California
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 25 regarding the claims of the Quechan tribe. At issue are disputed boundary claims and related water rights. The question is whether some 25,000 acres of disputed land are part of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation in California. If the Court agrees that they are, the tribe would gain additional water rights, and water rights of non-Indian water districts in California would be reduced. A court-appointed special master recommended no additional water rights be granted for the Fort Yuma Reservation, but the federal government is supporting the tribe's claim.
The Kumeyaay Tribal Consortium wants to redevelop the former 430-acre Naval Training Center in Point Loma, overlooking San Diego Harbor, and plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government and the City of San Diego if its proposal is not considered. The twelve tribes in the consortium claim they were not allowed to bid on the base, which closed in 1997.
Connecticut
The Golden Hill Paugessett group of Indians, which is seeking federal recognition, filed liens against thousands of private property owners in Trumbull claiming the land belongs to the tribe.
The Mashantucket Pequot tribe has earned more than four billion dollars from slot machines at its Foxwoods Casino since it opened seven years ago. The tribe pays the state 25% of the profits from slot machines in exchange for "semi-exclusive" rights to operate a casino in the state.
Idaho
Tribal leaders voted unanimously to appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision which rejected the tribe's claims to water rights from the Lower Snake, Clearwater, Salmon, and Weiser rivers. The water rights claim is based on the tribe's 1855 treaty fishing rights.
The North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance, a group composed of 90 government officials representing 23 local governments, reports that the Nez Perce tribe has imposed a 1.5% tax on all construction projects and all employers' payrolls for any business operating on or near the former Nez Perce Reservation. Tribal members are also refusing to comply with local building codes and regulations or to obtain local permits and licenses for the retail sale of beer and wine.
Michigan
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community tribal council voted 6-5 to not restore membership rights to about 200 people removed from the voting rolls in 1995. The disenfranchisement led to a long-standing protest and a year-long occupation of the tribal headquarters by dissident members. The tribe has about 3,000 members, but less than 400 have voting rights.
Minnesota
Tribal elders of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribe have filed a motion in federal court seeking $150 million from the federal government due to its "ongoing breach" of its responsibility to the tribe. The complaint stems from the feds' approval of a tribal ordinance which allowed more people to share in tribal gaming revenues. The ordinance allows descendants of present and former tribal members to receive a share which amounts to about $75,000 per member per month.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis awarded the Mille Lacs band $2.8 million in legal fees related to the tribe's successful lawsuit over treaty rights. When considering awards to other tribes involved, the total cost to State of Minnesota taxpayers will be almost $4 million. State officials have rejected a proposal to transfer land to the tribe as a way to pay the legal fees.
Former chairman of the White Earth Band of Chippewa, Darrell "Chip" Wadena, plans to run for the chairmanship again. Wadena was released from prison a year ago after serving 2 1/2 years for corruption, fraud, and embezzlement. In announcing his candidacy, Wadena cast himself as a target of the federal government, which he says is trying to curb the independence of Indian tribes.
Montana
The Crow tribe's Court of Appeals upheld the tribe's 4% resort tax on tourists. The three-member panel ruled that the tribe has "broad authority to tax" despite federal court decisions which limit taxing authority of tribes over non-Indians. The lawsuit was brought by five non-Indian business owners who object to paying the tax on services rendered on privately owned land. A similar suit is pending in the 10th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Denver.
The U.S. Justice Department has sued Blaine County, seeking to overturn the at-large election system the County uses (under a state mandate) because the system "dilutes American Indian votes." The Civil Rights Division has also threatened to sue Roosevelt and Rosebud Counties in Montana and Benson County, North Dakota for similar "violations." Roosevelt County will apparently change to voting districts to avoid a costly lawsuit. Blaine County has hired the Mountain States Legal Foundation to represent it in the case.
Nebraska
Following a federal court's decision that the Santee Sioux tribe is illegally operating a casino on its reservation, the court seized $183,000 in tribal assets to cover the $6,000 per day fines in the case. The federal government also subpoenaed the tribe's financial records for the past five years.
Nevada
The federal government has given the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe control over portions of the Truckee River outside their reservation. The tribe will be able to schedule water releases as part of its responsibilities in efforts to save endangered fish in the river. This is the first time a tribe has been given such powers over water sources outside a reservation.
New Mexico
The Mescalero Apache tribe reported that it contributed $17,000 to various state legislators in December, prior to the legislative session that considered changes to tribal gaming compacts. The donations included $5,000 to democrats Senate Majority Leader Manny Aragon and Sen. Ben Altamirano, a member of the Committee on Compacts. Since the most recent compacts were signed in 1997, the tribe has withheld the 16% of slot machine profits that were to have gone to the state for regulatory oversight. Despite the contributions, the legislature defeated the proposed revisions to the compacts and the issue of non-payment will likely go to court.
The former chief inspector for Sandia Pueblo's gambling commission claims she was fired after she told tribal officials about problems in the tribe's gaming operations, including the fact that 34 casino employees have criminal records. Neither the State Gaming Control Board nor the National Indian Gaming Commission would confirm or deny they are investigating the tribe's operations.
