How have Great Basin tribes used lawsuits to seek compensation or the return of ancestral lands?

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Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin Kaylei Weed (left) of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe with her two sons and mother, Elaine Ethel Weed, at the Wind River Indian Reservation in 2015.

Following the establishment of elected tribal councils under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Great Basin tribes have utilized the judicial system as a means to address the historical loss of their ancestral territories.1

These legal efforts have yielded varied outcomes:

Monetary Compensation: In 1950, a significant legal ruling determined that the Ute had been illegally defrauded of their land during the 19th century. While the court did not return the land titles to the tribe, it mandated that they receive substantial financial compensation for the loss.1
International Recourse: Some groups have sought to regain traditional landholdings by turning to international court systems. For example, the Shoshone have pursued this avenue in their ongoing efforts to reclaim their ancestral lands well into the 21st century.1

These lawsuits represent a critical component of the broader struggle by Indigenous peoples to assert their rights and address the impacts of colonial encroachment and the privatization of their traditional territories.1