Monday, October 17, 2016

Lex Anteinternet: The Shoshone - Arapaho Disagreement comes to a head...

I reported on this event back on October 10, when it first hit the news:
Lex Anteinternet: The Shoshone - Arapaho Disagreement comes to a hea...: There's a truly odd spectacle playing out in Fremont County, Wyoming, but it's getting little attention. As has been noted her...
There's been no news on it since, and I wondered what was going on.

Well, today the Tribune has a followup article, and there's been no resolution of the crisis.  Indeed, it's even odder than originally reported.

In terms of news, this matter is actually going before the Tribal Court this Wednesday.  The issue will be whether the court can be dissolved by the Joint Business Council if only the Shoshones are recognizing the council.  The Court has already issued a preliminary order that it cannot, and in fact has held the sitting Shoshone members of the JBC in contempt at the rate of $150 a day for attempting to dissolve it and cease funding it. The Arapahos, who had asked the BIA to fund separate institutions including a court, as they no longer participate in the JBC, are ironically now funding the Tribal Court.   The JBC has asked for the BIA to restore a BIA court, which it threatened to do, but which it has not.

It's hard to see a resolution to this occurring, or at least one that doesn't involve the Federal courts.   And indeed there's a case in Federal court right now about whether or not the Arapahos can demand separate treatment from the Federal government in light of its independent sovereignty.  Those who argue against it, at least on practical grounds, note that its tough to have two separate bodies of law in the same geographic area, including two separate courts and two separate game and fish codes.

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