{"id":133465,"date":"2025-04-08T14:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T19:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=133465"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T20:09:09","slug":"montana-free-press-blackfeet-nation-citizens-cite-treaty-rights-in-lawsuit-over-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/04\/08\/montana-free-press-blackfeet-nation-citizens-cite-treaty-rights-in-lawsuit-over-tariffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Free Press: Blackfeet Nation citizens cite treaty rights in lawsuit over tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Susan<\/a>
State Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, is one of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the federal government. She alleges the tariffs on Canada violate the U.S. Constitution and tribal treaty rights. Photo: Johnathan Hettinger \/ Montana Free Press<\/figcaption>\r\n
Blackfeet tribal members sue feds over Canada tariffs <\/div>\r\n
The lawsuit is the latest example of tribes flexing their sovereign status to oppose new federal policy.<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, April 8, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Nora Mabie<\/div>\r\n
Montana Free Press<\/DIV>\r\n
montanafreepress.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Two citizens of the Blackfeet Nation on April 4 filed a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on Canada violate the U.S. Constitution and tribal treaty rights. <\/p>

State Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning,<\/a> and Jonathan St. Goddard, a rancher on the Blackfeet Reservation, named the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem and the United States of America in the suit, which was filed in Montana federal district court. The plaintiffs are represented by Monica Tranel<\/a>, who ran as a Democrat for Montana\u2019s western congressional seat in 2022 and 2024.  <\/p>

The lawsuit \u2014 filed one day before thousands of people participated in nationwide protests<\/a> against the Trump administration \u2014 is the latest example of tribes flexing their sovereign status to oppose new federal policy. It\u2019s also one of several legal challenges<\/a> related to President Donald Trump\u2019s recent tariff orders. <\/p>

This lawsuit specifically pertains to several Executive Orders, including one February 1<\/a> that expanded an emergency declaration to include \u201cthe flow of illicit drugs\u201d across the U.S.-Canada border and one April 2<\/a> that announced global \u201creciprocal tariffs.\u201d The lawsuit also regards two February 10 proclamations that impose tariffs on steel<\/a> and aluminum<\/a> products.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n
Webber v. Department of Homeland Security<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Plaintiffs allege the orders violate the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress, not the president, the power to regulate commerce. Trump declared several national emergencies<\/a> (due to U.S. trade deficits and to the flow of illegal drugs over the Northern border) and invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act<\/a> to issue tariffs. But the two Blackfeet citizens say the president had no legal basis to do so, arguing the IEEPA statute does not include the power to tariff. A legal group<\/a> that lists conservative mogul Charles Koch<\/a> among its supporters filed a similar lawsuit Thursday related to tariffs on China. Plaintiffs in that lawsuit allege that Trump\u2019s use of the national emergency law is illegal<\/a>. Trump is the first president to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs, according to Politico<\/a>.<\/p>

Complainants in the Montana case further allege the Canada tariffs violate the Jay Treaty<\/a>, which was signed in 1794 by the U.S. and Great Britain to ease Revolutionary War tensions. While the treaty primarily focused on the two countries, it also recognized the rights of Native Americans to freely cross<\/a> over the U.S.-Canada border. It also stipulated that American Indians were not to pay duties or taxes on their own goods when crossing the border<\/a>. <\/p>

Plaintiffs further allege that orders imposing Canada tariffs are \u201cunconstitutionally vague\u201d and therefore violate their right to due process, the legal principle that requires the government to treat people fairly.<\/p>

Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Montana Free Press.<\/p> \r\n\r\nWebber and St. Goddard in court documents allege the Blackfeet tribal community is uniquely harmed by the Canada tariffs. Located in northwest Montana, the Blackfeet Reservation spans about 1.5 million acres and is home to 10,309 people, 33% of whom live below poverty level. The Blackfeet Nation<\/a> is one of four tribes belonging to the Blackfoot Confederacy<\/a>. The other three Blackfoot tribes are headquartered across the U.S.-Canada border in Alberta. <\/p>\r\n \"Chief<\/a>

The Chief Mountain Land Port of Entry in Montana takes its name from Chief Mountain, a sacred site of the Blackfeet Nation. Photo: Royalbroil<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Per the Jay Treaty, it’s not uncommon for members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to cross the border not with a passport but with a tribal identification card. St. Goddard, according to court documents, drove to Saskatchewan to buy a replacement for a broken tractor part. On his way back to Montana, St. Goddard alleges he paid a $308.77 tariff for the new part, which originally cost $1,252.89. He alleged in court documents that tariffs caused him \u201cfinancial stress\u201d and future tariffs could cause \u201cirreparable harm\u201d to his business.<\/p>

Webber in her declaration wrote that her constituents \u201ccannot afford random, unpredictable tariffs.\u201d <\/p>

\u201cBecause of the tariffs, members of the tribal community are losing economic opportunities and business,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>

Webber and St. Goddard in the lawsuit asked the court to enjoin, or prohibit, Trump\u2019s various orders implementing tariffs on Canada. Alternatively, they ask the court to stop tariffs on all commerce and goods at three ports of entry on the U.S.-Canada border or to exempt tribal members from the Canada tariffs. <\/p>

Native American tribes are sovereign entities and have a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States. A few months into Trump\u2019s second term, several tribes have pushed back on his policies. <\/p>

On March 7, the Pueblo of Isleta<\/a> (New Mexico), Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation<\/a> (Kansas), and Cheyenne Arapaho Tribes<\/a> (Oklahoma) and several Indigenous students sued the U.S. Department of the Interior<\/a> challenging mass firings at Bureau of Indian Education-run schools. Before a judge blocked Trump\u2019s federal funding freeze<\/a>, the Coalition of Large Tribes urged the federal government<\/a> to exempt tribal programs, citing tribal sovereignty, treaty laws and the unique political relationship between tribes and the U.S. government. And Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in February rescinded the layoffs of 950 Indian Health Service employees, according to ICT News<\/a>. <\/p> \r\n

<\/p>\r\nNote: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press<\/a>. It is published under a Creative Commons license<\/a>.<\/strong>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new lawsuit claims citizens of the Blackfeet Nation are “losing economic opportunities and business” due to tariffs imposed on Canada.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,15,20,13,1,14,23],"tags":[250,45,336,75,71,6309,116,249,194,220,5339,154],"class_list":["post-133465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-canada","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","category-world","tag-blackfeet","tag-borders","tag-dhs","tag-donald-trump","tag-economic-development","tag-jonathan-st-goddard","tag-kristi-noem","tag-montana","tag-montana-free-press","tag-sovereignty","tag-susan-webber","tag-treaties","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-yIF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/08\/susanwebber.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133465"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156120,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133465\/revisions\/156120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}