Editors
Corinne Sebren* Galanda Broadman, PLLC | Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier† Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. |
Christian Fernandez‡ Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. |
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§ 1.1. Tribal Litigation & The Third Sovereign
We have been writing this annual update of cases relevant to tribal litigation for many years. Recognizing that the average practitioner consulting this volume may not have much experience with federal Indian law, we have endeavored to provide historical context and citation to most relevant circuit and even district court cases in every volume. To target primarily those cases decided within the last year, this chapter will focus on cases decided between October 1, 2021 – October 1, 2022. The chapter begins with a Supreme Court overview and then is structured around sovereigns—Indian Tribes, the United States, and the fifty sister States.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has aptly referred to tribal governments as the “third sovereign” within the United States.[1] Much like federal and state governments, tribal governments are elaborate entities often consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial branches.[2] Tribes are typically governed pursuant to a federal treaty, presidential executive order, tribal constitution and bylaws, and/or tribal code of laws, implemented by an executive authority such as a tribal chairperson, governor, chief, or president (similar to the United States’ president or a state’s governor) and a tribal council or senate (the legislative body). Tribal courts adjudicate most matters arising from their reservations or under tribal law.[3]
Indian tribes are “distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights” in matters of local self-government.[4] Thus, state laws generally “have no force” in Indian Country.[5] While in the eyes of federal and state government, tribes no longer possess “the full attributes of sovereignty,” they remain a “separate people, with the power of regulating their internal and social relations.”[6]
This chapter explores the repose of tribal sovereignty, federal plenary oversight of that sovereignty, and perennial state encroachment upon that sovereignty. Federal trial and appellate courts issue more than 650 written opinions in cases dealing with Indian law each year,[7] and settle, dismiss, or resolve without opinion countless others. This chapter introduces those cases most relevant to a business litigation focused audience.
