Yakama Tribe Member Drops Suit Seeking Tariff Exemption Under Yakama Treaty
Mandi Rae Lumley, a member of the Yakama Native American tribe, dropped her lawsuit against the imposition of tariffs against herself and her company as a violation of the 1855 Yakama Treaty. On Nov. 20, Lumley's counsel, Rugged Law, a criminal justice firm in Portland, Oregon, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon (Mandi Rae Lumley v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, D.Or. # 3:25-02003).
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Lumley, along with her company, Tikkun Olam Holdings, filed the suit last month, claiming she had a right to enter goods duty free due to the 1855 Yakama Treaty, which was made between the U.S. and the Yakama tribe for the purchase by the U.S. government of Yakama land (see 2510300043). In return for the land, the U.S. paid the Yakama tribe $200,000, made improvements to the remaining Yakama land and "agreed to respect the Yakamas' reservation of certain rights," the complaint said.
One such right was the Yakama people's right to enjoy free trade on "any public highway." Lumley argued that there has been no congressional effort to "abrogate" the treaty, and that "public highway" at the time meant roads on land, railroads and waterways. Lumley said the right to conduct free trade "should apply to any future means of transportation for carrying on trade, including but not limited to travel by land or sea but also air travel and space travel."
Rugged Law didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on why the case was dismissed.