Opinion ID: 673828
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Tribe's Inherent Sovereignty

Text: 57 If the district court determines that the Tribe does not have express authority to regulate electric services on the Reservation, the district court should then determine whether the Tribe retains inherent authority to do so. Indian tribes possess the 'inherent powers of a limited sovereignty which has never been extinguished.'  EEOC v. Fond du Lac Heavy Equip. & Constr. Co., 986 F.2d 246, 248 (8th Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Wheeler, 435 U.S. 313, 322, 98 S.Ct. 1079, 1085-86, 55 L.Ed.2d 303 (1978)). [T]he 'exercise of tribal power beyond what is necessary to protect tribal self-government or to control internal relations is inconsistent with the dependent status of the tribes, and so cannot survive without express congressional delegation.'  Bourland, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2319 (quoting Montana, 450 U.S. at 564, 101 S.Ct. at 1257). 58 The district court should determine whether regulation of electric services is necessary to protect the Tribe's self-government rights or to control the internal relations within the Tribe. Generally, inherent tribal authority does not extend to the activities of nonmembers of the Tribe on fee land, id., but inherent tribal authority generally does extend to civil jurisdiction over activities by nonmembers of the Tribe on tribal land or on land held by the United States in trust for the Tribe. See Montana, 450 U.S. at 557, 565, 101 S.Ct. at 1254, 1258. Further, the district court should distinguish its inherent-authority determinations with reference to the character of the land at issue, i.e., tribal trust land, tribal land, or fee land. 59 The district court also should address the limitation on the regulatory power of the Tribe over nonmembers. That general limitation has two exceptions. First, a tribe may regulate, through taxation, licensing, or other means, the activities of nonmembers who enter consensual relationships with the tribe or its members, through commercial dealings, contracts, leases, or other arrangements. Id. at 565, 101 S.Ct. at 1258. The district court should determine whether providing electricity to the Reservation involves a consensual relationship. Second, a tribe may ... retain inherent power to exercise civil authority over the conduct of non-Indians on fee lands within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe. Id. at 566, 101 S.Ct. at 1258 (emphasis added). The district court should determine whether provision of electric services to DTI, the Tribe's Headstart facility, or other locations on the Reservation has a direct effect on the political integrity, economic security, or the health and welfare of the Tribe.