B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 , 2019
obituaries
BY HARRISON SMITHArthur Lazarus Jr., a Washing-
ton lawyer who represented Na-
tive American tribes for more
than four decades, notably secur-
ing a landmark $106 million
award for the Sioux Nation as
part of its long fight for the Black
Hills of South Dakota, died July
27 at a hospital in Washington.
He was 92.
He had kidney and heart ail-
ments, said his son Edward La-
zarus, a lawyer and author who
chronicled the Sioux case in a
critically acclaimed book, “Black
Hills White Justice” (1991).
The practice of Indian law
scarcely existed when Mr. La-
zarus began his career in 1950.
But with tutelage from Felix S.
Cohen, an architect of the field,
Mr. Lazarus became one of its
preeminent practitioners,
known for working with tribes
including the Blackfeet in Mon-
tana, the Miccosukee in Florida,
the Nez Percé in Idaho, the
Oglala Sioux in South Dakota,
the San Carlos Apache in Arizona
and the Seneca in New York.
“He was one of those people
who was a friend to the tribes
when they really needed friends,”
said Kevin Gover, director of the
Smithsonian’s National Museum
of the American Indian. A mem-
ber of the Pawnee tribe, he
recalled that Mr. Lazarus hired
him in 1983 at the Washington
office of Fried Frank, at a time
when “there weren’t that many
Indian lawyers in existence and
were none at the big firms in
Washington.”
“He was a force,” Gover added,
“and sent a lot of us out to have
impactful careers.”
With a laconic, restrained de-
meanor in and out of the court-
room, Mr. Lazarus traveled to
tribal council meetings across
the country, offering legal advice
on budgets, land claims and
dealings with the federal govern-
ment. In Washington, he lobbied
on behalf of Native American
legislation and helped draft the
1971 Alaska Native Claims Settle-
ment Act, which awarded
$962 million and 44 million
acres — roughly 10 percent of the
state — to Alaska Natives.
“There was nobody better at
Indian law than Arthur,” said
Reid Peyton Chambers, a found-
ing partner at the Washington-
based firm of Sonosky, Cham-
bers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry,
where Mr. Lazarus was designat-
ed “of counsel” in the mid-1990s.
Mr. Lazarus spent much of his
career working on the historic
Sioux Nation case, considered
one of the longest legal battles in
American history — a kind of
tribal version of the “Jarndyce
and Jarndyce” legal dispute in
Charles Dickens’s novel “Bleak
House,” which spanned genera-
tions and baffled plaintiff and
defendant alike.
Passed from judge to judge
and eventually lawyer to lawyer
for nearly 60 years, the Sioux
Nation case resulted in a 1980
Supreme Court ruling that up-
held the largest Indian land
compensation award in U.S. his-
tory, set a standard for later
claims and divided the approxi-
mately 100,000 Sioux. Younger
leaders insisted that the land was
never up for sale, calling the
process a sham, and the Sioux
Nation went on to reject the
money, which continues to ac-
crue interest in Treasury Depart-
ment accounts.
Known in the Lakota language
as Paha Sapa, the Black Hills
encompass roughly 7 million
acres of western South Dakota
and northeastern Wyoming, a
mountainous region that was
long covered with dark pine trees
and pocketed with gold. An 1868
treaty set it aside “for the abso-
lute and undisturbed use and
occupancy of the Sioux,” who
consider it sacred.
But over the next nine years,
George Armstrong Custer led an
expedition into the hills, a gold
rush began, and Congress re-
neged on the treaty, reclaiming a
swath of land that is now known
largely as a tourist attraction
home to Mount Rushmore.
“A more ripe and rank case of
dishonorable dealings will never,
in all probability, be found in our
history,” the U.S. Court of Claims
later concluded. By 1980, the
Homestake gold mine in the
Black Hills had “yielded more
than $1 billion to non-Indians,”
according to a Washington Post
report.
In 1923, after Congress passed
a law enabling tribes to file
compensation claims, Washing-
ton lawyer Ralph Case began a
legal campaign on behalf of the
Sioux. But the case was bogged
down by delays and, after 20
years, thrown out for technical
reasons. The Indian Claims Com-
mission, established in 1946, cre-
ated a new avenue for obtaining
compensation.
Sioux leaders enlisted Mr. La-
zarus and two other Indian-law
specialists, Marvin J. Sonosky
and William Howard Payne, to
replace Case in 1956. More delays
followed and, according to
“Black Hills White Justice,” Mr.Lazarus was twice forced to turn
to Congress, which passed and
amended legislation removing
some of the legal roadblocks.
