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Show November 23, 1993 - Page 13 Basin Life iUilrtdh Basin Standard BYU law professor analyzes Indian jurisdictional issue ? al a-ti- non-India- non-India- non-India- ns non-Indi-an FACTS In 1989, Robert P. Hagen, a Chippewa Indian, was charged in Utah state court with distributing marijuana from his home in the small town of Myton, Utah. Everyone agrees that Myton, as well as other predominantly towns such as Roosevelt Duchesne, are within the original boundariea of the Uintah-Oura- y Indian Reservation, the relevant potion of which was created by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The dispute in this case is over the effect on those boundaries of various federal statutes, enacted from 1902 through 1905, opening the reservation to settlement by mixed-bloo- d non-Indi- an non-Indian- s. . After pleading guilty to distributing marijuana, but before sentencing, Hagen challenged Utahs jurisdiction over him. He contended that, because he is an Indian and the crime was committed in Indian country as defined by federal law, Utah could not prosecute him. This argument was unavailing in country and, therefore, not within Utah's criminal jurisdiction. The State of Utah took the case to the Utah Supreme Court which reversed the state appellate court State v. Hagen, 191 Utah Adv. Rep. 26 (1992). In deriding Hagens case, the state supreme court relied mi another case. State v. Perank, 191 Utah Adv. Rep. 5 (Utah 1992), decided the same day. Perank, like Hagen, involved a crime committed by an Indian in Myton, Utah. In Perank, the Utah Supreme Court concluded that various congressional Acts diminished the boundaries ofthe Uintah-Oura- y Reservation. In support of this result, the court tuled that the key congressional Act was a 1902 act which provided that reservation lands not allotted to individual members of the tribe would be "restored to the public domain. The court concluded that this language sufficiently evidenced Congress intent to alter the boundaries of the reservation and that this intent had not been affected by amendments to the 1902 Act enacted in 1903, 1904, and 1905. Because the relevant portions of the reservation, including Myton, Utah, had been disestablished, Le., removed from the reservation, the court ruled that Utah had jurisdiction over crimes committed in : Pennzoil Products refinery in Roosevelt .has agreed to pay more than $300,000 in penalties for dumping too much ammonia into Roosevelt Citys sewer system. The incident stems from a 1991 August citation for violating its state permit for ammonia discharge. According to the permit, Pennzoil is allowed to dump 100 parts of ammonia per million ports of water. The citation claims it has been dumping two to three times winner-taks-a- non-India- that rate. werent meeting the requirements then but are now "We taking steps to meet the regulations," said Corey Christensen, manager cf environmental and safety at Pennzoil Products. Christensen said Pennzoil is in the process of installing an treatment facility which will add one more step to their water treatment process, bringing them up to specs with requirements. "We already treat the water before we on-si- ts ns non-Indian- In reaching its decision in Perank, the Utah Supreme Court, unlike the Utah Court of Appeals, water-qualit- y At issue in this case is which governing entity the state or the tribe - has the primary authority to govern Myton, Utah, and other owned large portions of Uintah-Ouray land within the Reservation. The derision will not affect ownership ofthe property, only governmental jurisdiction. Even the jurisdictional issue is ll not a proposition, however, as derisions over the last 15 yean have limited tribal jurisdiction over the activities on residents of a reservation. See Ohphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 UJEL 191 (1978) (tribes have no criminal jurisdiction over Montana v. United States, 450 UfL 544 (1981) (tribes have no authority to regulate hunting and fishing on lands owned by on the reservation); Bmdale v. Gonfedemt-- ' ed Tribes ofthe Yakima Nation, 492 UJS. 408 (1989) (plurality opinion) (tribal authority to zone land on the reservation is limited in some circumstances). Reservation status is still important, however, for determining the authority to tax and to regulate matters such as gaming. In addition, as this case illustrates, reservation status is often determinative when criminal jurisdiction is at issue. This case is the latest in a sari of derisions over the last 30 years in which the Supreme Court has addressed the issue. All of these cases involved congressional legislation, enacted around the turn of the century, opening up various reservations to settlement by The legislation was enacted as part of the federal governments "allotment" policy, under which communal tribal lands were allotted to individual members of the tribe, with the surplus lands made available to settlement by The eventual goal of the allotment policy was to eliminate all reservations and completely assimilate tribal members into American society. However, for a variety of reasons, among them a dramatic change in federal Indian Policy in the 1930s, the goal was not aridwed. The result has been uncertainty in a number of reservations