Law suit over Treaty Terms

The implications over treaty terms and the boundaries of indigenous nations' lands is not something that is a relic from the past. It is something that continues to have a great deal of relevance in the present day, as this article about a law suit on the 1855 treaty between the US federal government and the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odowa Indians points out.  At issue includes jurisdiction over legal matters -- whether the jurisdiction is in tribal court or in the state legal system. The article notes "child welfare, grave protection, income tax laws, and jurisdiction within the reservation" are raised as areas of contention in the law suit. 

Editorial Comment about Keystone XL Pipeline Litigation

Not surprisingly, the TransCanada litigation against the United States about the Keystone XL pipeline has drawn editorial comment. The contentious plans to build the pipeline leave a legacy in the litigation, and also in the discussion about it. 

This editorial written by the Sierra Club Senior Managing Attorney and Sierra Club Research Analyst is dismissive of the litigation, referring to it as out of step with the realities of climate change and of the implications of the December 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. 

Dispute over Keystone XL Pipeline Rumbles On

After President Obama denied the approval needed for the Keystone XL pipeline to be built, in November 2015, it might have been thought that the matter would be finally over. It had, after all, been in dispute for an extended period over seven years.


Opposition to the pipeline galvanized an unlikely coalition of environmental activists, indigenous advocates, and farmers and ranchers, as this article details. 



But what had been claimed as a victory for these interests is now clouded by the news that a lawsuit has been filed against the US government. TransCanada, the company that has been seeking permission to build the pipeline is quoted in this article as saying that the denial of permission to build the pipeline was a political one, fuelled by concerns about  an international image  on climate change policies.

It would appear the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline is not yet finished.