-trust' is unlawful.(Land-to-Trust Challenge)
May 1, 2004... The state of Rhode Island is challenging the Interior Department's decision to take land into trust for a tribe, saying the tribe had to be recognized before 1934 in order to be eligible to place land into trust under the Indian Reorganization...

Court rejects lawsuit by Minn. county to settle ownership of 60,000-plus acres.(Land Claims)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians holds onto 61,000 disputed acres, now that an appeals court has affirmed that a neighboring county and local bank may not sue over the land the tribe has claimed. "This lawsuit came at great cost to...

ACLU awaits decision in tribal lawsuit questioning legality of S.D. voter districts.(S.D. Voting)(American Civil Liberties Union)
May 1, 2004... A decision is expected this summer in a lawsuit alleging that South Dakota legislators illegally "packed" Native American voters to dilute their ability to elect candidates to the legislature. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed...

Two Northwest Indian law organizations donate thousands in native scholarships.(Law School)(Northwest Indian Bar Association and Indian Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... In less than one year, two American Indian law groups have managed to raise more than $30,000 in scholarships for aspiring Indian lawyers from the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In the past, both the Northwest Indian Bar...

IGRA's governor concurrence requirement is not illegal delegation of power to states.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Indian Gaming Regulatory Act)
May 1, 2004... Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin v. United States U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Cir., No. 03-2323 (April 29, 2004) The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the gubernatorial concurrence requirement of...

Gaming compact's silence on jurisdiction does not indicate a waiver of immunity.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... Ortego v. Tunica-Biloxi Indians of Louisiana 865 So.2d 985 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2004) A Louisiana court has ruled that under the terms of a tribal-state gaming compact, an Indian tribe did not relinquish jurisdiction over workers' compensation...

Time limits on mismanaged claims do not start until after accounting.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... The Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States U.S. Court of Appeals, Fed. Cir., No. 03-5036 (April 7, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that the statute of limitations on tribal claims for government...

Tribal corporation cannot fight state tax in federal court, despite exception for tribes.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... Chippewa Trading Company v. Cox U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Cir., No. 03-1445 (April 19, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that while there is an exception allowing Indian tribes to challenge state taxation in federal court, the...

State office may not gather evidence on reservation for off-rez crime.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... State of South Dakota V. Cummings Supreme Court of South Dakota, No. 22936 (April 21, 2004) The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that in the absence of a tribal-state law enforcement compact, a state law enforcement officer had no...

Treaty terminated entire reservation; tribe not entitled to excess property.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... Shawnee Tribe v. United States U.S. District Court, D.Kan., No. 03-2042-GTV (March 30, 2004) A federal district court has ruled that the Shawnee Tribe's reservation had been terminated by treaty. The tribe was therefore not entitled to...

Principles of comity allow tribal court to hear case before state court does.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
May 1, 2004... Nielsen v. Brocksmith Land & Livestock, Inc. Supreme Court of Montana, No. 02-133 (April 20, 2004) The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that a state court properly abstained from assuming jurisdiction over a civil suit where the plaintiff...

Court throws out tribes' challenge against ballot initiative on slots.(Slot Machines)
May 1, 2004... A state appeals court has dismissed a challenge by California Indian tribes against a ballot initiative that tribes worry would break an existing compact on Indian casino slot machines. The current pact provides important revenue for health...