Finally, in 1979, the Court of
Claims awarded the Sioux
$17.5 million, plus 5 percent
interest, for the illegal seizure of
the Black Hills. When the gov-
ernment appealed, objecting to
the interest payment, Mr. La-
zarus argued the case before the
Supreme Court, which upheld
the payment in an 8-1 ruling.
(Justice William H. Rehnquist
was the sole dissenter.)
In a phone interview, Gover
described the case as “unprec-
edented” for its inclusion of
interest. The decision also
marked a professional and finan-
cial triumph for Mr. Lazarus,
who had worked for the Sioux
Nation effectively without pay —
on a contingent-fee basis — for
24 years, taking a lead role in its
last years.
He and his two colleagues
were awarded a $10.6 million
legal fee by the Court of Claims,
which the New York Times re-
ported was “one of the largest
fees, if not the largest, ever
awarded by a court in any kind of
case.”
Although the 10 percent fee
was based on the total amount
awarded to the Sioux, a common
practice in Indian claims cases, it
further inflamed activists who
sought the return of the Black
Hills and challenged the lawyers’
authority to represent them.
(The issue of land ownership was
outside of the scope of the Indian
Claims Commission, through
which they brought their case,
Mr. Lazarus said.)
Russell Means, a leader of the
1973 demonstration at Wounded
Knee and member of the Oglala
Sioux, likened the lawyers to
“parasites” in an interview with
the Times; his brother Bill Means
declared “they carried out thewishes of the U.S. Government to
exploit the Indian people.”
That view was not shared by
all Sioux, particularly among
older generations. “I remember
when I was a little boy this was
all the old-timers talked about,
the Black Hills case,” Norman
Hollow, a 61-year-old tribal lead-
er in Poplar, Mont., told the
Times in 1981. “But it never came
to be a reality until these attor-
neys came on board and revived
the case.”
The youngest of three chil-
dren, Arthur Lazarus Jr. was
born in Brooklyn on Aug. 30,- His father was an indus-
trial engineer and business con-
sultant, and his mother was a
pacifist and adviser to conscien-
tious objectors.
At Columbia University, Mr.
Lazarus was a roommate of poet
Allen Ginsberg and editor in
chief of the student newspaper.
He received a bachelor’s degree
in 1946 and graduated from Yale
Law School in 1949.
The next year, he joined what
is now the Washington office of
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver &
Jacobson, where he worked
closely with Cohen and devel-
oped an interest in Indian law.
After Cohen’s death, in 1953, Mr.
Lazarus and colleague Richard
Schifter — later assistant secre-
tary of state for human rights —
inherited the firm’s Indian law
office.
Mr. Lazarus appeared before
the Supreme Court for the first
time in 1959, in an effort to block
Robert Moses and the New York
Power Authority from seizing
one-fifth of the Tuscarora Indian
Nation’s land for a power project.
He lost in a 6-to-3 decision, with
Justice Hugo L. Black lamenting
in his dissent that the govern-
ment had broken faith with the
tribe.
“Great nations, like great men,
should keep their word,” he said.
Mr. Lazarus, who also taught
at Yale Law School, retired from
Fried Frank in 1991 and then
joined Sonosky, recruited by his
partner in the Sioux Nation case.
He retired from day-to-day work
in 2011.
His wife of 57 years, the former
Gertrude “Gigi” Chiger, died in - In addition to their son
Edward Lazarus, of Santa Bar-
bara, Calif., survivors include
two other children, Andrew La-
zarus of Berkeley, Calif., and
Diana Lazarus of Bethesda, Md.;
a sister; and seven grandchil-
dren.
In the years after Mr. Lazarus’s
winning Supreme Court appear-
ance, members of the Sioux Na-
tion continued to insist they
preferred their sacred land far
more than compensation. Ac-
cepting money, they said, effec-
tively meant signing away their
claim to the Black Hills.
Tribal leaders still seek the
restoration of their land through
the White House and Congress,
where Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.)
unsuccessfully introduced legis-
lation in the mid-1980s to restore
land to the Sioux.
Meanwhile, the money from
the Indian Claims Commission
continues to grow. By 2011, the
fund was worth more than
$1 billion.
