2
Wednesday, May 2, 1973
University Daily Kansan
Lawsuit Tests Indian-Government Relations
Tribe Attempts Repeal of Decision
By A. W. HURLBUT
Kansan Staff Writer
A lawsuit by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Indian tribe against the federal government could become the biggest case in the history of government-Indian relations, according to Malcolm Wheeler, associate professor of law and attorney for the court.
On the surface, the suit is an attempt to force the Department of the Interior to reinstate the tribal constitution it suspended in October, Wheeler said. He said there were much larger and more fundamental issues involved, however.
Wheeler said the case was designed to test three things: what status the American Indian has in U.S. courts, what obligation the government has to provide due process for the Indian and whether the present status of the Indian will continue.
WHEELER OUTLINED the developments in the case;
Under the present government policy, which classifies the Indians as wards of the federal government, the Indian has no protection under the Constitution.
On Sept. 25, the chairman of the tribe, Lester Jessey, called a meeting to amend the tribual constitution to pave the way for new elections.
On Sep. 27, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Lewis Bruce, withdrew permission for the meeting to be held. Jessepe proceeded with the meeting.
On Oct. 4, the commissioner suspended the tribe's constitution and by-laws, expelled its leaders and took direct control. On Dec. 12, the tribe filed a complaint against the government in federal district court for the court of Kansas in Kansas
On Dec. 21, government attorneys filed a motion for dismissal based on lack of jurisdiction. The motion was denied, and the Department of the Interior was given until July 4 to act on an administrative appeal to reinstate the constitution.
WHEELER SAID that there were now only two courses of action for the Secretary to take.
Benefit Tonight
The junior class will sponsor a legal-aid benefit concert for the Potawatomi Indians at 7 tonight at the Red Dog Inn. The Rising Suns, Bluethings, Potawatomi Tide will furnish the music. Admission and Tide will be free to junior class card hoders.
If the secretary grants the appeal and remitates the constitution, the present clerk must reapply.
If the appeal is denied or goes unanswered, he said, the case will almost certainly go to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appellate Jurisdiction. He also superscene Court of the United States, he said.
Norman Forer, assistant professor of social welfare, has been working with the Potawatomi tribe for three years. Forer pointed out that this is the second time in two years that the tribe has had to go to battle government interference in its affairs.
IN JUNE 1971, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) negated a tribal election in which candidates from the Tribal Action Committee accepted the pre-BIA incumbents from office.
In a pamphlet distributed by Jessepe, the Tribal Action Committee is defined as "a cross-section of the religious groupings of our tribe . . . united around the principles of Indian self-determination and the development of self-help programs."
Before the court could act on the tribe's suit to allow the election to stand, the BIA sponsored and held a second election far from the reservation.
DESPITE GOVERNMENT attempts to confuse the voters, according to Forer, the TAC again swept the election with convincing majorities. Since there was no
Law Day Celebrated
Members of the Lawrence legal law network-now-d温 observation of Law Day Thee
In the District Court, Judges James Paddock and Frank Gray gave a panel discussion on the American judicial system. Charles Stough, Lawrence attorney, gave an address entitled "Help Your Courts—Assure Justice."
Tuesday evening Paddock appeared on a Sunflower Cablevision broadcast.
Lawyers in the area are giving speech to interested civil groups this week to aid them in understanding the legal system. Handout sheets also are available.
Law Day was established in 1958 by President Dwight Eisenhower, and a 1961 joint Congressional resolution established an annual Law Day.
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Forer said that the cost of pursuing the complaint against the government could become extremely high if the case was appealed to higher courts. He said that the costs for had totaled about 20,300, despite that Wheater was donating his services.
attempt to void the second election, the suit pending in court was dropped.
When asked how he thought the Department of the Interior would react to the present appeal, Force repaired. "If the government had not reinstated the Potawatomi's constitution."
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