over the jurisdictional status of the lands which eventually came into ownership. The five Supreme Court cases addressing the issue ofjurisdiction Continued on page 24 non-Indi- an Myton. discharge it into Roosevelts system. We use a biological process to eat up the ammonia." - According to a Deseret News article written by Brent Israelsen, a settlement was reached last week "with the state Division of Water Quality and the attorney generals office," where "Pennzoil has agreed to construct a wastewater treatment facility by May 1994 to bring the refinery into compliance with state regulations." Pennzoil will pay $300,000 in civil penalties. Of that, $223,000 will be paid to the state in cash and $30,000 may be used to fund an environmental project somewhere else in the state. .The remaining $50,000 of the total penalty is suspended contingent upon Pennzails constructing the treatment facility on time. Roosevelt City, in February 1992, "came to the refinerys rescue petitioning the state unsuccessfully to amend the refinery's permit so that it could discharge the high levels of ammonia," said the Deseret News. AND SIGNIFI- BACKGROUND CANCE non-Indi- an non-India- ns Pennzoil pays penalties for excessive ammonia By Mike Rota t i criticized and refused to follow the j Tenth Circuits en banc derision in Ute Indian Tribe v. Utah in which ; the court had ruled that Myton and J n other areas opened to settlement remained part of the ! reservation. The Tenth Circuit had concluded that the 1905congressh- - i nal Act was the controlling Act, and that the language restoring the j unalloted lands to the public domain was not sufficient evidence of congressional intent to diminish the reservation. 773 F.2d 1087 j (10th Cir. 1985), cert, denied, 479 UB. 994 (1986). As a result of i, these two conflicting derisions, the : jurisdictional status of Myton and similar areas is unclear. The,' Supreme Court granted Hagens petition for certiorari to resolve this uncertainty. Lott part of a three part atria the trial court. Hagen then appealed to the ditcutting in detail the juritdic-tionUtah Court of Appeals which Issue between the Indiana of reversed his conviction, relying an the Uintah Ouray Indian Ream derision by the Tenth Circuit a and the of the which held that Myton was Indian Uintah Batin. ISSUE Did the various congressional Acta under which were to within lands permitted acquire the Uintah Ouray Reservation alter the boundaries of that laser vation so as to exclude thoee lands from tribal Jurisdiction and grant the state jurisdiction to prosecute crimes occurring on the land? jJ non-Indi- . an December 1 is the deadline for all PTA Reflections entries. Turn in your entry to your teacher or to the office at the school. Entry forms and rules are also available in the school office. PTA Reflections winners will be displayed at the citycounty library the week of For more information call Tami Rose at December 722-265- 10-1- 7. 0. Nine Mile Coalition reservation-diminiah-me- nt non-Indian- A Nine Mile Canyon Coalition will be holding a general meeting Tuesday, November 30, 1993 at the Duchesne County Courthouse beginning at 7:00 p.m. Anyone interested in strengthening the Nine Mile Coalition is invited to attend. Adult Business Lab The Adult Business Lab of the UBATC will hold registration for 9:00 a 0 p.m. Come in, or see January courses December will samehours be observed at the The information. our flier for more Vernal Center. Call 7, 722-452- jn.-3:0- 3. Lights On Ceremony Zions Bank will conduct its Lights On ceremony Wednesday, TVmnbr 1, 6:00 p.m. at the Roosevelt Office located at 156 N 200 E in Roosevelt Santa will appear for the kids, Christmas carols will be sung and refreshments will be served. Veterans Assistance A field officer from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department Service Office in Salt Lake City, will be in at the RooseveltJob Service from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on December 1. Christmas Bazaar StewartVCedar (frost Care Center will be holding a Christmas Bazaar and Quilt Giveaway Saturday, December 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 pan. A $1 donation for a ticket will be required on the quilt 7 for more information. Call 722-249- Second annual training course EMTs assemble for wilderness response training in Roosevelt By MiheRoaa to have the course annually," said Dr. Pehrson. Both Dr. Perheon and For the second year in a row, Taylor attended an instructor's EMTs in search of becoming more course in Maine before the training skilled in the wilderness this foil and will help train as part of their instructors training. in capacity gathered Roosevelt for special training. Already since last Novembers Lead instructor Carl Gilmore, course, local EMTs have put their Taos, New Mexico, representing training to valuable use. An incident Wilderness Medical Associates, once in Indian Canyon last winter called again directed activities while first for wilderness EMTs to hoist a man year instructors Dr. Steve Pehrson to safety after he had injured himself and Duchesne County Hospital by foiling off a ledge many feet Emergency Room director Bruce below. Then this foil, a hunter received Taylor offered instruction and UBATC Director of EMT Training injuries to his leg leaving