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DECEMBER 18, 2000

In an editorial, The New London Day says the Department of Interior shouldn't keep secret several documents regarding its trust obgliations to several tribes in Oregon and northern California.

In 1999, the Ninth Circuit Court of Apppeals ruled that seven documents of correspondence between the Interior and the tribes over their water rights weren't exempt from the federal Freedom of Information Act. The Interior appealed and the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case.

The paper says the Interior's appeal is "without merit." The paper likens the fulfilling of trust obligations and the water rights lawsuit, of which the government is acting as trustee and lawyer for the tribes, to "secret deals."

Get the Case:
Klamath Water v. USDOI (Ninth Circuit No. 97-36208. August 1999)

Get the Docket:
DOI and BIA v. Klamath Water (Sup Ct Docket No. 99-1871)

Get the Story:
EDITORIAL: Make the records public (The New London Day 12/16)

Related Stories:
Trust relationship questioned by case (Tribal Law 11/30)

Relevant Links:
The Supreme Court - www.supremecourtus.gov
The Native American Rights Fund - www.narf.org
Klamath Water Users Association - www.orgsites.com/or/klamathwaterusers
Freedom of Information Act, Department of Justice - www.usdoj.gov/04foia/index.html