Zuni land claims cases records

Collection

Identifier: ACCN 1200

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Zuni land claims cases records (1941-1991) include records from three separate cases. The Zuni Tribe of New Mexico v. the United States of America, Docket 161-79L [hereafter referred to as Zuni I], The Zuni Tribe of New Mexico v. the United States of America, Docket 327-84L [Zuni II], and The United States of America v. Platt [Zuni III]. Stephen G. Boyden served as the attorney for the Zuni tribe in all cases.

The records of Zuni I are arranged into nine parts. The first seven parts include the records of the case itself. Part eight contains the records of the land appraisal commissioned by the Zuni Tribe during the settlement process, and the final section consists of miscellaneous maps.

Part one contains the original court documents from 1979 to 1991 in four boxes. The documents include motions, petitions, responses, briefs, findings of facts, and reports filed by the plaintiff and the defendant, as well as the trial judges' orders and opinions. The documents are arranged in chronological order based on the date they were filed with the United States Court of Claims.

Part two consists of transcripts of the trial held in Salt Lake City between 15 March and 25 March 1982. Included is the testimony and cross-examination of Zuni lay witnesses, and expert witnesses for both the plaintiff and defendant. This section includes nine volumes of transcripts and three volumes of page corrections in two boxes.

The exhibits of the plaintiff [the Zuni Tribe] are found in Part three. The plaintiff's exhibit list [box 7, book 1] describes each exhibit. Plaintiff's exhibits [PX] 0001 - 0274 include primary and secondary sources, photographs, maps and depositions. Beginning with PX 1000, the plaintiff's exhibits consist of expert witness reports and their supporting documentation. For instance, T. J. Ferguson's "Zuni Settlement and Land Use: An Archaeological Perspective" is numbered PX 1000, and his supporting documentation consists of PX 1001 - 1310. The same pattern continues for the expert reports of Fred Eggan [PX 2000], Triloki N. Pandey [PX 3000], Ward Allan Minge [PX 4000], S. Lyman Tyler [PX 5000], Myra Ellen Jenkins [PX 6000], and E. Richard Hart [PX 7000]. For the most part, the supporting documentation for each report consists of title pages and/or excerpts of the sources cited. The sole exception is the PX 8000 series of exhibits dealing with Zuni archaeology and pottery which is independent of an expert report. The plaintiff's exhibits are contained in twenty-three boxes.

Part four consists of the defendant's [the United States] exhibits [DX]. The defendant's exhibit list [box 31, folder 1] describes each exhibit. Included are reports by the defendant's two expert witnesses; Earl H. Elam [DX 149 and 150], and Donald E. Worcester [DX 200]. The defendant's exhibits are contained in two boxes.

Part five consists of various exhibits lists contained in two boxes. The lists index the plaintiff's and defendant's exhibits several ways, including exhibit number, title and author.

Part six includes rough drafts of the plaintiff's findings of fact to be submitted to the court. Included is the original draft, and revisions by S. Lyman Tyler, Fred Eggan and Ward Allan Minge.

Part seven contains miscellaneous papers and correspondence including staff documents, miscellaneous legal documents, and draft exhibits lists.

Part eight contains the appraisal report prepared by Flavell, Tennenbaum & Associates of North Hollywood, California in January 1991. The supporting documentation is arranged according to subject. Thus, "F" documents relate to farming and ranching, "I" to irrigation and water rights, "T" to timber resources and so on. For the most part, these exhibits contain excerpts from various primary and secondary sources, but in some cases contain the entire work. The final portion of this section contains seventeen appraisals prepared by others which include portions of or all of the Zuni claim area. These appraisal records are contained in twenty-one boxes. Finally, part eight contains to appraisal report prepared by Market Data Research.

Finally, part nine contains one large map folder of miscellaneous maps used in the preparation of the case, but which were never entered into evidence. Stored along with the map folders are 14 oversize wall-hanging maps used in the trial. Each is rolled and stored separately.

