Three decades ago-years after most tribes had filed land claims-the Zuni initiated legal battles related to aboriginal claims, rights, and use that few experts thought they could win. Yet by 1991 they had achieved three major victories.In the first case, the Zuni sued the United States seeking payment for aboriginal territorial lands taken without adequate compensation. In the second, also against the United States, the tribe sought compensation for environmental damages to Zuni trust lands caused by the U.S. Government and by private industry where the federal government should have provided protection. And in the third, the U.S. government sued a private rancher on the Zuni's behalf to establish an easement protecting an ancient religious trail. Providing a new overview of these cases and Zuni history, Richard Hart has gathered together essays written by many of those who testified for the Zunihistorians, archaeologists, anthropologists, and scientistas well as commentary from the tribe's lawyers. The authors simplify the complex nature of the testimony, making it accessible to a wide audience. They cover such diverse but significant issues as Spanish law and land grants, tribal aboriginal title, the Navajo Wars, U.S. territorial policy, deforestation, erosion, geomorphology, dendrochronology, environmental history, anthropology, archaeology, education, folklore, oral history, and religion. Tying together current events with cultural and legal history, Zuni and the Courts provides not only expert observations on how and why the Zuni succeeded but offers insight into how similar cases can be fought and won.
E. Richard Hart is executive director of the Institute of the NorthAmerican West in Seattle. He testified for the Zuni in the land claim cases and has also served as an expert witness on behalf of several other tribes. He is author of editor of six books including A Zuni Atlas (with T.J. Ferguson).
List of Tables and Figures Preface, Governor Robert E. Lewis Acknowledgments Introduction, E. Richard Hart Part One: Aboriginal Claims (Zuni 1-Docket 16179L) 1. Zuni Archaeology and Culture History, T.J. Ferguson 2. Historic Zuni Land Use, E. Richard Hart 3. Zuni Oral Tradition and History, Triloki Nath Pandey 4. Zuni History and Anthropology, Fred Eggan 5. Values of Zuni Oral History, Floyd A. O'Neil 6. Zuni's Royal Contract with Spain, Ward Alan Minge 7. New Mexican Reducciones, Ward Alan Minge 8. Zuni History During the Early U.S. Period, Myra Ellen Jenkins 9. The Zuni Indians Under the Laws of Spain, Mexico, and the United States, S. Lyman Tyler 10. Zuni Relations with the United States and the Zuni Land Claim, E. Richard Hart 11. The Zuni Land Claim Victory, E. Richard Hart Part Two: Damages to Zuni Trust Lands (Zuni 2-Dockets 32781L and 22484L) 12. The Zuni Land Conservation Act of 1990, E. Richard Hart 13. An Anthropological Perspective on Zuni Land Use, T.J. Ferguson 14. Problems of Land Use Within a Portion of the Zuni Land Claim Area, John O. Baxter 15. Recapturing the Landscape: Use of U.S. Government Surveys in Zuni Land Claims Research, Ronald L. Stauber 16. Dendrochronological Dating of Alluvial Deposition and Erosion in the Zuni Area, Jeffrey S. Dean 17. Recovering the Remembered Past: Folklore and Oral History in the Zuni Trust Lands Damages Case, Andrew Wiget 18. Changing Meanings of Arroyo, Samuel C. Monson Part Three: The Barefoot Trail (Unites States v. Platt) 19. Protection of Kolhu/wala:wa ("Zuni Heaven"): Litigation and Legislation, E. Richard Hart 20. The Sacred Trail to Zuni Heaven: A Study in the Law of Prescriptive Easements, Hank Meshorer Postscripts 21. The Zuni Claims Cases, Stephen G. Boyden 22. The Zuni Land Case: A Personal Reminiscence, Floyd A. O'Neil 23. Achieving True Interpretation, Edmund J. Ladd 24. Afterword, E. Richard Hart Appendices A. Findings of the United States Claims Commission, Docket 16179L, Aboriginal Area B. Findings of the United States Claims Commission, Docket 16179L, Taking Dates C. The Zuni Land Conservation Act of 1990 D. Plan for Use of Judgment Funds, Docket 16179L E. The Zuni Resource Development Plan: Executive Summary and Foreword F. A Partial Listing of Expert Reports and Depositions in the Zuni Claims Litigation About the Contributors Index
"Will serve as a model for other tribes to follow in their legal actions."-Journal of the West "This book serves as a model for those seeking court action in land claims litigation. Not only is it a legal blueprint for a trial preparation, it also makes important contributions to the field of Indian history and to the social sciences."-Western Historical Quarterly "The book provides a basic survey of Zuni history, of the tribe's relations with successive Spanish, Mexican, and American governments, and of its legal struggle to affirm its land rights. Specialists will appreciate the book's broad approach."-American Indian Quarterly "This book contains a wealth of information on the Zuni and provides a wonderful example of how an interdisciplinary team of academics can put their knowledge to use on real world problems confronting real people. This is a primer of how to do Indian rights litigation the 'right way,' with the careful preparation of testimony and evidence, choosing the right expert witnesses, and putting the information to effective use at trial."-Robert A. Williams, Jr., author of The American Indian in Western Legal Thought "A significant contribution to the fields of Indian history, jurisprudence, and anthropology. It may well become the prime example of how to proceed in court actions involving Native Americans, aboriginal use, and ownership."-Robert W. Delaney, author of Ute Mountain Utes and Southern Ute People
