Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. State of South Dakota

917 F. Supp. 1434, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1770, 1996 WL 69740
CourtDistrict Court, D. South Dakota
DecidedFebruary 8, 1996
DocketCiv. 91-3036
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 1434 (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. State of South Dakota) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. State of South Dakota, 917 F. Supp. 1434, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1770, 1996 WL 69740 (D.S.D. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BATTEY, Chief Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NATURE AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY.1439

FACTS .1440

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD.1443

DISCUSSION.1443

A. INDIAN SOVEREIGNTY.1443

B. JURISDICTION OVER FEE LANDS AND WATERS.1444

1. Legal Precedent.1444

2. Treaty Rights.1446

3. Inherent Sovereignty.1447

a. The First Montana Exception.1447

b. The Second Montana Exception.1447

4. State Jurisdiction.1449

C. JURISDICTION OVER TAKEN AREA LANDS AND WATERS.1452

1. Legal Precedent.1452

2. Treaty Rights.1453

*1439 3. Inherent Sovereignty.1454

a. The First Montana Exception.1454

b. The Second Montana Exception.1454

4. State Jurisdiction.1455

CONCLUSION

NATURE AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This litigation was first commenced on August 4, 1980, when the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (hereinafter “Tribe”) filed suit against the State of South Dakota and the acting Secretary of Game, Fish, and Parks (hereinafter “State”). The Tribe sought both in-junctive relief and a declaration of the rights of the parties with respect to the enforcement of hunting and fishing laws as to Indians and non-Indians within the exterior boundaries of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation (hereinafter “Reservation”). On cross motions for summary judgment, the Court reserved ruling on matters pertaining to the land outside the Fort Randall 1 and Big Bend 2 taken areas, but did hold that the State had exclusive jurisdiction to regulate hunting and fishing by all persons on the land within said taken areas. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. South Dakota, 540 F.Supp. 276, 292 (D.S.D.1982) (Bogue, J.). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s holding as it pertained to the regulation of tribal members, concluding that the Tribe possessed exclusive jurisdiction to regulate hunting and fishing by tribal members in the taken areas and remanded the case for a redetermination as to the regulation of nonmember Indians within the taken areas. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. South Dakota, 711 F.2d 809, 813 (8th Cir.1983).

On October 24, 1986, the parties entered into a Memorandum of Agreement, 3 thereby obviating any necessity for further hearing on remand. This five-year agreement expired on October 23, 1991. The parties did not agree on an extension or modification of the agreement; accordingly, the Tribe commenced this action on October 24,1991. The issues presented involve a determination of *1440 the respective authority of the State and the Tribe as to the regulation of hunting and fishing by nonmember Indians and non-Indians on fee lands and Corps lands within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. 4 It is important to understand what this decision does not concern. It is not about State regulation of tribal members on any land within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation.

The Court held an evidentiary hearing on November 8, 1991, on the issue of preliminary injunctive relief. It issued its preliminary injunction continuing the terms of the 1986 agreement. Before the Court could hold a hearing on permanent injunctive relief, it removed the case from its trial calender, staying the action pending the final resolution of South Dakota v. Bourland, 949 F.2d 984 (8th Cir.1991) (Bourland II), a case involving similar issues affecting the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The issue in Bourland II was whether the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, located further upstream on the Missouri River, had authority to regulate non-Indian hunting and fishing on lands within the boundaries of its reservation. This land was taken by the United States for the construction and operation of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir, a flood control project of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Bour-land II was decided by the Eighth Circuit on November 21, 1991. When the Supreme Court granted certiorari, this Court continued its stay. The Supreme Court issued its decision on June 14, 1993. 5 Finally, upon remand, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals resolved the remaining issues presented by Bourland III. 6

On September 11, 1995, this case proceeded. The State filed a motion for summary judgment requesting the Court to find that the State has exclusive jurisdiction over nonmember Indians and non-Indians hunting and fishing on the lands and waters within the boundaries of the Reservation and within the Fort Randall and Big Bend taken areas, as well as the lands and waters owned in fee by any nonmember Indian. Appropriate responses have been filed. Accordingly, this Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1362.

FACTS

Congress established the boundaries of the Great Sioux Nation in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, 11 Stat. 749 (1851), and 1868, 15 Stat. 635 (1868). See United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371, 374-77, 100 S.Ct. 2716, 2720-21, 65 L.Ed.2d 844 (1980). The Lower Brule Sioux Reservation was created by act of Congress on March 2, 1889, 25 Stat. 888, which divided the Great Sioux Nation and described the Reservation boundaries. The present day Reservation is centrally located in South Dakota, bounded on the northeast and east by the Missouri River. It is located in the northeastern two-thirds of Lyman County, with a small portion in the southeastern corner of Stanley County. The northwestern corner of the Reservation is approximately 15 miles southeast of Pierre, South Dakota, the state capital. The southeastern corner of the Reservation is approximately eight miles northwest of Chamberlain, which is north of United States Interstate 90. The Reservation is served by state highway 47 and state highway 1806 which traverses the Reservation generally following the course of the Missouri River. The Reservation community of Lower Brule is located approximately eight miles northwest of Big Bend Dam, a large earthen dam spanning the river, creating Lake Sharp. The Fort Randall Dam, located at Pickstown, is a large mainstream dam which backs water several miles upstream, as far as the Big Bend Dam. The Fort Randall Dam created Lake Francis Case.

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917 F. Supp. 1434, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1770, 1996 WL 69740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lower-brule-sioux-tribe-v-state-of-south-dakota-sdd-1996.