The records of Zuni II are boxed in two parts, following the pattern set for Zuni I. The first part includes the plaintiff's exhibits. Again, these include the expert witness reports and supporting documentation. Part two, arranged in the same manner, includes the defendant's exhibits.

The Library currently holds only one box of materials from Zuni III, the religious access case. These consist of expert witness reports by E. Richard Hart.

The addendum to the collection contains records, research, correspondence, and other documents regarding the Zuni land claims. Research, correspondence, contracts, an exhibit list, appraisal reports, and other documents pertaining to Zuni I are contained in boxes 114-119. Depositions regarding Zuni II are housed in boxes 120-127. Information and copies of the laws and order codes for the Zuni people are in boxes 128-129. Legal research, correspondence, financial records, memoranda, court documents and other information regarding the case, Zuni Water, are housed in boxes 130-132. Tribal petitions regarding the case, Zuni Heaven, are contained in boxes 133-134. Documents pertaining to several other lawsuits that the Zuni people filed are in boxes 135-137 and are titled the Zuni Claims. Stephen Boyden was the lawyer for the Zuni people, and the research that he did for these different cases are housed in boxes 138-149. Documents regarding the White River Shale Project are contained in box 138. The Zuni tribal code is in box 139. Zuni codes, memos, and other documents are housed in box 140. Financial records are contained in boxes 141-143. Copies of the Zuni's laws are in box 144. Additional research, correspondence, client records, and other material regarding these cases are in boxes 145-149.

Dates

1941-1991

Creator

Boyden, Stephen G. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Organizational History

The records of the Zuni land claims cases begin in the mid-1970s with the tribe's efforts to regain the Zuni Salt Lake, a site of religious and economic importance located approximately forty miles south of the Zuni Reservation. In conjunction, the tribe sought to recover compensation on other claims. Between 1975 and 1978 several draft bills were debated and both houses of congress held hearings on the Zuni claims. On 15 May 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 95-280, returning the Zuni Salt Lake to the tribe, and clearing the way for the tribe to file suit against the federal government in the United States Court of Claims.

With the passage of this act, the Zuni tribe brought Zuni I in 1979, in an effort to gain recognition of and compensation for aboriginal land rights in New Mexico and Arizona. The case went to trial in Salt Lake City, Utah, in March 1982, and the trial judge's opinion came on 27 May 1987. Judge Judith Ann Yannello found that the Zuni tribe "had aboriginal title to the land contained in the area claimed by the plaintiff . . . [that] this title existed from time immemorial . . . [and] The Zuni, exclusively, used and occupied this claim area." In a second opinion, Judge Yannello found that the United States "has failed to pay or award any compensation for the Zuni lands taken by the United States." After settlement negotiations and a land appraisal, final judgement in favor of the Zuni Tribe in the amount of $25,000,000 was entered on 22 January 1991. As of the summer of 1991, however, Congress had yet to appropriate the funds for the award. Two years after initiated Zuni I, the tribe filed docket 327-81L, a suit to recover compensation for Zuni trust lands. This case never went to trial, and was settled by an act of congress.

The third and final case, the United States of America v. Platt, involved access to an important Zuni shrine located in eastern Arizona. The Zunis' quadrennial pilgrimage to this site had been blocked by a land owner who refused to allow the Zunis to cross his land. In 1991, the courts decided in favor of the Zunis in this case.

Extent

79 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Zuni land claims cases records (1941-1991) consist of legal files concerning two suits brought by the New Mexico Zuni tribe against the U.S. government over land rights in New Mexico and Arizona, and a third suit over access to an important sacred site in eastern Arizona. Included are briefs, reports, trial transcripts, exhibits, appraisals, maps, and orders and opinions of the court.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Stephen G. Boyden, attorney for the Zuni tribe, in 1991.

Separated Materials

Audio-visual materials were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections (A0515). Oversize maps, surveys, and other materials are housed in the Manuscripts Division's map case.

Processing Information

Processed by Gregory Smoak in 1993.

Addendum processed by Valerie Richey in 1998.

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