[email protected]
ARTHUR LAZARUS JR., 92
D.C. lawyer and ‘a friend to the tribes’
won landmark Supreme Court case
SONOSKY, CHAMBERS, SACHSE, ENDRESON & PERRY
Arthur Lazarus Jr. secured a $106 million award over the seizure
of the Black Hills. He represented the Sioux Nation without pay for
years. It’s considered one of the longest legal battles in U.S. history.BY STEVEN WINENick Buoniconti, an under-
sized overachiever who became a
Hall of Fame middle linebacker,
helped lead the Miami Dolphins
to the NFL’s only perfect season
and became a leader in the effort
to cure paralysis, died July 30 in
Bridgehampton, N.Y. He was 78.
A family spokesman, Bruce
Bobbins, confirmed the death. In
recent years, Mr. Buoniconti
struggled with symptoms of
chronic traumatic encephalopa-
thy, or CTE, a degenerative brain
disease associated with repeated
blows to the head. He had recent-
ly battled pneumonia, Dolphins
Senior Vice President Nat Moore
said.
The 5-foor-11, 220-pound Mr.
Buoniconti was bypassed in the
NFL draft but went on to have a
15-year career. He was captain of
the Dolphins’ back-to-back Super
Bowl champions, including the
1972 team that finished 17-0.
Following retirement, Mr.
Buoniconti and his son, Marc,
worked to raise more than a half-
billion dollars for paralysis re-
search. Marc Buoniconti was par-
alyzed from the shoulders down
making a tackle for The Citadel in
1985.
“He could have been sitting on
the beach sipping champagne for
the rest of his life,” Marc Buoni-
conti said in 2017. “But what did
he do? He went around and gave
the rest of his life to help his son.”
After his football career, Mr.
Buoniconti worked as a lawyer
and broadcaster and was presi-
dent of the U.S. Tobacco Compa-
ny. He was also an agent to profes-
sional athletes, including base-
ball players Bucky Dent and An-
dre Dawson. For 23 seasons, he
was co-host of the weekly sports
show “Inside the NFL” on the
HBO cable network.
Mr. Buoniconti was chosen for
the all-time AFL team in 1970, and
for the NFL Pro Bowl in 1972 and
1973.
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti
Jr. was born Dec. 15, 1940, in
Springfield, Mass. His family ran
a bakery.
Mr. Buoniconti played guardon offense and linebacker on de-
fense for the University of Notre
Dame, from which he graduated
in 1962. Chosen in the 13th round
by the Boston Patriots of the up-
start American Football League,
he played for the Patriots from
1962 to 1968. He made the AFLAll-Star Game six times and had
24 interceptions for the Patriots,
including three in a single game
in 1968.
Mr. Buoniconti played for the
Dolphins from 1969 to 1974 and
again in 1976. He was the leader of
Miami’s famed “No-Name De-
fense” and in 1973 set a team
record with 162 tackles.
“He was the consummate team
captain, the heartbeat of our
team,” Hall of Fame fullback Larry
Csonka said.
Mr. Buoniconti was inducted
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2001.
After taking night classes at
Suffolk University in Boston, he
received a law degree in 1968.
In 1985, he and Marc Buonicon-
ti helped to found the Miami Proj-
ect to Cure Paralysis, which has
become the world’s largest spinal
cord injury research center.
“Marc, the Miami Project Team
and I are committed to carry
Nick’s banner and legacy forward
to the goal line,” project chairman
Barth Green said.
— Associated PressNICK BUONICONTI, 78
Football Hall of Famer led crusade for paralysis cure
GEORGE BRICH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Linebacker Nick Buoniconti
was captain of the Miami
Dolphins’ back-to-back Super
Bowl champions in the 1970s.DEATH NOTICE
The Rt. Rev. Dr. JEFFERY W.ANDERSON
Bishop for the Armed Forces, Episcopal Mis-
sionary Church, died May 29, 2019.A Memorial
Service will be held at All Saints Anglican
Church, 14851 Gideon Dr. Woodbridge, VA
22192 on August 3, at 11 a.m.ANDERSON
MORTON BAHR
On Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
MORTON BAHR of Washington,
D.C. Beloved husband of Flo-
rence Bahr, loving father of
Daniel (Marilyn) and Janice (T.J.)
