NCJ Number
161654
Journal
American Indian Law Newsletter Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (August 1990) Pages: 7-9
Date Published
1990
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper examines court decisions pertinent to a clause in many Indian treaties with the Federal Government which promises that when some nonmember harms Indians or their property, the United States will prosecute such persons and "also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained."
Abstract
In the case of Tsosie v. United States (1986), a Navajo Indian woman was sexually assaulted by a non-Indian. She filed an administrative claim with the Department of the Interior to be compensated for her injuries. The Assistant Secretary of the Interior denied her claim, and she then filed suit in the Claims Court for review of the administrative decision. The Claims Court reversed the Interior Department's decision and remanded the case for further consideration on the merits. The government appealed the case from the Claims Court, and the Federal Circuit Court affirmed. This article suggests that attorneys use such treaty clauses for a variety of harms done to Indians, such as when corporations pollute tribal water sources or leave behind toxic waster dumps or fail to return mined land to a usable state. Other occasions for invoking such treaty clauses are when lenders doing business on the reservation treat Indian borrowers unfairly, when consumers are cheated or harassed, when contracts are made and then ignored, or when Indians are treated unfairly by nonmembers who come on the reservation. Under enforceable treaty terms, the United States bears responsibility for bringing these "bad men" to justice and for compensating the Indians for their losses.