Adventures of Lewis and Clark, their day in court, and the implications for Oklahoma tribal employers

Abstract

In 1804, American explorers, Lewis and Clark, led an expedition through the uncharted American interior to the Pacific Northwest. Now, more than two centuries later, another Lewis and Clark are taking the nation into uncharted legal territory with a United States Supreme Court case that will help determine the scope of tribal sovereign immunity. This term, the Supreme Court will decide the question, "Does tribal sovereign immunity extend to individual tribal employees acting in the scope of their employment or may a plaintiff proceed solely against an employee in his individual capacity?" This discourse explains what the answer to this question could mean for Oklahoma employers and makes recommendations on how management should respond from the perspective of a Human Resource professional.