Amicus Brief Aims to Protect Native Nations’ Constitutional Rights
The Environmental Justice Clinic (EJC) at Vermont Law and Graduate School has filed an amicus brief in Held v. State of Montana in the Montana Supreme Court on behalf of five federally recognized tribes and two Indigenous education scholars.
The case was brought by 16 youth plaintiffs, represented by Our Children’s Trust in Montana, who say their rights under the Montana Constitution, including the right to a “clean and healthful environment,” are being violated by the state’s promotion and use of fossil fuels.
Montana District Court Judge Kathy Seeley previously made history when she held that the youth plaintiffs are suffering injuries caused by the climate crisis, that the state of Montana’s actions contribute to climate change and that the youths’ injuries are in violation of their state constitutional rights.
Now, that decision is on appeal before the Montana Supreme Court.
Student attorneys Clara Derby and Natasha De La Cruz, supervised by EJC Director Mia Montoya Hammersley and EJC Fellow Fredrick Ole Ikayo, collaborated with Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center and professor at the University of Washington School of Law, and Jeremiah Chin, associate professor at the Seattle University School of Law, to co-author an amicus brief on behalf of several Native Nations and Indigenous education scholars in Montana, expanding on the interests and rights of the Native Nations and Indigenous individuals implicated in this case.
Native Nations and Indigenous people depend on a clean and healthful environment to practice, maintain and pass on their culture. Because the Montana Constitution protects these interests, the brief argues that the state is obligated to protect the individual the dignity, education, culture and treaty rights of Indigenous individuals and Native Nations.
This includes the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana; The Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, Montana; The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation; The Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; and The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
“The amicus brief details the unique connections that Indigenous people in Montana, including Plaintiffs, have with the environment and how preserving that environment is essential to protecting the ability of Native Nations to practice, maintain and pass on their culture,” Nathan Bellinger, a senior attorney at Our Children’s Trust and lead litigator for the case, said. “The brief provides important support for the plaintiffs’ arguments, and we trust will be beneficial to the Montana Supreme Court in considering the appeal.”
“It was an honor to have the opportunity to represent the interests of the signatory Tribal Nations and Indigenous education professionals. The fight for climate justice and the fight for tribal sovereignty are interlinked, and we hope that the Court takes into consideration the unique rights afforded to the tribes of Montana as sovereign nations,” EJC director Mia Montoya Hammersley, said.
The state of Montana is scheduled to file its reply brief on April 26 and the case will be argued by Our Children’s Trust later this year.
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About Vermont Law and Graduate School:
Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, Facebook and Instagram.