Turtle Talk

Here is the underlying order, in which the federal court remanded a federal government effort to prosecute trespass on an Indian allotment to the Makah Tribal Court.

The government, extremely unwilling to go to tribal court, seeks reconsideration of the federal court order. Here are the materials:

US Motion for Reconsideration in Ray

Ray Opposition to Motion for Reconsideration

The government brief concludes with this unfortunate (unusual) footnote:

Not insignificantly, the United States also asks this Court to consider the practical effect of its Order. If its Order stands, to protect trust property on Indian land, government attorneys — currently required only to have an active membership in one bar — potentially will have to join the 25 tribal bars in the Western District of Washington and learn 25 different rules of court procedure. Even a cursory review of the tribal codes for these tribes shows that this would be no small feat. As a 1992 tribal court procedural handbook for federally-recognized tribes in Washington State states, “fundamental differences are evident. First there is no consistency between the courts from tribe to tribe. Each tribe operates its own courts using its own code and procedures. Thus, a practitioner must be familiar with the unique scope and procedures of each tribal court in which she practices.” Ralph Johnson & Rachael Paschal, Tribal Court Handbook for the 26 Federally Recognized Tribes in Washington State at I (2d ed., 1992) (available at http:// http://www.msaj.com/papers/handbook.htm). Imposing such requirements on government attorneys will impact materially and adversely the federal government’s ability to exercise its trust responsibilities and protect trust lands.

Just to help out the government, here is a tribal court directory, available on the Washington courts website.

And here is the Makah tribal court code.