Biography

Douglas B. L. Endreson is a leading litigator of major, complex Indian law cases.  With broad experience in both trial and appellate work, he has successfully litigated a broad range of cases, involving issues including Treaty rights, environmental law, gaming, water rights, taxation and tribal jurisdiction.

For example, when the future of gaming for all the tribes in Wisconsin was seriously threatened by complex litigation raising fundamental questions about its ongoing validity, Mr. Endreson was brought in to serve as lead counsel, managing the litigation for the tribal side.  He developed and implemented a strategy to address the challenge, and his efforts succeeded. Indian gaming in Wisconsin was preserved. Dairyland Greyhound Park, Inc. v. Doyle, 719 N.W.2s 408 (Wis. 2006).

Mr. Endreson has also done extensive work protecting tribal rights in connection with federal labor law. For example, he successfully litigated a case establishing the principle that a tribal organization may administer off-reservation treaty rights through the use of game wardens, without the imposition of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Comm’n v. Reich, 4 F.3d 498 (7^th Cir. 1993).  This remains a leading case in connection with this issue.

Mr. Endreson also provides strategic advice to tribal clients in matters such as negotiating utility rights of way and protecting tribal environmental and cultural resource interests.  For example, he successfully represented a tribe in preventing the development of a zinc-copper mine which threatened tribal cultural and historic interests. This involved a multi-disciplinary approach, with the extensive use of experts, in connection with multiple proceedings.  As a result of his efforts, the mining company ultimately withdrew its applications, the project did not go forward, and the tribal interests were protected and preserved.

Honors

• University of Wisconsin Law School, Hastie Fellowship (1978 - 1980)
• University of Wisconsin Law School, Ray and Ethel Brown Award, 1978

Reported Decisions

• City of Duluth v. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 843 N.W.2d 577 (Minn. 2014)
• Tarrant Regional Water District v. Herrmann, 133 S. Ct. 2120 (2013) (counsel for amicus)
• Michigan v. EPA, 581 F.3d 524 (7th Cir. 2009)
• Dairyland Greyhound Park, Inc. v. Doyle, 719 N.W.2d 408 (Wis. 2006)
• Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, 126 S.Ct. 676 (2005) (counsel for amicus)
• Coeur d’Alene Tribe of Idaho v. Hammond, 384 F.3d 674 (9th Cir. 2004)
• Burlington N. Santa Fe R. Co. v. Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Reservation, 323 F.3d 767 (9th Cir. 2003)
• Bowen v. Doyle, 880 F. Supp. 99 (W.D.N.Y. 1995), aff'd, 230 F.3d 525 (2d Cir. 2000)
• Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
• Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians v. Carlson, 68 F.3d 253 (8th Cir. 1995)
• Bowen v. Doyle, 230 F.3d 525 (2d Cir. 2000), aff'g 880 F. Supp. 99 (W.D.N.Y. 1995)
• Reich v. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Comm'n, 4 F.3d 490 (7th Cir. 1993)
• Fluent v. Salamanca Indian Lease Auth., 928 F.2d 542 (2d Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 818 (1991)
• Wisconsin Winnebago Bus. Comm. v. Koberstein, 762 F.2d 613 (7th Cir. 1985)

Publications

Douglas B. L. Endreson, Reconciling the Sovereignty of Indian Tribes in Civil Matters with the Montana Line of Cases, 55 Vill. L. Rev. 863 (2010)

Douglas B. L. Endreson, Resolving Tribal-State Conflicts, State Tax Notes (June 29, 2002) available at LEXIS 92 STN 125-20

Douglas B. L. Endreson, Improving The Legislative Process In Indian Country Through Use Of Tribal Legislative Fora, 12 Stan. L. & Pol'y Rev. 267 (2001)

Douglas B. L. Endreson, A Review Of The 1990s and a Look at What's Ahead, 22 Am. Indian L. Rev. 611 (1998)

Douglas B. L. Endreson, The Challenges Facing Tribal Courts Today, 79 Judicature 142 (1995)