Firefly
Tawo Seed Carrier
POB 1456
South Pasadena, CA 91031

Tribal Courts Should Be Aware that American Indians Won't Win Upcoming Sovereignty Confrontation

Expert: Tribal courts should beware
American Indians won't win sovereignty conference told
By Joel Hanel - Herald Denver Bureau
Sept. 25, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS - Indian tribes are headed for a showdown over sovereignty with the U.S. Supreme Court, and they are sure to lose, an Indian scholar said Monday.
The fight probably will start over Indian courts trying to get jurisdiction over a non-Indian defendant, said Philip S. Deloria, who ran the American Indian Law Center at the University of New Mexico for 37 years.
"I bet you a month's salary it's going to happen. The question is when, and how long can we stall it," Deloria said at a conference called "Completing the Circle: Strengthening Criminal Justice in Indian Country."
Efforts already under way in Southwest Colorado might help the tribal courts keep their power.
Congress has protected Indian sovereignty, or the right of the tribes to run their own affairs, Deloria said. But federal judges are getting ready for a challenge. The evidence is plain to see in a number of legal opinions.
"I'm not a legal scholar, but I can read," Deloria said. "And we know the courts have said, 'We don't want you messing with non-Indians, '" he said.
The Supreme Court, he said, will want to defend the rights of non-Indians who live on the reservation but cannot vote in tribal elections.
The answer is for tribes, cities, counties and the federal government to cooperate closely, Deloria said.
That's happening now in Southwest Colorado. Since February, 85 officers have been cross-deputized to enforce federal, state and tribal laws. Thirty more will go through the training next month in Cortez, said Troy Eid, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado.
If police officers are cross-deputized, then they have the authority to enforce the laws whether or not suspects are Indians, Deloria said.
If the tribes can make themselves an essential partner to the local governments, then they might have a chance to retain their power, Deloria said.
"If we had everybody at the table talking about law enforcement and there's an empty chair `85 suddenly, you get focused on who needs to get with the program," Deloria said. "But if we write it off as politics - acceptable politics - then nobody's responsible. "
Despite the success with cross-deputization, Eid was pessimistic about the prospects for more full-time police officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Ute Mountain Ute reservation.
"Let's be candid about it. We're not making progress in terms of Ute Mountain Ute police levels from BIA," Eid said. "It's just a tough situation out there. Those guys are working 12-hour shifts. Twelve hours on, 12 hours off, sometimes six days in a row."
The problem affects reservations nationwide, and only more money from Congress will help, Eid said.
The conference, sponsored by the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, brought together federal and Indian justice experts from the Four Corners states. It continues today and Wednesday, but the last two days are closed to the public because they deal with sensitive victim and law-enforcement topics.
http://durangoheral d.com/asp- bin/article_ generation. asp?article_ type=news&article_path= news/o7/news/ 070925_6. htm