Creator:
Charles Cervantes
Extent:
1 Linear Foot
Dates:
1907- 1989
Collection Summary:
This collection includes legal proceedings from two cases the Crow tribe brought before the federal bench. The documents include legal motions related to the cases; correspondence with the Crow tribe; documents pertaining to federal lands on or surrounding the Crow reservation; documents about the Crow tribe in the late 1980s; and federal indictments against members of the Crow Executive branch.
Languages:
English
Processing Archivist:
Jon Ille
Collection Description:
The Crow Tribe, Charles Cervantes Collection documents two cases brought before the courts in the late 1980s. First, the collection holds documents related to the 107th Meridian dispute between the Crow tribe and the Department of the Interior the courts adjudicated in favor of the Crows in 1989.
Second, Charles Cervantes acted as the Crows attorney in a dispute with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) over a requested audit of tribal accounts by then chairman Richard Real Bird regarding malfeasances in the distribution of monies to Crow tribe. The dispute erupted when the Billings area office froze funds to the Crow tribal government in 1986. The collection also includes documents detailing the Real Bird administration’s attempts at finding redress via congressional legislation to release monies to allow for the continuation of monies to enable the Crow tribal government to provide services and daily operations.
The collection illustrates the tensions within the Crow tribe and with the federal government during the mid to late 1980s, emphasizing conflict within the tribal executive branch and with the federal government particularly the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Biographical Details:
Charles Cervantes has practiced law for over fifty years and has represented numerous tribes including the Crows in various legal disputes with the United State government. Cervantes ate attended the University of Texas where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1969 and Juris Doctorate in 1973. His legal career began with the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. After several years of work with the federal government, Cervantes transitioned to private practice where he litigated a variety of cases with an emphasis on tribal law.
Cervantes’ work with the Crow tribe primarily occurred during the 1980s, and focused on the 107th Meridian dispute regarding the loss of 80,000 acres of land on the eastern boundary of the Crow reservation. He also played a role in legal matters in relation the Crow tribe’s decision to establish expanded coal production on the reservation.
Cervantes continues to practice law in the Washington DC area as of 2020.
Arrangement Description:
The collection follows the arrangement that the Crow tribe donated the collection in 1990.
Provenance:
The collection resided with the Crow Tribal legal office who acquired it from the work of Charles Cervantes from 1987 to 1989. The Crow Executive branch of government donated the papers to Little Big Horn College in 1990 shortly after the final adjudication of the 107th meridian case before the United States Court of Claims.
Box Lists:
Box 1:
Folder 1- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1987, 1
Folder 2- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1987, 2
Folder 3- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1987, 3
Folder 4- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1987, 4
Folder 5- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, January-June 1988, 1
Folder 6- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, January-June 1988, 2
Folder 7- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, July-December 1988
Folder 8- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1989, 1
Folder 9- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1989, 2
Folder 10- Correspondence, Related to the Crow Tribe, 1989, 3
Folder 11- Memorandum to the Secretary of the Interior, Re. Rights of the Crow Tribe of Indians to the Waters of the Big Horn River and Yellowtail Reservoir, May 31, 1974
Folder 12- Crow Notes on Water Rights Seminar, United States Senate, April 6-7, 1989
Folder 13- Table of Contents 107th Meridian Case, Vol. 1, 1987
Folder 14- Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Limited Discovery
Folder 15- Plaintiff’s Motion for Extension of time to Oppose Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
Folder 16- Plaintiff’s Motion for Limited Discovery
Box 2
Folder 17- Affidavit of Richard C. Whitesell
Folder 18- Reply to the Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Sanctions
Folder 19- Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Rule 11 Sanctions
Folder 20- Motion for Extension of Time to File Reply
Folder 21- Memorandum in Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
Folder 22- Motion to Dismiss
Folder 23- Plaintiff’s Reply to Defendant’s Opposition to Show Cause Regarding Contempt
Folder 24- Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Contempt Motion in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Sanctions
Folder 25- Motion for Sanction Under Rule 11
Folder 26- Plaintiff’s Motion to Show Cause Why Defendant’s Should Not Be Held in Contempt of Court
Folder 27- Answer to Complaint
Folder 28- Motion for Extension of Time to File Answer to Complaint
Folder 29- Order Regarding Conflict of Interest
Folder 30- Order Regarding the Jurisdiction of the Court
Folder 31- Return of Service Writ, United States District Court
Folder 32- Plaintiff’s Exhibits
Folder 33- Crow Tribe vs. United States of America, Complaint
Folder 34- Description and Table of Contents, Crow Tribe vs. United States
Folder 35- Defendant’s Reply to Plaintiff’s Opposition to Dismiss
Folder 36- Statement of Genuine Issues of Dispute
Folder 37- Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
Folder 38- Exhibit to Plaintiff’s Memorandum
Folder 39- Plaintiff’s Statement of Genuine Issue
Folder 40- Documents Related to Economic Effects of BIA Activities on the Crow Reservation
Folder 41- Plaintiff’s Interim Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
Folder 42- Letter of Notice of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, September 12, 1989
Folder 43- Motion for Leave to File Exhibits Under Separate Cover
Folder 44- Proposed Findings of Uncontroverted Fact in Support of the Motion to Dismiss
Folder 45- Motion to Dismiss or Summary Judgement
Folder 46- Joint Motion to Amend Paragraph Two of the Court’s Order
Folder 47- Order Regarding Discovery for Defendant’s
Folder 48- Defendant’s Motion for a Protective Order, June 12, 1989
Folder 49- Motion for Continuance
Folder 50- Reply to the Crow Tribe’s Reply to the Defendant’s Response to Show Cause
Folder 51- Plaintiff’s Supplemental Brief in Support of Its Opposition to Dismissal
Folder 52- Notice of Deposition Duces Tecum of Pat Ragsdale
Folder 53- Plaintiff’s Motion for Extension of the Time to File Brief
Folder 54- Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave of Court to Suspend Consideration Pending Motions to File Supplemental Brief
Folder 55- Plaintiff’s Reply to Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiff’s Change of Counsel
Folder 56- Response to Crow Tribe’s Memorandum to Show Cause
Folder 57- Motion for Leave of Court to Substitute Attorney
Folder 58- Crow Tribal Council Meeting, December 28, 1907
Folder 59- Chief Plenty Coups Last Plea, November 7, 1931
Folder 60- Loren Whitmore vs. United States, U.S. Court of Claims
Folder 61- 107th Meridian Boundary Error
Folder 62- Custer Battlefield, Executive Order, December 7, 1886
Folder 63- Creation of Big Horn National Forest, November 1, 1923
Folder 64- Crow Tribe, Tribal Documents, 1
Folder 65- Crow Tribe, Tribal Documents, 2
Folder 66- Crow Tribe, Tribal Documents, 3
Folder 67- Crow Tribe of Montana, Coal Mining Contract
Folder 68- Crow Tribe of Montana, Clara Nomee