High court sides with Indian tribe in dispute with Nebraska

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court says a Nebraska town is within the boundaries of an Indian reservation and subject to a tribal tax on liquor sales from local businesses.

The justices on Tuesday ruled unanimously that Congress did not diminish the Omaha Indian Reservation in 1882 when it allowed the Omaha Tribe to sell portions of the reservation to non-Indians.

The tribe began subjecting retailers in the town of Pender to a newly amended ordinance in 2006. It imposed a 10 percent sales tax on liquor sales.

Nebraska officials argued that 98 percent of the town was non-Indian and the tribe had not asserted jurisdiction over the area for more than 100 years.

The court in an opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas upheld lower court rulings in favor of the tribe.