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JULY 21, 2000

Tribal leaders and Indian law attorneys say the recent Ninth Circuit ruling striking down a tax instituted by the Crow Tribe of Montana will affect the ability of tribes throughout Indian Country to maintain economic independence and sovereignty.

The ruling only affects taxes imposed on land where Congress has granted a right-of-way on a particular lease. These are most often utilities, railroads, and pipeline companies.

The Blackfeet Tribe of Montana, who had a similar tax now ruled illegal, takes in $1.3 million a year, half of the tribe's income. The tribes on the Fort Peck reservation have a tax which brings in $2 million a year.

The 10th Circuit upheld a Navajo tax case. The differences in the two circuits might lead to a Supreme Court case, says one lawyer.

Get the Story:
Court rules against Crow tax (Tribal Law 7/18)
Widespread effects foreseen in Crow tax ruling (The Billings Gazette 7/21)

Get the Decision:
Big Horn v. Adams (9th Circuit. No. 99-35799. July 2000)

Related Decisions:
Atkinson Trading Co v. Navajo Tax Comm'n (10th Circuit. No 98-2247. May 2000)
Strate v. A-1 Contractors (Supreme Court. 520 U.S. 438. 1997)
Burlington Northern R.R. Co. v. Blackfeet Tribe (9th Circuit. No. 88-4428, 88-4429. 1991)

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