Have you ever heard or come across an interesting idea? I have recently. It seems that down south of the border where several U.S. states and the U.S. government successfully sued the tobacco companies for big money First Nations have joined in.
Judge Patrick Moore of the District Court of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Okmulgee District, ruled that he has the jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit filed by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation against tobacco companies.
First interesting concept: a Native American tribal court that has the right to do this. Its jurisdiction can extend outside the territory if need be.
Second interesting concept: the band is at a level of self-government where this is type of justice system is normal.
Third interesting concept: the band is a separate government and therefore entitled to take those compensations for itself. They were undertaking the care of the health and members had paid Medicaid bills due to the tobacco companies. Because of that, the Creek tribe is seeking to recover tens of millions of dollars of health care costs related to smoking.
How much have the Crees been paying? How much medical and health resource funding has been drained away by the addiction of tobacco? I don’t know.
Should the Cree Board of Health and Social Services look into it? I think it might be worth a shot.
The Lower Brule Sioux and Crow Creek tribes in South Dakota and the Crow tribe in Montana already filed suit in their respective tribal courts. Another 15 to 20 other tribes are considering filing lawsuits also.
It seems there will be no end of precedents to call upon. It needs only one thing: a Cree legal-justice system. Waswanipi has developed theirs.
Judge Moore ruled the tribe has jurisdiction because the companies marketed and sold tobacco products on the Indian reservations. He also mentioned the grave consequences smoking had for tribal members and the resulting increase in healthcare costs. This same situation takes place in Cree territory.
I, for one, would like to see them pay. Perhaps then resources could be diverted to other health andsocial services. Cree resources have been diverted too long.
This would seem a right step on the path to self-government. Some may
try to say this is motivated by greed but it is not. It is merely claiming what is ours. In a real sense, what the court says is the First Nations are a government that overlaps but is another level of government. As such it is entitled to the same rights as those other governments.
The amount of time to investigate this would be money well spent. It might mean travel and calls to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming and
South Dakota. What a travel itinerary.
Travelling the U.S. studying the methods used by each tribe and bringing the informaion back. Perhaps a study for consideration by all the Crees at the next AGA. To truly take control of our health system and to validate our justice system at the same time. Precedent is on our side.
The James Bay Cree First Nations, like other governments, committed health dollars to assist those who have suffered the effects of smoking.
Our right to sue for the return of that money from the tobacco companies is no less valid than that of the U.S., Canadian, state or provincial governments.
And in the end Crees should do it because would be beneficial to spend our health dollars on diabetesstudies, social health and other services that are needed.
