Summer 2005

judge

Native American Legal Briefs:

--Tribal Sovereignty--
--Federal Recognition--
--Sovereign Immunity--

Supreme Court Allows New York State, its Counties and Towns To Assert Regulatory Authority Over Indian Lands Originally Owned By Tribe and Later Purchased by Tribe

On March 29, 2005, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision allowing the town of Sherrill, New York, to collect property tax on parcels of land owned by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York. The land had been part of the historical Oneida Reservation, but had been sold by the Tribe in 1805. The Oneida Nation had transferred the land to one of its members, who later sold it to a non-Indian in 1807. The Tribe bought up the land in 1997 and 1998. The Tribe then filed a suit in federal district court asking the court to declare that the property was tax-exempt and was not subject to property tax. The district court judge agreed with the Tribe and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision. The Supreme Court reversed those courts.

The Tribe had had another case before the Supreme Court in 1985. In that case, the Tribe had argued that its historic lands had been acquired in violation of federal law and sued the State of New York for monetary damages. The Supreme Court stated that the Tribe had the right to sue the State. The Tribe then argued in the present case that its purchase of historical lands revived its ancient sovereignty over those lands. The Supreme Court disagreed. It stated:


Our 1985 decision recognized that the Oneidas could maintain a federal common-law claim for damages for ancient wrongdoing in which both national and state governments were complicit. Today, we decline to project redress for the Tribe into the present and future, thereby disrupting the governance of central New York's counties and towns. Generations have passed during which non-Indians have owned and developed the area that once composed the Tribe's historic reservation. And at least since the middle years of the 19th century, most of the Oneidas have resided elsewhere. Given the longstanding, distinctly non-Indian character of the area and its inhabitants, the regulatory authority constantly exercised by New York State and its counties and towns, and the Oneidas' long delay in seeking judicial relief against parties other than the United States, we hold that the Tribe cannot unilaterally revive its ancient sovereignty, in whole or in part, over the parcels at issue. The Oneidas long ago relinquished the reins of government and cannot regain them through open-market purchases from current titleholders.

The Supreme Court later refused to reconsider its ruling.

Federal District Court Allows Schaghticoke Nation and Connecticut Attorney General To Investigate Whether Either Side Violated Rules in Tribe's Federal Recognition Process

On May 20, 2005, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that both the Schaghticoke Nation and Connecticut's Attorney General can conduct "limited discovery"' to find out if any of the parties have violated a court order prohibiting them from meeting or contacting officials of the Department of the Interior without two days' notice to all the parties. The ruling came after a request by the tribe to depose officials who had participated in a meeting hosted by TASK - Town Action to Save Kent - and to find out about TASK's contact with Department of the Interior officials. TASK held a $1.5 million fund-raising drive last summer to help the town and state overturn the BIA's January 2004 decision granting federal recognition to the Schaghticokes. The Attorney General and the town of Kent have appealed the court's ruling.

Superior Court Judge Rejects Claim of Sovereign Immunity

On May 2, 2005, a Connecticut Superior Court Judge rejected a claim by the Eastern Pequots that they were protected by sovereign immunity from certain contract obligations claimed by the financial backers of the Tribe. The ruling came in the first round of a complicated lawsuit brought by the financial backers who initially helped the Tribe gain federal recognition.