- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
This month's Tribal Land Roundup highlights key developments in tribal land rights and sovereignty. From the Hualapai Tribe’s push to extend a ban on lithium drilling near sacred sites in Arizona to the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s decision to banish a Wisconsin state senator following offensive remarks, this month’s column covers legal battles, land disputes, Senate action on land trust transfers and trust acquisitions.
Hualapai seek ban extension on lithium drilling in Arizona - ruling likely next week
The Hualapai Tribe of Arizona secured a temporary ban on lithium drilling across 2.6 square miles of land they assert contain sacred sites, per reporting by the Associated Press.
The Tribe initially filed for a temporary restraining order and launched their suit against the Department of the Interior and Arizona Lithium, Ltd., an Australia-based mining company, on Aug. 2. The order was granted Aug. 22.
The company received approval from the DOI to drill in a 2.6-square-mile area adjacent to a set of springs called Ha’Kamwe’, or Cofer Hot Springs, in 2019. Notably, Ha’Kamwe was part of lands taken into trust for the benefit of the tribe in 2022, per a court filing granting the restraining order.
On Sept. 17, the tribe further sought to extend the restraining order while the US District Court of Arizona considered the tribe’s arguments. In particular, the tribe attested the DOI’s environmental analysis had failed to consider the sacred sites in question, thereby falling afoul of the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The tribe also asserts a subsequent consultation with Interior was not sufficiently thorough and did not disclose the drilling site’s proximity to Ha’Kamwe’.
U.S. District Judge Diane Humetawa said after the hearing she would take the case under advisement. She would not issue a ruling until late September. Lithium mining has come into particular focus in the wake of surging renewable energy projects across the United States, which primarily (though not exclusively) rely on lithium ion batteries for storage, per prior Tribal Business News reporting.
Lac du Flambeau Tribe banishes Wisconsin state senator following “terrorism” comments
Last month Tribal Business News shared a report on the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s closure earlier this year of several roads leading to homes near the non-tribal town Lac du Flambeau, which sits on the tribe’s reservation.
The roads were closed late last year after tribal authorities asserted the leases on the roads, which had been illegally built on reservation lands without any easements, had expired more than a decade ago.
After coming to an arrangement with the town in February for monthly payments on the roads, the tribe once again promised to close roads for non-payment when funding dried up in August.
The situation led Wisconsin State Senator Mary Felzkowksi (R) to state, during a Lac du Flambeau town meeting to discuss a solution, that negotiations around the roads were “kind of like giving into terrorists, and I don’t like it.”
In response, the tribe has banished Felzkowksi from their reservation lands following a Sept. 9 vote by the tribal council, per a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“The comparison of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe to terrorists, such as the Proud Boys and the Taliban, organizations with no sovereignty or treaty rights (with the U.S.), and that seek to harm the United States, is not only offensive, but dangerously misinformed,” LDF President John Johnson said in a statement.
TRUST ACQUISITIONS
A Senate bill to take 172 acres across four parcels of land into trust for the Jamul Indian Village of California has passed the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, according to a committee press release. The bill, S.3857, passed during a Sept. 18 business meeting. The bill was last discussed during a July 10 hearing, during which tribal chairwoman Erica Pinto testified the tribe’s current landbase is only 6 acres total - one of the smallest reservations in the United States, Pinto said. A companion bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 6443, passed in April this year.
The Osage Nation recently celebrated a significant milestone with the approval of their fee-to-trust application for a 41,521-acre ranch, announced on August 30, 2024. Bureau of Indian Affairs Realty Specialist Katie Yates-Free delivered the Notice of Decision to Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear. This acquisition, the second-largest fee-to-trust transfer in U.S. history, strengthens tribal sovereignty by granting the Osage full authority over the land. Chief Standing Bear expressed gratitude for the community's perseverance, stating, “We’re getting our land back,” while the Osage Nation Police Department has already begun patrolling the area in anticipation of the approval.
LANDBACK
The Western Rivers Conservancy in Dillon Beach, California has transferred 466 acres to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, per a report by Indian Gaming. The property, the Dillon Beach Ranch, includes 1.5 miles of Pacific coastline and 1.5 miles along the Estero de San Antonio estuary. “Regaining full ownership and stewardship of Dillon Beach Ranch represents an opportunity for us to reconnect with our ancestral lands and preserve a very important place for future generations,” said Graton Rancheria Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris, speaking to Indian Gaming.
NOTEWORTHY
California tribes are waiting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature on a bill that could open up state agencies to co-management agreements. California Assembly Bill 1284 unanimously passed both houses of the California legislature in late August, per a report from the Public News Service, and went to Newsom’s desk Sept. 5. If signed, the bill will allow tribes and state agencies to sign co-management agreements around lands and watersheds - similar to co-management agreements currently being espoused by the federal government, per prior Tribal Business News reporting.
We recommend checking out the compelling story reported by the Flatwater Free Press about the Santee Sioux Tribe's ongoing struggle over "school land" on their reservation. The piece delves into how the tribe pays nearly $65,500 annually to rent land that is rightfully theirs, generating around $140,000 in rent for the state. It highlights the historical context of land loss, the tribe's efforts to reclaim their territory, and the economic challenges they face today. The story, which features data from Grist’s Misplaced Trust investigation, is a pretty powerful narrative on resilience and sovereignty.
If you have news or information about landback acquisitions or deals involving tribal land, shoot me a note at [email protected].
