GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The federal government will get a chance to weigh in a dispute between the Village of Hobart and the Oneida Tribe of Indians.
The tribe and village are battling in federal court about the village’s “special events ordinance” to determine if and how the village can enforce it. The village issued the tribe a citation after the 2016 Big Apple Fest for not having a special events permit. The tribe sued in federal court, seeking a ruling the municipality doesn’t have the authority to do so. After the motion was filed Monday, on Tuesday federal Judge William Griesbach granted the federal government’s request to file a ‘friend of the court’ brief, offering its views on the case.
The government explains its interest in the case:
“The Village brought counterclaims and asserted affirmative defenses, including an allegation that the Treaty of February 3, 1838, 7 Stat. 566, to which the United States is a party, did not establish a reservation for the Nation, and that even if there had once been a reservation, it was either subsequently diminished or disestablished, and therefore is subject to the Village’s jurisdiction. The United States has a substantial interest in the interpretation of federal treaties, statutes, and agency determinations regarding Indian interests… Because of its special relationship with Indian Tribes, the United States has a strong interest in protecting the integrity of reservation boundaries and promoting tribal self-government within those boundaries,” wrote Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Wood.
Judge Griesbach gave the Department of Justice until Oct. 12 to file its brief.
No trial date or oral arguments have been set in the case.
The village maintains the tribe needed to have a permit for an event with more than 50 people. The tribe disagrees, arguing the village ordinance does not apply to an event on land held in federal trust. According to the ordinance, organizers of certain events without permits could be jailed up to 90 days and fined up to $10,000.