New York
The jury in the Cayuga land claim recommended a payment of $37 million as compensation to the tribe for lands "illegally" lost to the State of New York two centuries ago. The federal judge handling the case had previously ruled that the jury could consider payments made by the State of New York to the Cayuga tribe over the past 205 years in any calculation of payment the tribe should receive as part of its land claim compensation trial. A 1994 decision ruled that the state violated federal law when it obtained 64,027 acres of land from the tribe two centuries ago. The tribe, which originally asked for the return of all 64,027 acres and $350 million, called the decision "ridiculous." Similar land claims have been filed by the Oneida and Mohawk tribes. The Onandaga tribe claims it owns 100 square miles of private property in central New York, including almost the entire City of Syracuse.
North Dakota
After 14 years of litigation, a federal judge has rejected the arguments of the Spirit Lake tribe that it owns Devils Lake. The ruling states that the tribe waited too long to sue. The tribe could have pursued the issue before the Indian Claims Commission in 1951 but did not, the judge said. The suit was brought in 1986 against the state, the federal government, and a number of private landowners. The tribe is expected to appeal.
South Dakota
A group of tribal members calling itself the Grass Roots Oyate took over tribal offices on the Pine Ridge Reservation on January 16. The group has a number of complaints with the tribal officials and is demanding that the tribal treasurer, Chuck Jacobs, be removed from office and the financial records of the tribe be audited. The FBI removed financial records from the offices at the request of the tribal executive committee. The protesters claim that millions of dollars of tribal funds cannot be accounted for. Since the beginning of the takeover, the council attempted to remove the president, the president attempted to remove the treasurer, the tribal court ordered action to appoint an assistant treasurer, then vacated the order, and Department of Justice mediators have failed in their attempts to bring the two sides together.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to reconsider a ruling that determined the Yankton Sioux Reservation was diminished in size years ago. The tribe had appealed last August's ruling by District Court Judge Lawrence Piersol that returned about 220,000 acres to state jurisdiction. The state also wanted the appeals court to reconsider the ruling to say that the reservation was disestablished, not simply diminished. The case could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Washington
The Yakama tribe has imposed a tax on alcohol sales on private land within the reservation. Private business owners who would be forced to collect 40 cents tax on a can of beer claim they will be forced out of business and are planning to take the matter to court. The tribe claims the tax is authorized by a federal court decision which stated tribes may regulate non-Indians living inside reservation boundaries when their activities threaten the political integrity, economic security, health or welfare of the tribe.
The Nooksack tribe is under investigation for alleged misappropriation of over $300,000 in federal housing funds. A Housing and Urban Development investigation accuses tribal officials of spending the money in 1998 to pay bonuses to tribal council members, hire relatives of tribal officials on contracts, and buy a manufactured home for use as a casino prize. As of early March, no arrests had been made.
The Skokomish tribe claims damages from a hydroelectric project caused economic and human damages and the tribe wants $5.8 billion in damages from the City of Tacoma and the federal government. In a lawsuit filed late last year, the tribe charges that since 1924 economic and cultural destruction has been caused by construction and operation of the Cushman Project, which diverted water from the Skokomish River through two power plants and into Hood Canal.
Wisconsin
The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas has sued the State of Wisconsin because the state has demanded repayment of nearly $200,000 of state funds that were used by the tribe for "inappropriate or undocumented expenditures." The dispute began in 1998 when allegations of misuse of $900,000 for payroll advances and failed investments led to a federal and state audit of the tribe's financial operations. The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking the state from withholding future funds until the tribe has an opportunity to explain the audit discrepancies.
Washington, D.C.
Tribal officials are attacking proposed legislation which would implement taxes on Indian economic enterprises. The proposal was initiated by business groups which must try and compete with reservation businesses that can offer lower prices on items such as gasoline, tobacco and liquor because no taxes are imposed. The tribes also oppose a proposed BIA policy that would require tribes to seek agreements with state and county governments before placing land into trust. The tribes believe that such a policy would infringe on their purported sovereign powers.
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) has accused the Department of Housing and Urban Development of subsidizing the sale of discount cigarettes on Indian reservations by allowing federal grant dollars to construct "smoke shops." The practice, according to Bond, is reckless because it promotes teen smoking. At least six tribally-owned smoke shops in Nevada and Oklahoma have been built since 1997 using $4 million in HUD construction grants.
Following successful settlement of a lawsuit by black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for discrimination in the granting of loans, 213 Indian farmers have filed a similar class-action suit on behalf of 19,000 Indian farmers and ranchers. The suit asks for $19 billion dollars in damages. The settlement in the original case is expected to total about $2 billion for 18,000 black farmers.
Stephan Ledesma, a Mission Indian from California, has applied to the International Olympic Committee to allow a Native American Nation basketball team to compete in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The IOC is not expected to approve the request since its rules specify that athletes must compete for the country where they live.