Strate v. A-1 Contractors: Intrusion into the Sovereign Domain of Native Nations

Abstract

With the decision in Strate v. A-1 Contractors, the United States Supreme Court overstepped the bounds of the government-to-government relationship between Tribal Nations and the United States. The Strate decision follows a recent trend in the Supreme Court's decisions or judicial activism in terms of federal Indian law, and also signals a return to former anti-Indian underpinnings in its decisions of the early 1900s. This article will examine: Part I, the legal background of the Strate v. A-1 Contractors decision; Part II, the Strate v. A-1 Contractors by the United States Supreme Court; Part III, the inherent sovereignty of Tribal Nations and the conflicts with the Strate decision; and Part IV, the pragmatic future impact of the Strate decision on the exercise of tribal jurisdiction.

Keywords: Tribes, Jurisdiction, Sovereignty, Federal Indian Law