Pawnee Nation sues in tribal court for quake damage

March 03--The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma will file a civil suit in its tribal court Friday seeking compensation from oil and gas operators for damage caused by earthquakes.

Pawnee Nation CEO Andrew Knife Chief said he believes it is the first action of its kind to be filed in a tribal court.

Pawnee Nation facilities were damaged during the state record 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Pawnee Sept. 3. They have continued to take more and more damage as subsequent quakes shook the area, Knife Chief said.

The continuing damage makes it difficult to settle insurance claims. Every time an adjustor makes an evaluation, another quake comes along and causes more damage, he said.

Pawnee tribal members, like other people living in the area, have struggled with how to make repairs without disaster assistance and in most cases, without insurance.

Knife Chief said Pawnee Nation citizens also have the right to take their claims to tribal court and he hopes they will use that option.

The Pawnee Nation operates under the concept of tribal sovereignty, which gives them the right to govern themselves and provides a government to government relationship with the federal government.

"We have a constitution, we have a court system and we are a nation of laws," Knife Chief said.

Although the oil and gas operators with wells on Pawnee Nation land have a federal lease, Knife Chief says they were informed that tribal laws apply to them and their operations.

Although tribal courts don't have jurisdiction over non-native people in criminal matters, they do have jurisdiction over some civil matters.

The landmark case Montana v. Unites States established limits on a tribe's civil authority over non-members. However, it found two important exceptions:

Tribes can tax, license or regulate non-members who consent to business relationships with the tribe or its members and they can exercise civil authority when the conduct of non-Indians on reservation land "threatens or has some direct affect on the political integrity, economic security or the health or welfare of the tribe."

The Pawnee Nation's Attorney General will be the attorney of record in the case but attorney Scott Poynter of the Poynter Law Firm will handle litigation, Knife Chief said.

Knife Chief didn't have a list of the defendants available but said they were determined by looking at who was injecting the greatest volume of wastewater. The Pawnee Nation didn't reach out to the companies before filing the suit.

"They've been on notice for a while," Knife Chief said.

Twitter: @mcharlesNP

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