![](https://www.indianz.com/News/2017/02/17/utetribevmytonncai021417.jpg)
But Gorsuch's attention to the dispute -- which stretches back 40 years -- resulted in victories in other concrete ways, Ignacio said. After last summer's blockbuster ruling in which the 10th Circuit once again refused to diminish the boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the higher court removed the federal judge who had been handling the case since 1978. The decision, which didn't come without some serious pushback, proved instrumental in the tribe's eyes. "For us, going into court year after year and being humiliated by a federal judge, it was difficult," Ignacio said on Tuesday. "He would have been as racist towards any one of you as he was toward us," Ignacio asserted of the judge who had been on the case. "Knowing that, and understanding that Gorsuch understands Indian and is willing to study Indian law, I give him thumbs up," Ignacio added.
![](https://www.indianz.com/News/2017/02/17/johnechohawkncai021417.jpg)
Aaron Payment, the chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was equally impressed with Gorsuch's record, which includes favorable rulings on Indian religious freedom and the federal trust responsibility. He said no other nominee to the nation's highest court has been as well versed with Indian law as Trump's pick. "Even though there have been some justices on the Supreme Court that have been favorable, in the end, they had to get there," Payment said. Judge Gorsuch, on the other hand, is already there when it comes to sovereignty and other key issues, he said. "I'm excited about it," Payment said of the possibility that Gorsuch can "educate" his colleagues about those issues should be be confirmed as a justice. Gorsuch joined the 10th Circuit in 2006 and quickly showed signs of his willingness to learn about Indian Country. He attended an NCAI event in 2007 and John EchoHawk, the executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, believes that put the judge on a path that sets him apart from others on the federal bench. "As far as anyone Trump could have nominated," EchoHawk said at NCAI, "I don't think he could have come up with anybody much better than Judge Gorsuch."
![](https://www.indianz.com/News/2017/02/17/judgeneilgorsuchncai021417.jpg)
John Dossett, NCAI's general counsel, pointed out that Gorsuch listed Yellowbear v. Lampert as one of the 10 most significant cases of his career. In a January 2014 decision, the judge concluded that state prison officials in Wyoming were wrong to deny Andrew Yellowbear, a citizen of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, access to a sweat lodge. "Judge Gorsuch has a very good track record," Dossett said. Based on a review of other cases, Dossett said tribal interests won 85 percent of the time when they went before Gorsuch on the 10th Circuit, which covers Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, all states with significant tribal populations. Gorsuch will get a chance to talk about his record, as well as his judicial philosophy, when he goes before the Senate next month for his confirmation. It's scheduled to begin March 20 and the proceedings are expected to last three to four days. "Judge Gorsuch has met every demand placed on him by [Democrats]. He’s a mainstream judge. He’s displayed independence. He’s met with dozens of senators who have nothing but positive things to say," said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who serves as the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The Supreme Court has been operating with just eight justices following the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Republicans in the Senate refused to consider former president Barack Obama's replacement because they wanted to wait until the outcome of the November election. Democrats are still bothered by what Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) called a breach in "tradition and historical precedent. " But Republicans control the Senate and they can easily approve any of Trump's nominees by a majority vote. Heitkamp, who sits on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said she and Gorsuch "talked about Indian law and treaties, fixing our criminal justice system, and empathy on the bench—a fundamental trait when the poor and underprivileged in North Dakota and beyond don’t have the same access to the courts as those who are better off" during a meeting last week. Tribes pay close attention to the Supreme Court because the decisions carry significant impacts in their communities. Up until Scalia's death, a conservative-leaning majority consistently delivered defeats on taxation, sovereignty, land-into-trust and Indian Child Welfare Act issues over the last decade. "Since 2006, under John Roberts, there's been 11 Indian cases decided by that court and we have won only two of those cases," Echohawk told tribal leaders shortly after Scalia's passing last year. John Roberts serves as chief justice of the court.
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Donald
Trump's Supreme Court nominee well versed in Indian law (2/1) Trump team gets more time on Supreme Court tribal casino case (1/31)
Trump ready to announce nominee for Supreme Court vacancy (1/30)
Supreme Court declines petition in Indian Child Welfare Act case (01/09)
Native Sun News Today Editorial: A bumpy ride with Donald Trump (12/08)
Tribal sovereignty foe Scott Pruitt slated to join Donald Trump's administration (12/07)
Supreme Court turns down petition in Mdewakanton land dispute (11/07)
Steven Newcomb: Supreme Court still clinging to racist doctrine (11/03)
Sen. John McCain doesn't want more 'liberal' justices on Supreme Court (10/11)
Supreme Court accepts case linked to NFL team's racist mascot (09/29)
Supreme Court weighs petition in case tied to racist NFL mascot (09/20)
Mdewakanton descendants want Supreme Court to hear land case (09/01)
Matthew Fletcher: The Supreme Court and Indian Child Welfare Act (08/24)
Ute Tribe prevails in reservation boundary dispute yet another time (08/10)
Steve Russell: Even the Supreme Court makes up 'facts' about tribes (08/08)