Omaha Reservation - Boundary Disputes

Boundary Disputes

Boundary claims and areas of jurisdiction have continued to be issues for the Omaha Indian Reservation. In the late nineteenth century, Congress authorized sales of land to non-Omaha in the western portion of the reservation, where European-American farmers had settled. Due to the sales and federal legislation subsequent to the treaty establishing the reservation, a Nebraska state court in 2000 ruled that the western boundary of the reservation ended at railroad tracks east of Pender, Nebraska.

The Omaha Tribe contends that Pender is within tribal jurisdiction, as Congress did not change the boundaries of reservation, which includes most of Thurston County. The tribe says that the state does not have the power to redefine the boundary set by the Omaha treaty with the US government in 1865. It holds that although Congress authorized land sales in this area, it did not diminish the jurisdiction of the tribe within the reservation boundaries. "Under Supreme Court precedent, only Congress can diminish a reservation."

Asked for its opinion on a related matter related to the Omaha Tribe's law that liquor merchants on the reservation had to pay tribal license fees and sales taxes (see section below), the Nebraska state attorney general noted its opinion, based on Congressional laws and a field ruling during the Ronald Reagan administration, that Pender was outside the reservation boundaries. It also noted that ultimately this was a matter of federal jurisdiction.

There have been continuing issues related to tribal jurisdiction in Pender and other areas along its western boundary. For instance, in 2003 the tribal police tried to stop non-Omaha people from entering the reservation from Pender. The tribe negotiated with the state in 2003-2004 related to its policing functions in this area, but the parties signed no agreement. Prior to this period, the state generally had policing functions on the roads and in Pender.