up. I will remember it as a day
when darkness walked the halls,
when the angel of death came,
when the majestic Thunderbird
sent his spirits and our Creator
sent his angels and took our
loved ones to eternal life.”
—Red Lake tribal council member
Judy Roy, on the Red Lake school
shootingMarch 29
The Supreme Court overturns decision in
Oneida tax case.
The Supreme Court overturns lower court decisions
in Oneida Indian Nation v. City of Sherrill, placing
the Oneida’s sovereignty in question and jeopardiz-
ing their standing in their 20-year land-claims case
against the state of New York (see entry for MARCH
4, 1985). The Sherrill case began after the tribe
started buying land in upstate New York, the loca-
tion of their original homeland. After purchasing
land in the town of Sherrill, the Oneida received a
property tax bill. They refused to pay the bill, citing
that the property was tribal land and therefore not
subject to local taxes. The Federal District Court
and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sec-
ond Circuit ruled in the tribe’s favor. The Supreme
Court, however, reverses these rulings, citing that
taking the land off the tax rolls would damage the
local economy. Writing for the 8-1 majority, Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg further explains, “The Onei-
das long ago relinquished the reins of government
and cannot regain them through open-market pur-
chases from current titleholders.”
April 13
A monumental installation by Cherokee
artists is dedicated.
In a riverfront park in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
hundreds gather to dedicate “The Passage,” an art
installation that features seven circular medallions,
each six feet in diameter. The work was created by
Gadugi, a team of five Cherokee artists from Lo-
cust Grove, Oklahoma, led by ceramist Bill Glass.
They were awarded the $250,000 commission by
the city after a nationwide search. The title of the
work refers to an area that connects Chattanooga’s
main downtown commercial street to Ross’s Land-
ing, once the location of a trading post owned by
Cherokee leader John Ross (see entry for 1828). The
medallions are adorned with design motifs found in
Cherokee art throughout history. Glass notes, “This
is a groundbreaking project because it’s introducing
Southeastern Native design and art on a large scale
for the first time to the contemporary world.”May 11Senator John McCain proposes an
amendment to the Hopi-Navajo Land
Settlement Act.
Passed more than 30 years ago, the Hopi-Navajo
Land Settlement Act (see entry for DECEMBER 22,
1974) was intended to solve a long-standing land
dispute between the Hopi and Navajo (Dineh)
tribes. To the frustration of many, the problem con-
tinues as hundreds of families remain on the wrong
side of their reservation boundary, even after the
federal government has spent $483 million in an
attempt to relocate people from each group. In a
proposed amendment to the act, Senator John Mc-
Cain calls for an end to the relocation program,
setting a deadline of September 20, 2008.May 20Boston, Massachusetts, lifts its ban on
Indians.
Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney signs a bill
repealing a law that banned Indians from entering
Boston. The law was adopted in 1675, when the
settlers of the Massachusetts Bay colony were at war
with area tribes (see entry for LATE JUNE 1675).
Indian groups worked eight years to eliminate the
330-year-old ban. The campaign gained steam after