Civil Jurisdiction in Indian Country Written Response When the chips are down, the cows are empty. The Sasnak Indian Reservation ("Reservation") is an unallotted federally recognized reservation in northern plains state of Nebraskota within the Sasnak Indian Nation's ("Tribe" or "Nation") aboriginal territory. From time immemorial, tribal members provided warmth during the region's harsh winters by burning dried loaves of energy-rich bison dung. Deemed vital to survival, the practice became incorporated into cultural and religious ceremonies, and even became a valuable currency for trade with early white settlers. As bison herds were eradicated during the late 1800s, eliminating the traditional heat source, the tribe fell into poverty and became dependent upon federal provisions for several decades. During the 1980s and 1990s, the tribe began raising bison on its tribal lands as a communal effort to revive the tribe's culture, religion, and economic development. As it demonstrated success, the tribe received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in support of bison repopulation. The tribe invested separate funds of its own to study environmentally sustainable uses for the waste produced by the expanding herds, and determined that, like other animal waste, the dung caused water pollution if applied to agricultural lands as fertilizer. If dried, perfumed with ground mesquite chips, and pressed into pellets, however, the resulting product provided an efficient and sustainable alternative for wood-burning stoves, and the tribe began providing the pellets to its members in lieu of firewood, coal, or heating oil with great success. After petroleum prices skyrocketed in 2016 and a winter storm interrupted electricity and natural gas services in 2020, the Nation saw a great economic opportunity to sell the material more broadly. The bison herd produced too little supply to meet the anticipated demand. Its solution was to begin importing raw cattle waste from off-reservation non-Indian milk producers, which it mixed with the traditional fuel and sold on the reservation  one part bison fruit from tribal lands and four parts imported material. Seeking an alternative to ever-costlier petroleum products, non-Indians flocked to the Reservation, and stopped burning natural gas, fuel oil, and local timber. Question Duane Driver, a member of the federally recognized Wyanabi Tribe of New England and a resident of Nebraskota, operated a tractor-trailer for the "Prairie Dairy, LLC," a dairy located twenty miles east of the reservation and owned by Greg Guernsey, a non-Indian, who contracted to deliver cow manure weekly to the tribe for 24 months beginning January 2021. In March 2021, Duane Driver was travelling west on a state highway running through the reservation for the purpose of delivering a weekly load. Unfortunately, blizzard conditions impaired his vision, and his vehicle struck an automobile that was parked on the shoulder while its owner, Hoss Farrier, replaced a flat tire. The collision did not injure Duane Driver, but it killed Hoss Farrier, a non-Indian who was about to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with Frances Farrier, a Sasnak tribal member Frances Farrier who lived on the reservation. The state highway had been built in 1955 on a right-of-way placed over tribal trust land pursuant to a federal statute. Frances Farrier sued Duane Driver and Prairie Dairy, LLC in tribal court, alleging negligence in hiring and operating the vehicle. Does the tribal court have jurisdiction? Provide a legal response to the answer to this question.

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To determine whether the tribal court has jurisdiction in this case we need to consider the principles of civil jurisdiction in Indian country particu... View the full answer