Chapter 4 - § 4.7 • AMERICAN INDIANS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 4.7 • AMERICAN INDIANS

The alienation of lands allotted to American Indians or held by a tribe, group, or band of American Indians is governed by federal law.⁸⁰ For example, under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA),⁸¹ the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is responsible for issuing permits for the operation of coal mines on tribal lands. The tribe is a required party in any action to declare a permit or its renewal unlawful, but cannot be joined because of sovereign immunity.⁸²

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Notes:

^[80] See 25 U.S.C. §§ 391 to 416j. See also Red Mountain Realty, Inc. v. Frost, 659 P.2d 48 (Colo. App. 1982) (listing agreement with American Indian void in absence of consent by Secretary of the Interior).

^[81] 30 U.S.C. §§ 1201-1328.

^[82] Center for Biological Diversity v. Pizarchik, 858 F.Supp.2d 1221 (D. Colo. 2012). See Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U. S. 49 (1978) (internal quotations and citations omitted):

Indian tribes are distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights in matters of local self-government. . . . Although no longer possessed of the full attributes of sovereignty, they remain a separate people, with the power of

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