Interesting Article . . . .

Our friend and colleague Kevin Washburn has written an article titled, "The Legacy of Bryan v. Itasca County: How a $147 County Tax Notice Helped Bring Tribes $200 Billion in Indian Gaming Revenue." In the article, Kevin tells the story of Bryan, a U.S. Supreme Court case interpreting the scope of Public Law 280.

Bryan held that the grant of civil jurisdiction was limited to adjudicatory jurisdiction and thus did not "confer general state civil regulatory control over Indian reservations." Despite Bryan's clear language, states continued to assert civil authority over tribal lands. The jurisdictional contest came to a head over the Cabazon Band's high-stakes bingo operation, when California officials threatened to prosecute tribal officials for violation of state bingo laws.

In California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the Supreme Court relied on Bryan to hold that while California could enforce a criminal prohibition against gambling on the Band's reservation, it could not enforce its civil laws regulating gambling against the tribe. Cabazon, of course, is Indian gaming's landmark case. It opened the door for tribal gaming to grow into what it is today -- a $25 billion industry that has far-ranging impacts on reservation quality of life as well as intergovernmental relations among the federal, tribal, and state governments.

Read the abstract and download the article (which is forthcoming in the Minnesota Law Review) here.