The Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island operated a smoke shop on tribal lands selling untaxed tobacco. Rhode Island state police raided the shop under a state warrant to shut it down, which the tribe did not recognize. When the police entered tribal lands, tribespeople attempted to block the entrance but were thrown to the ground and arrested. The police confiscated the shop's inventory and profits, leading to a confrontation between state police and the gathered tribe reminiscent of civil rights clashes. The tribe's leader expected the issue would be resolved in federal court but the police raid occurred beforehand.
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The Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island operated a smoke shop on tribal lands selling untaxed tobacco. Rhode Island state police raided the shop under a state warrant to shut it down, which the tribe did not recognize. When the police entered tribal lands, tribespeople attempted to block the entrance but were thrown to the ground and arrested. The police confiscated the shop's inventory and profits, leading to a confrontation between state police and the gathered tribe reminiscent of civil rights clashes. The tribe's leader expected the issue would be resolved in federal court but the police raid occurred beforehand.
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FEDERAL
INDIAN
LAW-AMBIGUOUS
ABROGATION:
THE
FIRST CIRCUIT STRIPS THE NARRAGANSETT INDIAN TRIBE OF
ITs
SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY
INTRODUCTION
Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas got up and put on a shirt and
tie. 1 The Narragansett tribe leader expected to end the day in federal court, where he would confront the Rhode Island officials who were attempting to shut down the tribe's tax-free smoke shop.2 But when Tribal Councilman Hiawatha Brown called at one in the afternoon to say that a convoy of Rhode Island state troopers was headed to the shop, Thomas had a feeling that the confrontation might not wait until the tribe and the state made it to court. 3 When the state troopers entered tribal lands under orders to shut down the smoke shop, the Narragansett tribespeople stood their ground. 4 The police showed a state warrant, which the federally acknowledged tribe refused to recognize. 5 Tribespeople who attempted to block the shop's entrance were thrown to the ground and handcuffed by flak-jacketed state police. The police confiscated the smoke shop's inventory of untaxed tobacco along with the money the Narragansett tribe had earned from sales. 6 In a scene reminiscent of the clashes of the civil rights era, the gathered people chanted "let our Chief go," as state officers dragged bloodied men out of the. shop.7 1. Michael Corkery, Clash Over Smoke Shop-Raid Came After Talks Broke Down, PROVIDENCE J., July 16, 2003, at AI, available at 2003 WLNR 6912411. The Narragansett's traditional leaders, known as sachems, are drawn from high-ranking tribal families. 2. Id.; Paul Davis & Katie Mulvaney, State, Tribe Offer Differing Views on Sovereignty Status, PROVIDENCE J., Aug. 21, 2003, at AI, available at 2003 WLNR 6794087. 3. Corkery, supra note 1; Katie Mulvaney & Paul Davis, Clash Over Smoke Shop-R.l. Police, Narragansetts Clash, PROVIDENCE J., July 15,2003, at AI, available at 2003 WLNR 6712314. 4. Mulvaney & Davis, supra note 3. 5. Edward Fitzpatrick & Jennifer Levitz, Indians, State Say They Couldn't Give in on Smoke-Shop Issue, PROVIDENCE J., Aug. 22,2003, at AI, available at 2003 WLNR 6659824. 6. Mulvaney & Davis, supra note 3. 7. Id.
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