him Dribble Arnold once again helped , immobile. ER director Bruce Taylor and others stabilized the man during organize the event. "We received sudi a good response a vicious mountain storm. After the from last year's course that we hope weather cleared off the man was air- response-treatme- nt meetings to council By Cheryl Mecham non-Indian- s. Roosevelt City Council members derided to "hang on to the water" and "reject all bids received by interested parties. Bids to purchase 70 shares of class C, Dry Gulch Irrigation water from Rooaevelt City were submitted by participants, but were rejected because the bids wen below the $1,000 a share price which Rooee-ve- lt City had originally paid for the shares. Councilman motion that Mecham made a a $1.00 per share administration fee would be charged to individuals who lease shares of water through Roosevelt City. "Its a $70,000 asset that can help pay for the administration fee," Darrel Mecham informed the council members. The motion was Fire threatens K&K Engines destruction An early morning fire two miles east of Roosevelt that shot flames high into the air left no one injured but caused thousands of dollars of damage to a local business. Ten Roosevelt firemen, equipped with three engines, responded to a 6:50 a.m. alium to KAK Small Engine Repair A Auto Service, East Highway 40 Roosevelt, owned by Kevin Smith. "When wo arrived at the scene, the south end of the structure was heavily involved in flames," said Fire Chief Robert Yack. "The fire had vented itaelf through the roof. Firemen Mocked Highway 40 traffic to access a hydrant on the north side of the highway while they forced entry into the structure and used two handlines in an attempt to control the blaze. equipment and contents, said Yack. Cause of the fire is presently unknown but is being investigated by Uintah County detectives and the Utah State Fire Marshalls Office. lifted to a hospital. "Without the care received by that man from wilderness EMTi, his survival was very questionable," said Dr. Pehrson. Twenty-eigh- t trainees from Oregon, Iowa, Orem, Tooele and the Uintah Basin participated in emergency rimulations rotating roles as victims and rescuers. They developed critical thinkingtiming kills, performed triage, and determined what could be done to maintain a patient indefinitely, if necessary. on-si- te Dr. Pehreon said the Uintah Basin Wilderness Rescue and medical Response Team has 10 registered members having completed training such as the Wilderness EMT class, high angle rescue, incident command, search and rescue and a communication course. "We cannot thank enough Debbie Arnold and the EMT Training department at the UBATC," said Mr. Gilmore and Dr. Pehrson. "Debbie and her staff does an excellent job there. When asked about the Uintah passed. s. By Mike Roea t ht - Mayor reports on non-Indi- an Reflections Deadline WIDERNESS RESPONSE-EM- T trainees weather the cold wind of last Thursday to become students from around the western wilderness in proficient response techniques. Twenty-eigDebbie Arnold of the UBATC United States took advantage of the course organized by Mayor Leonard Ferguson reported on the Rural Development Council meetings which he had recently attended. He advised commission members to follow the advice of West Roberts of Washington D.C. who sprite at the meetings. "Look to yourselves to solve your Roberts counselled. problems," Mayor Ferguson explained that Roberts was speaking about federal grant money. "Federal money means federal control," he said. The Mayor also encouraged council members to remember the down town areas, to enhance them, recruit businesses, and help to keep already established businesses He reported to council members that while in meetings he learned that migration for medical care has become a concern for state officials, especially in the rural areas. He reported that the opposite is true for Duchesne County as 77 percent of Duchesne County residents are staying in the county for medical care. XJoMemcr Leavitt is working hard to get health care," Ferguson added. He informed the council that Governor Leavitt had spoken at the meetings and had discussed his health care polity, which Leavitt is working hard to get in place in hopes that the federal government will allow the states to handle health care Basins lead in medical areas, Mr. Chlmoro answered: "Ftar a community to realize they have a medical need to fill and then take the steps to fill it, its quite extraordinary." While much of the training was simulated, the potential for such emergencies is real in Utah and the Uintah Basin, where more people are steadily entering wilderness recreation such areas, and high-ris- k as back-packin- g, hang-glidin- heli-skii- and other activities. - out-of-sta- Kathy Mathews, winner of the Uintah Basin Standard Crazy Cartoon Contest, "Halloween" category. "We had to use breathing appa- ratus because ofthe dense smoke and the fire took us about 40 minutes to control. It spread from the storage room in the south of the building and into the attic," said Chief Yack. Approximately $10,000 structural damage was inflicted while then close to $2,000 damage to Mathews winning cartoon in the Halloween category, HALLOWEEN CARTOON-Kat- hy in same age group. winners for 14 other grade. Sec page 9th-12- th |