{"id":25273,"date":"2022-06-15T16:31:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T20:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=25273"},"modified":"2022-06-15T16:31:35","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T20:31:35","slug":"supreme-court-strikes-back-at-state-in-long-running-tribal-sovereignty-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/06\/15\/supreme-court-strikes-back-at-state-in-long-running-tribal-sovereignty-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court strikes back at state in long-running tribal sovereignty dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Speaking<\/a>
The Speaking Rock Entertainment Center is owned and operated by the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe, in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Speaking Rock Entertainment Center<\/figcaption>\r\n
Supreme Court strikes back at state in long-running tribal sovereignty dispute<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, June 15, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. —\r\nThe days of state governments claiming special authority over Indian Country appear to be numbered, with the nation’s highest court issuing another favorable ruling for tribal interests as an otherwise controversial term winds down.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBy a vote of 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> on Wednesday sided with two Indian nations in a long-running battle over their economic sovereignty. The decision confirms that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe<\/a> and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo<\/a>, also known as the Tigua Tribe, can continue to offer Class II games — such as bingo and electronic forms of bingo — free of interference from the state of Texas.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe court\u2019s decision is an affirmation of tribal sovereignty and a victory for the Texas economy,\u201d Alabama-Coushatta Chairman Ricky Sylestine said in response to the landmark ruling<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe highest court in the land has made clear that our tribe has the right to legally operate electronic bingo on our reservation, just as we have the past six years,” Sylestine said of Naskila Gaming<\/a>, which has put more than 350 people to work about 90 miles outside of Houston in the eastern part of Texas.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Our guests and employees now have certainty that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas will be able to offer electronic bingo on our reservation for many years to come,” Sylestine added in a longer statement<\/a>.\r\n

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The US Supreme Court issued a big win for the East Texas economy today by ruling that Naskila Gaming CAN offer electronic bingo! Read more: https:\/\/t.co\/Muk4zYKTl6 https:\/\/t.co\/RrB1UJKxHH<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nThe Tigua Tribe, for whom the case Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas<\/em><\/a> takes its name, has been battling the state even longer — since Republican George W. Bush was governor before becoming president over two decades ago. Speaking Rock Entertainment Center<\/a> in El Paso was repeatedly forced to cease operations based on an argument that has now been soundly rejected by the Supreme Court.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s historic opinion marks a long-overdue victory for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar<\/a> (D-Texas), whose district includes the Tiguas.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n “I congratulate all those who worked on behalf of the Tiguas to help reverse targeted discrimination they\u2019ve had to endure, grant this community its right to sovereignty and to usher in the economic independence that will come with this ruling,\u201d said Escobar, who has championed legislation to clarify the matter<\/a> once and for all.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAccording to Escobar, the Supreme Court’s victory reaffirms the need for Congress to codify the rights of the two tribes permanently. With Democrats still in control of the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government, she said she would continue to advocate for H.R.2208<\/a>, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe bill easily passed the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a> last May, only for progress to be stalled in the U.S. Senate<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“While the Tiguas rightfully celebrate this win\u00a0today, I remain committed to ensuring\u00a0their legal right is codified forever into law,” Escobar said. “I ask my colleagues in the Senate to bring my bill, H.R.2208, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Act, to the Senate floor for a vote and send it to President Biden\u2019s desk.\u201d\u00a0\r\n

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As Democrats and Republicans feuded over Indian Country bills, the Supreme Court made big decision about tribal sovereignty in #Texas. By vote of 5-4, nation’s highest court confirms that Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe can offer Class II games on their lands. https:\/\/t.co\/waSGib4HJu<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nBut for now, the Supreme Court’s ruling represents a long-overdue rebuke to the exercise of state sovereignty over Indian Country. In the majority decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch<\/a> said there was “no evidence” that Texas somehow has special authority to prevent the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and the Tigua Tribe from offering Class II games on their homelands.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Native American tribes possess ‘inherent sovereign authority over their members and territories,'” Gorsuch wrote in the first sentence of the 20-page opinion, before explaining that Congress — in exercise of its trust and treaty responsibilities — has taken action in certain instances to authorize state jurisdiction in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“In this case, Texas contends that Congress expressly ordained that all of its gaming laws should be treated as surrogate federal law enforceable on the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Reservation,” Gorsuch, a nominee of Republican former president Donald Trump, continued.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“In the end, however, we find no evidence Congress endowed state law with anything like the power Texas claims,” Gorsuch concluded.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nJoining Gorsuch in the majority were the three liberal leaning members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Stephen G. Breyer<\/a>, who is retiring at the end of the current term in just a matter of weeks. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan brought the vote in support of tribal sovereignty to four.\r\n

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