I applaud your interest in attempting to examine an area that
appears to be very much in a state of flux across the country. I suggest
that you begin by choosing a single tribe or nation within the Montana
area. Then examine their tribal/nation government charter - this should
be your reference point. This charter should spell out how they have
chosen to interact as sovereign with other governments (ie. U.S. Federal,
State of Montana, county or municipalities). I believe that this is the
context in which you can begin to identify jurisdictional problems/issues
which crop up with respect to whatever topic area you ultimately choose.
Environmental issues are a good one because natural resources and
pollutants don't read maps and don't adhere to jurisdictional
boundaries. Dealing with environmental issues often calls for
collaboration across jurisdictions and therefore IMHO are among the most
interesting and difficult to address. Hope this is of some help, Scott
On Wed, 31 May 1995 native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us wrote:
> Original Sender: gaj6999@msu.oscs.montana.edu
> Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us)
>
> I've become very interested in learning about jurisdictional issues
with regard to
> environmental concerns in tribal lands, especially in Montana. This is too
broad
> a topic for me to handle, I think, and I'm wondering what someone might
suggest
> on how I can start to understand this broad area, including suggestions for a
> better way to ask the question. Thanks.
>