Bahr, dear brother of the late
Melvin Bahr and Helen Weiner; cherished
grandfather of Heather (Jeff) Sweet, Shelley
(Matthew) Sprung, Nicole (Perry) Bashkoff,
Alison (Kevin) Eitzmann, great grandfather
of Sydney and Cassidy Sweet, Jacob and
Brandon Sprung,Mason and Kyan Bashkoff,
Benjamin and Isabella Eitzmann and
beloved union leader to thousands. Ser-
vices will be held on Friday, August 2, 2019,
2 P.M. at the Sanctuary of Abraham and
Sarah, Cedar Park Cemetery, Paramus, NJ.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
Morton Bahr Online Learning Scholarship
at Empire State College. Arrangements
entrusted to TORCHINSKY HEBREW FUNER-
AL HOME, 202-541-1001.BAHR
DONALD BROOKS
Departed this life on July 19, 2019. He is
survived by his wife Cynthia Brooks; four sons,
Brian, Cameron, Louis and Jordan; two daugh-
ters Patrice and LaTina; four brothers, Charles,
Jr., Carlton, Sr. (Tammy), Kevin and Aaron; five
sisters, Regina, Gwendolyn, Belinda, Amanda
and Angela; two uncles; three aunts and a host
of nephews; nieces; cousins; other relatives
and friends. Family will receive friends on
Saturday, August 3, 2019 from 9 a.m. until time
of service 11 a.m. at People’s Congregational
United Church of Christ, 4704 13th Street, NW.
Interment Arlington National Cemetery at a
later date.
http://www.StewartFuneralHome.comBROOKS
STEVEN MARK BROWNE
May 30, 1944 - July 28, 2019
Steven Browne of Brookeville,
MD, and Bluefields, Jamaica,
on July 28, 2019. Loving hus-
band of Linda Browne; cher-
ished father of Elise (and
Craig) Hughes and Hali (and
Eric) London; and devoted
grandfather of Noah and Ethan Hughes
and Ellis, Madison and Natalie London.
Memorial service will be held at Kol Shalom,
9110 Darnestown Rd, Rockville, MD, Friday
August 2, at 11 a.m. Shiva will be observed
at the homes of his daughters in Bethesda.BROWNE
When the
need arises,
let families
findyouinthe
Funeral Services
Directory.
To be seen in the
Funeral Services
Directory, please call
paid Death Notices at
202-334-4122.PAULINE CARICO ( Age 95)
Passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2019 in
Springfield, VA. Beloved wife of the late Ralph
Carico; mother of Marie Snyder; sister of the
late Christine Basco and Rex Miller; grand-
mother of Chris (Toni) and Scott (Kelly) Snyder;
great-grandmother of Varick, Reanna and Kenzi
Snyder; aunt of Geraldine Warner. Pauline was
a member of numerous organizations including
The Eastern Star, Amaranth, Association of
Federal Government Employees, NARFE, Inter-
national Organization of Women’s Pilots “99’s”
and Silver Wings. Relatives and friends may
visit at Virginia Hills Baptist Church, 6507
Telegraph Rd.,Alexandria,VA 22310 on Sunday,
August 4, 2019 from 6 p.m. until service at 7
p.m. Interment Arlington National Cemetery
at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions may be made to The Red Cross.
Please view and sign the family guestbook at
http://www.jeffersonfuneralchapel.comCARICO
ROBERT E. DALTON (Age 87)
Of Washington, DC, formerly of Massachu-
setts, passed away on July 9, 2019. Bob
earned his law degree from Columbia Law
School in 1956.
After serving in the US Air Force (Captain),
Bob began his long career (1961-2019) at
the US Department of State. He was a
member of the US delegation to the Vienna
Conference on the Law of Treaties (1968,
1969), and served as the Assistant Legal
Adviser for Treaty Affairs (1983-1987; 1990-
2008) and as Counselor on International
Law (1987-1990). At the time of his death,
he was Senior Adviser on Treaty Practice.
Bob was an Adjunct Professor of Law at
Georgetown University Law Center, and
also a member of the American Law Insti-
tute, the American Society of International
Law, and the Cosmos Club.
Bob was predeceased by his brother Peter
of Walpole, MA, and is survived by his
brother Michael and sister-in-law Lynda of
South Dennis, MA; his sister-in-law Frances
of Walpole, MA; and his nieces and
nephews and their families. Bob’s family,
friends and colleagues will never forget
his unique ability to enlighten, inspire and
encourage.
A memorial will be held at Joseph Gawler’s
Sons Funeral Home on Friday, August 9
from 4 to 8 p.m. from 7 p.m. there will be
an opportunity to share stories about Bob’s
life.
Contributions in Bob’s memory may be
made to the American Society of Interna-
tional Law, P.O. Box 79516. Baltimore, MD
21279-0516.DALTON
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DEATH NOTICE
EDUARDO VICENTE FEITO
Passed away, surrounded by loving family,
on July 15, 2019 after a long battle with
cancer. He is survived by his children,
Kevin, Brian, Brent and Jessica; grandchil-
dren Josefina and Daniel, as well as his
brothers, Raymundo and Vicente, and sev-
eral nieces and nephews. Born in Havana,
Cuba on October 13,1949, Ed moved to the
United States during “Operation Peter Pan”
with his two younger brothers, in 1962.
