Arthur Lazarus Jr. facts for kids

Arthur Lazarus Jr. (born August 30, 1926 – died July 27, 2019) was an American lawyer. He was well-known for his important work with Native American tribes and Alaska Native groups. He represented many tribes, including the Blackfeet, Tuscarora, Seneca, and Navajo. His most famous case was the Black Hills Land Claim for the Sioux people.

Arthur Lazarus Jr.'s Life and Work

Arthur Lazarus Jr. was born on August 30, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He went to Columbia University and graduated in 1946. Later, he studied law at Yale Law School, finishing in 1949.

After law school, he joined a law firm in Washington. There, he worked with Felix S. Cohen, a leading lawyer for Native American tribes. When Cohen passed away in 1953, Arthur Lazarus Jr. and another lawyer, Richard Schifter, took over the firm's work with Native American law.

One of his first big cases was representing the Tuscarora Nation. He tried to stop the government from taking their land for a reservoir, but they were not successful. He also helped the Seneca Nation in their fight against the Kinzua Dam and a new highway.

Arthur Lazarus Jr. was the last lawyer to work on United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians. This was the longest-running court case in American history. It resulted in the largest payment ever given to a Native American tribe by the United States government. He also helped write a proposed law for Native Alaskans, called the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The Black Hills Case

The legal battle over the Black Hills land started in the 1920s. Lawyers argued that a law from 1877, which took the Black Hills from the Sioux, was illegal. They said the United States never truly bought the land. Arthur Lazarus Jr. and Marvin Sonosky took over this case in 1956. They finally won in 1980.

On June 13, 1979, a court decided that the 1877 law was against the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment protects people's property rights.

On July 31, 1979, the Sioux were offered $17.5 million, plus interest, totaling $105 million. However, many Sioux people living in the Black Hills were worried. They feared that if they accepted the money, it would mean they had officially sold their land. They believed this would make them lose their land, their culture, and their identity.

Despite this, the lawyers continued to work with the government. They wanted to find a fair way to make up for breaking the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. In September 1979, they offered the tribe $44 million as a settlement. But the tribe still did not want to accept money for their sacred land.

The U.S. government appealed the court's decision to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard the case, United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, on March 24, 1980.

On June 30, 1980, the Supreme Court agreed with the earlier ruling. They decided that the Sioux Nation should be awarded $106 million. This was the largest amount ever given to a Native American tribe for land that was taken illegally.

After the Black Hills Case

In 1991, Arthur Lazarus Jr. retired from his law firm. The firm was changing its focus and closing its Native American law practice. Soon after, he joined another law firm called Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, & Endreson. This firm specialized in Native American law. He fully retired in July 2011.