Sioux City Journal

Pender, business owners file complaint in tribal court

Posted: Wednesday, January 09, 2008

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The village of Pender and some business owners have filed a complaint in Omaha Tribal Court asking that the tribe be stopped from imposing its liquor laws outside the reservation.

The complaint filed Monday states that Pender does not lie within the Omaha reservation and, therefore, is not subject to the tribe's liquor regulations, which includes licenses for businesses that sell alcohol and a 10 percent tax on alcohol purchases.

The Omaha Tribe's attempt to enforce their laws on Pender and its businesses "is an act in excess of tribal authority and thus a violation of federal common law," the complaint states.

A similar lawsuit was filed in April in U.S. District Court. The tribe had argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because Pender and the business owners should have sought a decision in tribal court before filing the federal lawsuit, as specified by tribal exhaustion doctrine.

In October, District Court Judge Richard Kopf ordered a complaint be filed in tribal court, but said that decision may not be binding.

Lyman Larsen, the attorney representing the tribe officials and members named in the complaint, said Tuesday that he was still reviewing the complaint and had no immediate comment.

A message left Tuesday for Omaha tribal attorney Maurice Johnson was not immediately returned.

The tribe has argued in court documents that the liquor regulations are legal, having been authorized by the U.S. Department of the Interior and being within the jurisdiction granted to the Omaha Tribe by Congress.

In an 1854 treaty, the United States defined the reservation as stretching from the west bank of the Missouri River across the portion of northeast Nebraska that later became part of Thurston, Cuming, Burt and Wayne counties and Iowa's Monona County.

In the 1860s, part of the Omaha Tribe's northern land was ceded to the Winnebago Tribe, and over time, some of the remaining Omaha land came to be owned by non-American Indians, resulting in a "checkerboard" pattern of land ownership that has caused confusion about tribal lines.

On the Net:

U.S. District Court of Nebraska: http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/

Story Comments

RT wrote on Jan 16, 2008 2:45 PM:

" NDN Counselor Not street corner talk. I have lived on the reservation almost all of my life. You may have paid in $10000 to taxes, but how much did you get on your tax returns. Also do you live on the reservation, because the last time I checked when you go to the tribal hospital in winnebago, you are not sent a bill. Is any of this correct? also the only one who mention alcoholic was you. There may be more Whites on Welfare as a total, but do your research and check the percentage of the whites on welfare versus the percentage of indians on welfare per community. It really bugs me when you want to tell me to do research and check the facts, why don,t you work on telling the whole story, instead of trying to tell the poor indian one. "

ndncounselor wrote on Jan 14, 2008 4:42 PM:

" dbrtr and RT. I'm sure you are both good people but you are very misinformed. Like many white Americans have done for generations you lump everyone together. I am an Omaha tribal member and I pay for my own health insurance,(blue cross blue shield) I pay taxes ,$10,000 last year. I paid for my own education, still paying infact.(30,000) I don't drink and don't smoke. I know many many more Natives who can say the same thing.Much of the Alcoholism is a result of oppression. I wouldn't expect you to understand, but give you something to think about or attack me personally. I challenge you both to do a little research use your brain and find out the facts not just the local talk on the street corner, or in the feed store, or things you have heard your Dad say and grand dad!! There are more white alcoholic, more white tax evaders, more white people on wellfare, my tax dollars go to help them and I don't mind. do you see what I mean? Thanks for reading this post dbrtr and RT. "

RT wrote on Jan 12, 2008 8:49 PM:

" The only reason the native people are oppressed is because of their own doing. The native people of today have every opportunity to succeed in today's world but choose not too. The US has ruined the native people by giving them what they have. The native people get free education, medical, no tax, free money to cloth their children for school, ETC... I say elimanate the reservation and lets actually make every equal. Native people cry about racism, maybe they should take a look in their own backyard. They can hire an native person over antother race. They can fire a white person because they want to bring a native person in. They can charge white people outrageous amount to hunt deer on the rez but charge a naitve person almost nothing. If you reversed that the natives would be crying for years. We need some change.
RT "

dbrtr wrote on Jan 11, 2008 4:42 PM:

" The Indians need to let It go. pender is no longer part of the Reservation. Congress needs to wake up and quit handing the Native people what they want. They already get free health insurance and have there casinos on nebraska land which the white people cannot have. If congress wants to do something for them close down all the bars on the reservation so the natives can clean up and get a job so we dont have to support them. "

ndncounselor wrote on Jan 10, 2008 2:29 PM:

" Pender is within the boundaries of the Omaha "Nation" Jose you don't have to believe me see the reservation as it was back when it was established. Only an act of congress can change that. Rightfully Omahas should still be owning at least half of Nebraska and some of Iowa. We Native people don't trust the government either they have lied to us time after time!!!! All Native people are oppressed in our own lands but we continue to survive, we are still here like it or not!!!! Si,Si,Si "