Post by mdenney on Dec 15, 2009 13:08:33 GMT -5
Mdewakanton 'descendants' appeal land rights case to Supreme Court
Submitted by sfiecke on November 13, 2009 - 2:08pm.
» Read similar stories filed under: General News
By Shannon Fiecke, Staff Writer
A group claiming rights to tribal land in Prior Lake as lineal descendants of the “Loyal Mdewakanton” Dakota have appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
More than 20,000 plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages against the Unites States. They filed a petition Nov. 6, asking the high court to review a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court has 30 days to determine whether it will hear the case.
The petitioners claim to be descendants of Native Americans who helped settlers during the 1862 Sioux uprising.
The lawsuit, Wolfchild vs. U.S., was originally filed in 2003 by the Minnesota Mdewakanton Dakota Oyate (MMDO), and includes land on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota reservation in Prior Lake. The suit is named for Lower Sioux tribal Chairman Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The MMDO said it could prove its members are descendents of the Loyal Mdewakanton listed on the 1886 census. The group claimed the government breached its trust when it created an act in 1980 affirming that the land belongs to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux communities.
A federal judge ruled in 2007 that the plaintiffs could sue the U.S. government for mismanagement of tribal lands now occupied by the Shakopee, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux tribes in Minnesota.
The appeals court reversed that decision, ruling that the Interior Department does not owe trust land or money to the descendents even though appropriation acts created in 1888, 1889 and 1890 stated the federal government was supposed to hold land for the “permanent benefit” of the Minnesota Mdewakanton listed on the census.
Minneapolis attorney Erick Kaardal said his clients are asking the Supreme Court to resolve whether courts can get involved in land disputes between Native American land beneficiaries and the Department of the Interior.
“The beneficiary disputes at Shakopee go back to at least 1969,” he said. “We’re saying the U.S. Supreme Court should resolve once and for all who has beneficiary status at Shakopee.”
Willie Hardacker, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community’s attorney, said the tribe opposes the petition.
“I am confident the U.S. Supreme Court will not take the appeal,” he said. “I believe the Court of Appeals decision was well-reasoned.”
The issue stems from the 1862 Sioux uprising, after which Congress terminated the trust status of the Sioux reservation.
At the same time, Congress allowed the Loyal Mdewakanton to remain in Minnesota and later created the appropriations acts of 1888-90 to permit the secretary of the interior to buy land, cattle, horses and agriculture for the Loyal Mdewakanton. Over the years, the Mdewakanton and others formed the three federally recognized tribes involved in the case.
The appellate court ruled that even if early appropriation acts could be interpreted as creating a trust for descendents, a 1980 act approved by Congress confirms the land belongs to the reservations operated by the Shakopee, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux.
In addition to his 2007 ruling allowing the descendents to sue, U. S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Charles F. Lettow granted requests by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux and Prairie Island communities to stay out of the lawsuit. He granted the two communities’ request to quash a summons that would have required them to be defendants in the lawsuit.
Kaardal said the petitioners were granted an extension following the appellate court ruling to allow their 14 lawyers to collaborate on the appeal. They ended up filing two petitions because they couldn't come to an agreement, he said.
The Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, who have descendants among them, have signed on to support the petitioners, Kaardal said.
The attorney believes a recent Supreme Court ruling that denies Narragansett Indians special status for land in Charlestown, R.I. could play a role in this case.
Kaardal claims that ruling is important because it shows tribal community governments like Shakopee do not have all the power associated with historical tribes.
Hardacker said the Court of Appeals analyzed the recent Carcieri V. Salazar case and found it did not apply to the Wolfchild case.
“I agree,” he said.
www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/mdewakanton_descendants_appeal_land_rights_case_supreme_court-111?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+shakopeenews-mainfeed+%28Shakopee+Valley+News+Main+Feed%29
Submitted by sfiecke on November 13, 2009 - 2:08pm.
» Read similar stories filed under: General News
By Shannon Fiecke, Staff Writer
A group claiming rights to tribal land in Prior Lake as lineal descendants of the “Loyal Mdewakanton” Dakota have appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
More than 20,000 plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages against the Unites States. They filed a petition Nov. 6, asking the high court to review a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court has 30 days to determine whether it will hear the case.
The petitioners claim to be descendants of Native Americans who helped settlers during the 1862 Sioux uprising.
The lawsuit, Wolfchild vs. U.S., was originally filed in 2003 by the Minnesota Mdewakanton Dakota Oyate (MMDO), and includes land on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota reservation in Prior Lake. The suit is named for Lower Sioux tribal Chairman Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The MMDO said it could prove its members are descendents of the Loyal Mdewakanton listed on the 1886 census. The group claimed the government breached its trust when it created an act in 1980 affirming that the land belongs to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux communities.
A federal judge ruled in 2007 that the plaintiffs could sue the U.S. government for mismanagement of tribal lands now occupied by the Shakopee, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux tribes in Minnesota.
The appeals court reversed that decision, ruling that the Interior Department does not owe trust land or money to the descendents even though appropriation acts created in 1888, 1889 and 1890 stated the federal government was supposed to hold land for the “permanent benefit” of the Minnesota Mdewakanton listed on the census.
Minneapolis attorney Erick Kaardal said his clients are asking the Supreme Court to resolve whether courts can get involved in land disputes between Native American land beneficiaries and the Department of the Interior.
“The beneficiary disputes at Shakopee go back to at least 1969,” he said. “We’re saying the U.S. Supreme Court should resolve once and for all who has beneficiary status at Shakopee.”
Willie Hardacker, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community’s attorney, said the tribe opposes the petition.
“I am confident the U.S. Supreme Court will not take the appeal,” he said. “I believe the Court of Appeals decision was well-reasoned.”
The issue stems from the 1862 Sioux uprising, after which Congress terminated the trust status of the Sioux reservation.
At the same time, Congress allowed the Loyal Mdewakanton to remain in Minnesota and later created the appropriations acts of 1888-90 to permit the secretary of the interior to buy land, cattle, horses and agriculture for the Loyal Mdewakanton. Over the years, the Mdewakanton and others formed the three federally recognized tribes involved in the case.
The appellate court ruled that even if early appropriation acts could be interpreted as creating a trust for descendents, a 1980 act approved by Congress confirms the land belongs to the reservations operated by the Shakopee, Prairie Island and Lower Sioux.
In addition to his 2007 ruling allowing the descendents to sue, U. S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Charles F. Lettow granted requests by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux and Prairie Island communities to stay out of the lawsuit. He granted the two communities’ request to quash a summons that would have required them to be defendants in the lawsuit.
Kaardal said the petitioners were granted an extension following the appellate court ruling to allow their 14 lawyers to collaborate on the appeal. They ended up filing two petitions because they couldn't come to an agreement, he said.
The Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, who have descendants among them, have signed on to support the petitioners, Kaardal said.
The attorney believes a recent Supreme Court ruling that denies Narragansett Indians special status for land in Charlestown, R.I. could play a role in this case.
Kaardal claims that ruling is important because it shows tribal community governments like Shakopee do not have all the power associated with historical tribes.
Hardacker said the Court of Appeals analyzed the recent Carcieri V. Salazar case and found it did not apply to the Wolfchild case.
“I agree,” he said.
www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/mdewakanton_descendants_appeal_land_rights_case_supreme_court-111?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+shakopeenews-mainfeed+%28Shakopee+Valley+News+Main+Feed%29
