CHICAGO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A federal appeals court has denied Hobart’s request for rehearing in a lawsuit with the Oneida Nation regarding the regulation of a tribal festival.
The lawsuit regarded if the village had the authority to require the tribe to get a special events permit for its Big Apple Festival. In July, a federal appeals court sided with the Oneida, overturning a lower-court ruling by saying the village could not do so.
According to court filing Monday, all three judges on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago voted to deny Hobart’s appeal.
“In sum, as a matter of federal law, the Reservation established by the 1838 Treaty remains Indian country. The Village lacks jurisdiction to apply its ordinance to the Nation’s on-reservation activities. We remand with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the Nation,” the appeals panel wrote in its 46-page decision.
The village’s next step could be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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