In Water Wheel, the Ninth Circuit Corrects a Limitation on Tribal Court Jurisdiction

Abstract

On June 10, 2011, in Water Wheel Camp Recreational Area, Inc. v. LaRance, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a tribal court had jurisdiction over a non-Indian corporation and its non-Indian president through the tribe’s inherent authority to exclude and manage its land. The Ninth Circuit limited the application of Montana v. United States, a case restricting tribal authority, to situations involving non-tribal land or to situations in which competing state interests are at play. In so doing, the court gave tribal courts the breadth of power Congress intended.