Law.com has published an article on several Indian law cases that are active in New York state courts, including the Cayuga cigarette tax case and another involving the application of state civil regulatory law to a tort claim arising out of actions that occurred entirely within the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation.
From the article:
Hart’s attorney, John A. Piasecki of Malone, N.Y., said he argued that application of the Labor Law is an administrative action by the state and does not have force in the St. Regis Mohawk territory. Piasecki said he would like to someday argue the point before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It is larger than mere tribal sovereignty,” Piasecki said Tuesday in an interview. “We have argued that unless a law is specifically adopted on an Indian reservation or specifically imposed on an Indian reservation by a federal act of Congress … New York statutes simply don’t apply within the boundary of the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation.”
The article also notes that the Plaintiff in the litigation surrounding the alleged tort occurring on the Akwesasne reservation made a conscious effort to avoid incorporating the tribe in the lawsuit. Presumably, the Tribe’s attorney would know better than to try to bring this type of case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (as presently constituted).
It seems to me that it is these types of cases that present the greatest threat to sovereign authority, because the advocacy of tribal interests is in the hands of a self-interested litigant (perhaps with an attorney not well-versed in Indian law). These types of cases provide the courts with opportunities to limit tribal jurisdiction without the tribe being the primary party in interest a la Hicks, Strate, Means, and Lara (although the latter two did not end too badly for tribal interests).
You can read the entire article here
Turtle Talk 