Digital Commons Network^™

Bridges To A New Era: A Report On The Past, Present, And Potential Future Of Tribal Co-Management On Federal Public Lands, Monte Mills, Martin Nie

Articles

Deep ancestral and traditional connections tie many Native Nations to the federal government’s public lands. The removal of these lands from indigenous control, their acquisition by the federal government, and the federal government’s approach to their management are largely premised upon the erasure or marginalization of those connections. Both physically and legally, Indian tribes have been removed from the landscapes they occupied since time immemorial. Rather than centering, honoring, and using those connections, the current discussion of tribal co-management of federal public lands is mostly bereft of this full legal and historical context.

Compounding these limitations is the considerable discretion …

Sovereign Immunity In Indian Tribal Law, Ralph W. Johnson, James M. Madden

Articles

An examination of the tribal courts' civil jurisdiction and sovereign immunity decisions, and a review of the doctrine's origins and purposes in federal and state law reveal the increasing importance of the sovereign immunity doctrine and suggest several options to tribal councils and courts in deciding which aspects of the doctrine to retain. The article concludes that:

(1) The doctrine of sovereign immunity is not part of the con-. trolling federal law applicable to Indian tribal courts, except where trust property is involved.

(2) Each Indian tribe has inherent sovereign power to adopt, reject, or waive the doctrine of sovereign …

Soverign Immunity In Indian Tribal Law, Ralph W. Johnson, James M. Madden

Articles

An examination of the tribal courts' civil jurisdiction and sovereign immunity decisions, and a review of the doctrine's origins and purposes in federal and state law reveal the increasing importance of the sovereign immunity doctrine and suggest several options to tribal councils and courts in deciding which aspects of the doctrine to retain. The article concludes that:

(1) The doctrine of sovereign immunity is not part of the controlling federal law applicable to Indian tribal courts, except where trust property is involved.

(2) Each Indian tribe has inherent sovereign power to adopt, reject, or waive the doctrine of sovereign immunity …

The States Versus Indian Off-Reservation Fishing: A United States Supreme Court Error, Ralph W. Johnson

Articles

Pacific Northwest Indian tribes signed treaties with the United States in the mid-1850's which guaranteed them the permanent right to fish at their usual and accustomed fishing sites off the reservations. The Indians believe these treaties mean that those states which did not exist in 1855 have no power to regulate Indian off-reservation fishing under any circumstances. State officials, on the other hand, have consistently argued that Indian off-reservation fishing is subject to the same state regulation as non-Indian fishing. The United States Supreme Court has basically accepted the states' position, holding that states can regulate off-reservation fishing when "necessary …