By September, another several hundred citizens will have successfully transitioned through the Arizona legal community’s rite of passage – the state bar examination. However, there is an age-old, ever-evolving and increasingly prevalent body of law that Arizona’s new lawyers were not required to learn. The unique blend of tribal, state and federal law is commonly known as “Indian law.”

Over the past decade, Arizona tribes have exercised their inherent sovereignty to become an influential economic, legal, and political force. Consider these facts:

Arizona’s 15 gaming tribes generate $468 million per year for the state in direct and indirect economic activity.

Arizona gaming tribes contribute more than $40 million in state and local taxes annually, along with $28 million in federal and state payroll taxes.

Arizona gaming tribes currently employ nearly 15,000 Indian and non-Indian employees. By comparison, Honeywell International, one of the state’s largest employers, provides jobs for 15,000 Arizonans.

Arizona tribes occupy nearly 22 million acres of land in the state.

A corollary to the dramatic rise in tribal economic development is the increase in non-Indians who seek business, employment, or recreation on the reservation. In turn, a wide array of legal matters arise, thereby interjecting Indian law into virtually every area of Arizona law.

Indian law principles underlie every business transaction involving Indians and their land. With the likes of Wal-Mart, AT&T, The Home Depot and Bank of America now developing Arizona reservations, and the resulting billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs, Phoenix and Tucson corporate lawyers must understand essential Indian law.

What’s more, Indian law issues extend into the domestic setting. Litigation regarding the adoption of an Indian child, the probate of real property on tribal lands, or an auto accident on the reservation potentially involves complex jurisdictional issues. A slip-and-fall case arising in a tribal casino will implicate, as a threshold issue, the unique defense of tribal sovereign immunity. The applicability of state taxes on the sale of goods or services to non-Indians on the reservation requires an analysis of both taxation law and federal Indian common law. Even the development of non-Indian owned land near reservations or waterways may implicate tribal treaty-based rights.

The general practitioner or public lawyer in Arizona will without question encounter an Indian law case. In the best interest of everyone in Arizona, be they Indian or non-Indian, every lawyer in Arizona needs to understand basic Indian law. What better forum to educate lawyers and ensure the protection of Arizona citizens’ legal rights than through the state bar exam≠

Gabriel S. Galanda, a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, is an Indian law attorney in Seattle with Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, PLLC. He serves as chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section. His article “Arizona Indian Law: What You Should Know,” was published in the March 2003 edition of Arizona Attorney.