Blackbird Bend, IA, 1973-1990
In 1973, twenty Omaha Indians crossed the Missouri River into Iowa to re-settle and farm land that had been part of their Nebraska reservation before the river abruptly changed course fifty years earlier. Although the Bureau of Indian Affairs supported their land claim, the activists were arrested on larceny charges. By 1975, however, with one of the original occupiers now on the Omaha Tribal council, the tribe formally embraced a second occupation and filed a companion lawsuit to regain title to the land. A judge granted an injunction permitting the Indians to occupy and farm the land during the ensuing legal battle over the property between the Omaha tribe and the non-native property owners, which included nine individuals, two corporations, and the state of Iowa. Although the Omaha had both geology and public records on their side—all the current property owners traced their titles to a single white squatter whose claim was so dubious that the county had left the land off tax roles for years—the case bounced back and forth between District Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court over the next 15 years. Finally, in 1990, the District Court reluctantly agreed that 2,200 acres of disputed territory belonged to the Omaha. While it was but a small fraction of the land originally granted under the 1854 treaty, the restored territory quickly became the most economically valuable for the tribe. Blackbird Bend’s location within the state of Iowa permitted Omaha to open a casino and alleviate unemployment on the reservation. Although the casino is temporarily closed for renovation as the Omaha seek new business partners and pay off debt, tribal officials promise that the reorganized business will continue to offer preferential hiring to tribal members.
See also -
Milo Lone-Eale Colton, "The Battle for Blackbird Bend," The Nebraska Lawyer, December 2002.