Native American Issues
Federal, state, tribal, and private attorneys rely on HRA to help them understand the deep historical roots of present-day legal issues involving American Indian tribes. We provide archival research, document management, report preparation, and expert witness testimony.
HRA assists attorneys with discovery, interrogatories, preparation of briefs, reviewing opposing expert witness reports, and trial preparation. We also help attorneys find and work with historical experts outside of HRA.
HRA’s expertise includes:
- Treaty rights
- Reservation boundaries
- Jurisdictional issues
- Water rights
- Federal trustee responsibilities
- Federal recognition
Featured Members
Featured Projects
Cherokee Freedmen/1866 Cherokee Treaty Research
HRA conducted historical research and prepared an expert report on Article 9 of the 1866 Cherokee Treaty.
CSKT v. Lake County (Flathead Reservation Road Right-of-Way)
HRA submitted an expert report and provided deposition testimony in a case involving the history of land ownership and road development in the Big Arm Townsite on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Southern Ute Indian Tribe's Off-Reservation Use Rights
HRA assisted attorneys for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe by investigating the tribe’s historic uses of lands in southwestern Colorado that were ceded under an 1873 agreement with the United States.
The Tulalip Tribes, et al., v. the State of Washington, et al. (Quil Ceda Village Taxation)
As a part of litigation involving the taxation of business activities on Indian trust lands within the Tulalip Reservation, HRA historians researched the history of federal and tribal participation in the development of Quil Ceda Village, a tribally chartered and federally recognized municipality that formerly served as a WWII-era munitions depot and a postwar aircraft-testing area.
U.S. v. Joseph Jackson (Red Lake Indian Reservation Diminishment)
HRA assisted the attorneys who prosecuted a criminal case involving an attempted murder within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota.
U.S. v. Michigan
HRA provided research, writing, and litigation support to the Michigan Attorney General for United States v. Michigan, which involved Indians’ hunting and fishing rights in a large inland area of Michigan.
Litigation Support
Contaminated Sites
HRA helps clients identify companies, government agencies, and other entities that may be responsible for the cleanup of Superfund and other contaminated sites.
Expert Witness Services
HRA historians have served as expert witnesses in litigation, as well as providing research and writing support for outside experts.
Water Rights and Adjudications
HRA provides historical research and writing for water rights litigation and adjudications throughout the West. We help clients determine priority dates and understand complex…