Drawing Brighter Lines: Recent Developments Affecting Natural Resources In And Around Indian Country
Lynn H. Slade of Modrall Sperling
Those involved with natural resource development and regulation in and around Indian country know that federal Indian law complicates the process. Federal Indian law ultimately will resolve competing claims of tribal, state, and federal governments to regulate the many facets of resource development in "Indian country."
Reservations of Right: An Introduction to Indian Law
Gabriel S. Galanda of Williams Kastner
Over the past decade, Indian tribes throughout the United States have become major players in the nation's economy. Tribes are aggressively creating and operating new businesses in the areas of real estate development, banking and finance, media, telecommunications, wholesale and retail trade, tourism, and gaming.
United States Supreme Court Holds Tribal Courts Are Not Courts of "General Jurisdiction"
William C. Scott of Modrall Sperling
On June 25, 2001, the United States Supreme Court held in Nevada v. Hicks that the tribal court in and for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate a tribal member's claims against a Nevada state law enforcement officer for alleged tortious conduct in executing a search warrant for an off-reservation crime. The Court's opinion applied Montana v. United States in assessing the scope of tribal court jurisdiction, even though the officer's alleged wrongful conduct occurred on tribal trust lands.