On August 28, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the authority of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (“NHBP”) to issue a civil protection order against a non-Indian under the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2265(e).  See Spurr v. Pope, No. 18-2174 (6th Cir. Aug. 28, 2018).  This is the first decision of a federal appeals court to address tribal jurisdiction under section 2265(e) of VAWA.

Kanji & Katzen represented NHBP in all aspects of the case.

In 2013, Congress amended section 2265(e) to affirm tribal authority to issue civil protection orders against “any person” for conduct occurring within a tribe’s Indian country.  Pursuant to this provision and NHBP tribal law, the NHBP Tribal Court issued a civil protection order barring the plaintiff, a non-Indian, from harassing and stalking a tribal member.  Rejecting plaintiff’s challenge to NHBP’s exercise of civil jurisdiction over her, the Sixth Circuit held that section 2265(e) “unambiguously” recognizes that tribal courts possess “the power to issue civil protection orders against any person in matters arising in the Indian country of the Indian tribe,” and that the provision’s reference to “any person” includes persons who are “Indian or non-Indian, tribal member or non-tribal member.”

Additionally, the Sixth Circuit concluded that tribal sovereign immunity barred plaintiff’s claims against NHBP and the NHBP Supreme Court.  It rejected plaintiff’s argument that 28 U.S.C. § 1331 abrogated tribal sovereign immunity, explaining that “[t]o upset the baseline rule of tribal immunity, the statute’s text ‘must unequivocally express that purpose’ – shout it, not whisper it.”

On July 23, 2019, the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians filed suit against Enbridge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to force the decommissioning and removal of the Line 5 pipeline, which runs through twelve miles of sensitive habitat in the Bad River Reservation.  Enbridge has continued to operate the 66-year-old pipeline for six years since easements allowing it to maintain a right of way in the Reservation expired in 2013, and the Band’s action seeks to bring the company’s unauthorized presence to an end.  With each passing day, Enbridge’s continued unlawful operation of the pipeline threatens the Bad River watershed, including Lake Superior and the Kakagon and Bad River sloughs, which are complex freshwater estuaries stewarded by the Band for centuries and internationally recognized as some of the most sensitive freshwater estuarine ecosystems on earth.  While a significant threat of ruptures and leaks exists for the entire stretch of Line 5’s path across the Reservation, there is a looming disaster just east of where Line 5 presently crosses the Bad River, as the river channel is rapidly migrating towards the pipeline due to bank erosion.  Unless the pipeline is decommissioned and removed, the river will inevitably expose the pipeline, subjecting it to stresses that it was not designed to withstand and making a rupture all but certain.

The Band’s Complaint asserts public nuisance, trespass, and ejectment claims, and requests that the district court enjoin Enbridge from further use of the pipeline and require it to remove the pipeline from the Reservation.

Kanji & Katzen, P.L.L.C., the National Wildlife Federation, and Hooper Hathaway Price Beuche & Wallace represent the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in this case.

Press Release

July 23, 2019 – Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Chambers USA’s rankings for 2019 have been released and Kanji & Katzen, P.L.L.C. and its attorneys once again received stellar rankings.

As a firm, the team ranked as a top tier (Band 1) Indian law firm, sharing this honor with only three other firms in the United States.  The firm is praised for its ability to provide “such a strong marriage of Indian law and appellate expertise.  Their litigation expertise is very hard to match.”  Chambers quotes clients as attesting that “the team as a whole is first-rate” with “dedication, good judgment, superior writing and negotiation skills.”  A peer lawyer states that Kanji & Katzen attorneys “reach a level of excellence that few others have time for.  They are phenomenal lawyers.”

Founding Member, Riyaz Kanji, a “superb strategist and excellent lawyer,” is recognized as the only “Star Individual” among Indian law practitioners in the United States.  His peers describe him as “the leading Indian lawyer in the country” and as “a real thought leader in this area.”  Others note that “[h]e combines a deep knowledge of Indian law with a keen sense of how to craft a winning appellate argument.  He is relentless in pursuit of his client’s interest, but manages to keep an even keel.  Nothing ruffles him.”

Chambers USA also ranks Cory Albright as among the best Indian law practitioners in the United States and describes him as “a really strong writer” and “very good at the tactical and strategic elements of a case.”

All of the attorneys at Kanji & Katzen bring a commitment to excellence and creativity, and work tirelessly on behalf of our clients.  We are honored to be recognized by Chambers USA and to have the privilege of serving Indian nations and tribes on issues of vital importance.

Chambers, USA ranks the top attorneys and law firms across the United States.  These rankings are the result of a year-long process based on thousands of interviews conducted by over 200 full-time analysts.  Individual law firms are ranked based on the quality of their client service, technical legal ability, industry awareness, diligence, efficiency, and team depth.  Kanji & Katzen, P.L.L.C.’s rankings are available here.

In an order dated December 3, 2018, U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy for the District of Maine provided that federal water quality standards developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must remain in place to protect the sustenance fishing practices of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Penobscot Indian Nation, and other tribes in Maine.  See Maine v. Wheeler, No. 1:14-cv-00264-JDL, Doc. 162 (D. Me. Dec. 3, 2018).  While the Court granted EPA’s request for voluntary remand of its 2015 decisions under the Clean Water Act, which disapproved Maine’s proposed water quality standards for tribal waters because they did not “ensure a water quality sufficient to take fish from tribal waters for sustenance,” the Court denied Maine’s request to vacate those decisions pending remand.

These decisions provide the foundation for the water quality standards developed by EPA in 2016 to protect tribal sustenance fishing uses, also called the “Maine Rule.”  The Court further conditioned its remand order “upon the EPA (1) continuing the Maine Rule in effect during the remand period, and (2) not taking any action that would terminate or undermine the effectiveness of the Maine Rule without prior Court approval.”  This important ruling means that the waters where members of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and of other tribes fish will continue to be protected while EPA reconsiders its decisions.

Kanji & Katzen, PLLC represents the Houlton Band in all aspects of this case and looks forward to working with the Band during the remand process to ensure that EPA carefully considers and protects Maliseet sustenance fishing practices under the Clean Water Act.

Wall Street Journal:  Supreme Court Revisits Westward Expansion

New York Times:  Is Half of Oklahoma an Indian Reservation? The Supreme Court Sifts the Merits

Tulsa World:  Life, tribal sovereignty at forefront of Oklahoma case before U.S. Supreme Court

E&E News:  Okla. Murder Spurs Tussle Over Tribal Control