A lawyer in Indian country : a memoir

Summary: "In his memoir, Alvin Ziontz reflects on his more than thirty years representing Indian tribes, from a time when Indian law was little known through landmark battles that upheld tribal sovereignty. He discusses the growth and maturation of tribal government and the underlying tensions between Indian society and the non-Indian world. A Lawyer in Indian Country presents vignettes of reservation life and recounts some of the memorable legal cases that illustrate the challenges faced by individual Indians and tribes." "As the senior attorney arguing U.S. v. Washington, Ziontz was a party to the historic 1974 Boldt decision that affirmed the Pacific Northwest tribes' treaty fishing rights, with ramifications for tribal rights nationwide. His work took him to reservations in Montana, Wyoming, and Minnesota, as well as Washington and Alaska, and he describes not only the work of a tribal attorney but also his personal entry into the life of Indian country." "Ziontz continued to fight for tribal rights into the late 1990s, as the Makah tribe of Washington sought to resume its traditional whale hunts. Throughout his book, Ziontz traces his own path through this public history - one man's pursuit of a life built around the principles of integrity and justice."--Jacket.

Record details

ISBN: 9780295989358
ISBN: 0295989351
ISBN: 9780295992358
ISBN: 0295992352
Physical Description: print
xviii, 300 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: Seattle : University of Washington Press, ©2009.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-283) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

The road to Neah Bay -- The road to Neah Bay begins in Chicago -- The University of Chicago, the army, and Seattle -- Becoming a lawyer -- Seven years of lawyering in West Seattle -- Creating a law firm -- Indian fishing rights : joining the struggle -- The Makahs -- Recovering lost property : Ozette, Tatoosh, and Waadah -- The Lummi Tribe -- Indian fishing rights : eighty years of suppression, twenty years of confrontation -- The big bang : U.S. v. Washington begins -- U.S. v. Washington : the trial -- U.S. v. Washington : closing arguments and Judge Boldt's decision -- The U.S. Supreme Court has the last word : consequences of the Boldt decision -- The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation -- The Northern Cheyennes fight strip-mining -- The Northern Cheyennes and the Hollowbreast case -- The Oliphant case : a setback for tribal government -- Writing about the Indian Civil Rights Act -- Leaving law for academia -- A firm of tribal attorneys -- Representing fishermen of the Alaska Peninsula -- The Mille Lacs Band of Chippewas -- The Wanda Boswell case -- The Northern Arapaho Tribe -- Photographing the Northern Cheyennes -- The Makah whale hunt -- A life in being.