Two citizens of the Blackfeet Nation on April 4 filed a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on Canada violate the U.S. Constitution and tribal treaty rights.
and Jonathan St. Goddard, a rancher on the Blackfeet Reservation, named the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem and the United States of America in the suit, which was filed in Montana federal district court. The plaintiffs are represented by , who ran as a Democrat for Montana’s western congressional seat in 2022 and 2024.
The lawsuit — filed one day before thousands of people participated in nationwide protests against the Trump administration — is the latest example of tribes flexing their sovereign status to oppose new federal policy. It’s also one of several related to President Donald Trump’s recent tariff orders.
This lawsuit specifically pertains to several Executive Orders, including one that expanded an emergency declaration to include “the flow of illicit drugs” across the U.S.-Canada border and one that announced global “reciprocal tariffs.” The lawsuit also regards two Feb. 10 proclamations that impose tariffs on and products.
Plaintiffs allege the orders violate the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress, not the president, the power to regulate commerce. Trump declared several (due to U.S. trade deficits and to the flow of illegal drugs over the Northern border) and invoked the to issue tariffs. But the two Blackfeet citizens say the president had no legal basis to do so, arguing the IEEPA statute does not include the power to tariff. A that lists conservative mogul among its supporters filed a similar lawsuit Thursday related to tariffs on China. Plaintiffs in that lawsuit allege that Trump’s use of the national emergency law . Trump is the first president to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs, according to .
Complainants in the Montana case further allege the Canada tariffs violate the , which was signed in 1794 by the U.S. and Great Britain to ease Revolutionary War tensions. While the treaty primarily focused on the two countries, it also recognized the rights of Native Americans to over the U.S.-Canada border. It also stipulated that American Indians were not to pay duties or taxes on their own goods when .
Plaintiffs further allege that orders imposing Canada tariffs are “unconstitutionally vague” and therefore violate their right to due process, the legal principle that requires the government to treat people fairly.
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ԹϺ.
Webber and St. Goddard in court documents allege the Blackfeet tribal community is uniquely harmed by the Canada tariffs. Located in northwest Montana, the Blackfeet Reservation spans about 1.5 million acres and is home to 10,309 people, 33% of whom live below poverty level. The is one of four tribes belonging to the . The other three Blackfoot tribes are headquartered across the U.S.-Canada border in Alberta.
Per the Jay Treaty, it’s not uncommon for members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to cross the border not with a passport but with a tribal identification card. St. Goddard, according to court documents, drove to Saskatchewan to buy a replacement for a broken tractor part. On his way back to Montana, St. Goddard alleges he paid a $308.77 tariff for the new part, which originally cost $1,252.89. He alleged in court documents that tariffs caused him “financial stress” and future tariffs could cause “irreparable harm” to his business.
Webber in her declaration wrote that her constituents “cannot afford random, unpredictable tariffs.”
“Because of the tariffs, members of the tribal community are losing economic opportunities and business,” she wrote.
Webber and St. Goddard in the lawsuit asked the court to enjoin, or prohibit, Trump’s various orders implementing tariffs on Canada. Alternatively, they ask the court to stop tariffs on all commerce and goods at three ports of entry on the U.S.-Canada border or to exempt tribal members from the Canada tariffs.
Native American tribes are sovereign entities and have a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States. A few months into Trump’s second term, several tribes have pushed back on his policies.
On March 7, the (New Mexico), (Kansas), and (Oklahoma) and several Indigenous students challenging mass firings at Bureau of Indian Education-run schools. Before a judge blocked Trump’s federal funding freeze, the Coalition of Large Tribes to exempt tribal programs, citing tribal sovereignty, treaty laws and the unique political relationship between tribes and the U.S. government. And Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in February rescinded the layoffs of 950 Indian Health Service employees, according to .
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