P
basic services for reservation students. Schreier
finds in the tribes’ favor, agreeing that they had
not been properly informed about the cost of the
proposed restructuring. In her decision, the judge
states that “federal law and BIA policy requires
meaningful consultation before taking action that
affects Indian schools. If the restructuring occurs
without meaningful consultation, plaintiffs will
lose a procedural right guaranteed by federal law
and BIA policy.”
July 21
Appeals court ruling allows Blackfeet tribe
members to sue over defective housing.
The 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals ruling in Mar-
ceau v. Blackfeet Housing Authority reinvigorates a
lawsuit brought by members of the Blackfeet tribe
against their tribal housing authority in 2002.
Overturning a ruling of a U.S. District Court in
2004, the appeals court finds that the tribe mem-
bers have the right to sue the tribal government in a
dispute over low-income housing that was built in
the 1970s. The Blackfeet plaintiffs claim that the
wood foundations of the houses were treated with
toxic chemicals, causing severe health problems in
several residents, including asthma and kidney fail-
ure. Because the appeals court maintains that the
Blackfeet tribe waived its sovereign immunity to
lawsuits when it created the tribal housing author-
ity, the ruling could have ramifications for tribal
agencies operated by Indian peoples throughout
the country.
“It’s a case that is decided in
the right way, but for the wrong
reasons. There certainly is a
sense on the court that they
need to provide some remedy
for these Indian homeowners,
and that’s certainly understand-able. Yet the legal means by
which they do it, I think, are
going to create more problems
than solutions in the long run.”
— University of Montana law
professor Raymond Cross on the
appeals court ruling in Marceau v.
Blackfeet Housing AuthorityAugust 10Museum directors set guidelines for use of
sacred objects.
A report published by the Association of Art Mu-
seum Directors establishes recommended guidelines
for museums to follow in the preservation and dis-
play of objects sacred to Native peoples, including
American Indian tribes. Although not legally bind-
ing, the guidelines are more stringent that those of
the Native American Graves Protection and Repa-
triation Act (see entry for NOVEMBER 16, 1990).
The association hopes to encourage increased
communication between museum directors and in-
digenous groups regarding the treatment of objects
in museum collections.September 11Public health study finds reduced life
expectancy among American Indians.
The Harvard School of Public Health releases
“Eight Americas,” a report on the connections be-
tween the area in which an American lives and his
or her life expectancy. The study finds the lowest
life expectancy of all Americans is among American
Indian men living in South Dakota. On average,
this group lives to be fifty-eight—thirty years fewer
than the longest-living Americans, Asian-American
women in Bergen County, New Jersey. The study
also discovers that western Native Americans who
live on reservations have a lower life expectancy
than those who do not.