Conference addresses tribal sovereignty issues

Monday, March 17, 2008  

The nonprofit Foundation for California held a one-day conference in Washington, D.C., last week to address tribal sovereignty issues.

According to The Washington Times, one of the issues discussed was labor unions on reservations. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that tribes must comply with federal labor law in certain situations.

Ralph Rossum, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, said the ruling should be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Congress could also exempt tribes from labor law in the same manner as state and local governments.

The conference co-chair was Deron Marquez, the former chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the tribe at the center of the labor issue.

Get the Story:
Conference eyes American-Indian sovereignty (The Washington Times 3/17)