October 13, 2003

Opinion: State's lawyers need to learn 'Indian law'

Another 500 citizens recently transitioned through the Washington legal community’s rite of passage: the state bar examination. However, there is an age-old, ever-evolving and increasingly prevalent body of law that Washington’s new lawyers were not required to learn.

The unique blend of tribal, state and federal law is commonly known as "Indian law."

Over the past decade, Washington tribes have exercised their inherent sovereignty to become an influential economic, legal and political force. Consider these facts:

• In 2002, Washington’s 21 gaming tribes generated $648 million in revenue, contributing $2.9 million to local government.

• Washington tribes currently employ nearly 15,000 Indian and non-Indian employees. By comparison, Microsoft employs 20,000 Washingtonians.

• Washington tribes occupy 3.2 million acres of land in the state.

A corollary to the dramatic rise in tribal economic development, is the increase in non-Indians who seek business, employment or recreation on the reservation. In turn, a wide array of legal matters arise, thereby interjecting Indian law into virtually every area of Washington law.

Indian law principles underlie every business transaction involving Indians and their land. With the likes of Wal-Mart, AT&T and Bank of America now developing on Washington reservations, and the resulting billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs, Seattle’s corporate lawyer must understand essential Indian law.

What’s more, Indian law issues extend into everyday domestic life. Litigation involving the adoption of an Indian child, the probate of real property on tribal lands or an auto accident on the reservation potentially involve complex jurisdictional issues.

A slip-and-fall case arising in a tribal casino will implicate, as a threshold issue, the unique defense of tribal sovereign immunity. The applicability of state taxes on the sale of goods or services to non-Indians on the reservation, requires a analysis of both taxation law and federal Indian common law. Even the development of non-Indian owned land near reservations or waterways may implicate tribal treaty-based rights.

The general practitioner or public lawyer in Washington will without question encounter an Indian law case. It is in the best interest of everyone in Washington, be they Indian or non-Indian, that every lawyer in Washington understand basic Indian law.

What better forum to educate lawyers and ensure the protection of Washington citizens’ legal rights than through the state bar exam.

Gabriel S. Galanda is an attorney in Seattle with Williams, Kastner & Gibbs. He is chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section and two-term president of the Northwest Indian Bar Association.

The Daily Journal of Commerce welcomes your comments.

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