UTE RESERVATION AND THE HAGAN vs UTAH DECISION
A recent Supreme Court decision, Hagen vs. Utah, has stripped the
Northern Ute
of tribal jurisdiction on over 2.9 million acres of their land.
This case
involved Robert Hagen, a Native American who plead guilty to
distribution of a
controlled substance in Myton, a town within the original
reservation boundaries
on the land that was opened to non-indian settlement through
allotment in 1905.
The Utah Supreme Court upheld Hagen's conviction, ruling that
Congress had
"diminished" the reservation thereby allowing state jurisdiction.
Whether or not
Congress had diminished the reservation, the fact remains that
the Act of May 5,
1864, ch.7713 stat.63, establishes that the land is "set apart
for the permanent
settlement and exclusive occupation of such different tribes of
Indians of said
territory as may be induced to inhabit the same." (Executive
order 38-1 1c.
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Lawand Treaties 900-1904).
Even if the reservation had been diminished by opening settlement
through
allotments, the law as stated clearly intends "to allot portions
of reservation
land to tribal members and, with tribal consent, to sell the
surplus lands to
(non-indian) settlers, with the proceeds of these sales being
dedicated to the
Indian's benefit" (from the general allotment act of Feb. 8, 1887
ch. 119,24
stat. 388).
How then can the state have jurisdiction over Hagen on land
belonging to the Ute
tribe? Under the current state of affairs, it would be almost
impossible to
ascertain jurisdiction, with what tribal land, state land,
allotment land and
land given back to the tribe. Two houses on the same block could
be under
different jurisdiction laws.
The tribe's loss of jurisdiction over these 2.9 million acres is
an infringement
on the tribal sovereignty as the 1905 act dictates. The land in
question is held
in trust by the Northern Ute, whose tribal government should have
jurisdiction
in the area, to govern their own people.
WE URGE THAT THE JURISDICTION OF THE 2.9 MILLION ACRES BE
RETURNED TO THE TRIBE.
School of the Americas (Next) | Hydro Quebec - The Innu and Cree (Back)