This case, in the District Court for South Dakota, involves the question of whether the Standing Rock/Fort Totten Community School is entitled to tribal sovereign immunity or whether it has lost its tribal character. This is a discovery order opening up discovery on the question. The underlying question involves a tort claim against the school — sexual harassment.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Tribal Amicus Brief Supporting Kickapoo v. Texas Cert Petition
Several tribes — Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Coquille Indian Tribe, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — filed a joint amicus brief supporting the Kickapoo Tribe’s cert petition over the Secretarial procedures for establishing Class III gaming compacts, a rule struck down by the Fifth Circuit a few months ago. Here is the Tribal Amicus Brief. Here is the link to the Kickapoo cert petition. The State’s cert opposition is due later this month.
It is significant, of course, that the United States did not file a cert petition.
Farmers Union Oil v. Guggolz — Plains Commerce Bank Redux
This is a case before the same trial judge as in Plains Commerce Bank in the D.S.D. This one is a slip and fall, but Farmers Union Oil the defendant in tribal court at Standing Rock. The judge followed Plains Commerce Bank and many other similar decisions in requiring the exhaustion of tribal court remedies, but then he took an unfortunate potshot at the CA8 opinion in Plains Commerce Bank:
I have previously cited in this order and opinion the case of Plains Commerce. I was the trial judge in that case. The case was affirmed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. As I read the appellate opinion, I was struck by the fact that such opinion would clearly and substantially broaden the jurisdiction of tribal courts in the Eighth Circuit. It would allow tribal courts to decide what common law principles were to be applied in tribal courts. This would be a significant expansion of tribal court jurisdiction in civil cases. In the past few days, I have noted that the United States Supreme Court has granted the petition of Plains Commerce for a writ of certiorari. Apparently, we will have further guidance from the Supreme Court.
Congrats to Patrice Kunesh!!!!
From Indianz:
Standing Rock woman to lead Indian studies at USD
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Patrice H. Kunesh, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, has been named director of the University of South Dakota’s Institute of American Indian Studies.
Kunesh, an assistant professor of law at USD, teaches Indian law, children and the law, legislation and property. She has worked for the Native American Rights Fund and served as in-house counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut. In her new position, Kunesh will establish a research agenda for the institute and reach out to tribes.
Turtle Talk 