His parents followed several months later,
and they made a new life in this country.
Ed graduated from the University of Miami
with a degree in accounting and became
a CPA as well as a Partner at Coopers &
Lybrand after which he transitioned into
private accounting. He was a resident of
Herndon and Reston, Virginia for the last 30
years. He was dedicated to his children and
his family, which he felt were his greatest
accomplishments. In lieu of flowers, please
make donations to The American Cancer
Society in Ed’s name. A celebration of his
life, open house, will be held on Thursday,
August 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. Please call (703)
599-8322 for details.FEITO
DEATH NOTICE
RENEE YVETTE HUNTER (AGE 70)
Of Washington, DC, entered eternal rest
Wednesday, July 9, 2019 at her home. Renee
is survived by one brother, John E. Carroll
Jr; one sister-in-law, Alicia Carroll; five nieces,
Angelique Carroll, Linda Carroll-Stancil, Darlisa
Fletcher, Jonneace Carroll, and Talease Carroll;
one nephew, Eric Dove; one great-niece, Layla
Carroll; two great-nephews, Jamari Jarmon and
Bryce Dove; and a host of other relatives
and friends. Viewing will be held on Saturday,
August 3, 2019 from 10 a.m. until time of
memorial service, 11 a.m. at First Baptist
Church of Deanwood, 1008 45th St., NE, Wash-
ington, DC 20019. Interment National Harmony
Memorial Park.
http://www.jbjfh.comHUNTER
LILLIAN F. KING (Age 80)
Peacefully passed away on July 27, 2019.
Family will welcome friends Friday, August 2,
2019 at True Gospel Tabernacle Baptist Church,
4201 wheeler Rd. SE. Visitation 10 a.m. until
time of service at 11 a.m. Interment Harmony
Memorial Park.KING
JEAN LEGGETT
Jean Leggett died peacefully on July 29,- Born on August 12, 1922, in Ashtab-
ula, Ohio, she enjoyed a career as a school
librarian.Two older sisters and her husband
of 52 years, Mort Leggett, predeceased her.
She is survived by her two children Karen
(Tharwat Abouraya) and David (Kathy), five
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A service is being planned at Westminster
at Lake Ridge, VA. Donations may be made
to First Congregational Church or Habitat
for Humanity Summit County, both in
Akron, Ohio.
LEGGETT
IRENE D. LEVINE
OnTuesday,July30,2019,Irene
"Renie" Levine of LeisureWorld,
Silver Spring, MD. Beloved wife
of Alan Levine; devoted mother
of Scott Levine and Lisa Miller.
Also survived by her loving
grandchildren, Hayley and Zach Miller and
Clark Levine. Funeral services will be held
Thursday, August 1, 12:30 p.m. at B'nai
Israel Congregation, 6301 Montrose Rd,
Rockville, MD 20852. Interment will follow
at Judean Memorial Gardens in Olney, MD.
The family will be observing Shiva on Thurs-
day immediately following services, and
Sunday, August 4 at the home of Lisa and
Michael Miller, 604 Farm Pond Ln, Rockville;
with minyan services on both days at 7:30
p.m. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield
Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
http://www.sagelbloomfield.comLEVINE
SUSAN LYNN KASON LOEKLE
Susan Lynn Kasdon Loekle, 55, passed
away on Sunday, July 28, 2019 at Forsyth
Medical Center. Susan, known as “Susie”
to her family and friends, was born on
October 24, 1963 to Lawrence and Char-
lotte Goldenberg Kasdon. Susie worked
at Walgreens. She enjoyed reading and
listening to 70’s and 80’s music. Susie
was a loving and kind person with a
gentle heart. She was loved greatly and
will be missed. Susie was preceded in
death by her father, Lawrence Kasdon and
sister, Paula Kasdon. She is survived by
her loving husband, Scott Loekle; mother,
Charlotte Kasdon; sister, Marsha Abram-
son and husband Eric; in-laws, Wayne
and Dianne Loekle; and many nieces,
nephews, and friends. A graveside service
will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, July
29, 2019 at Forsyth Memorial Park in the
Chapel. The family asks that in Susan’s
memory, memorials be made to the chari-
ty of your choice. Online condolences may
be made at
ww.hayworth-miller.comLOEKLE