The Hualapai Nation tribal police have cited a pilot for flying his ultralight over tribal lands near the Gand Canyon, according to a Jan. 22 report by Cyndy Cole in the Arizona Daily Sun. After flying over the western Grand Canyon, pilot Lionel De Antoni landed to find that his motor home had been towed and tribal police were waiting for him. He was cited by Hualapai Nation police for trespassing via ultralight plane and for not buying permits to fly over the tribe’s land.
“In addition to building a walkway over the Grand Canyon in 2007 and conducting boat tours on the Colorado River, it now appears the tribe is asserting rights to the airspace over its million-acre reservation,” Cole wrote. Other pilots who frequent fly over the Grand Canyon reported no such fees, but told Cole they have had some tribal requests to avoid flying over certain cultural areas.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the tribe is overstepping its jurisdiction in fining the pilot as much as $25,000 for violating its airspace. “A tribe has no authority over airspace and cannot charge people for using it,” said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. “The federal government has sole jurisdiction over the nation’s airspace.”
“Never I set foot on the Indian land. Never,” said De Antoni, whose native language is French. De Antoni flies his ultralight for his own pleasure, he told Cole. He carries no passengers. His job is conducting tours for European visitors to the Grand Canyon by bus, mostly along the South Rim.
After having his motor home towed from non-tribal federal land, he lived for three weeks in a motel room. Now he’s looking for an attorney. “I feel bitter about the whole situation,” he said.
Following a court appearance before a tribal judge in Peach Springs on Jan. 20, De Antoni got his motor home out of impoundment, but the lawnmower-size engine of his plane and his camera are being held by the tribal police as evidence, he said. “They even said I took photos for a German magazine,” he told Cole. “I don’t know where they got that.”
As of Jan. 21, neither the tribal police chief nor the prosecutor in the case would spell out the tribe’s rules for flying over Hualapai land. They would say only that De Antoni was being prosecuted on trespassing charges and for failing to have the proper permits. The prosecutor told Cole it was a tribal matter and an ongoing case, so she would not comment on the facts.
Actually the Hualapai Nation Police Departments officers are all Arizona POST Certified and have all rights to enforce federal, tribal, state, county and muni laws. They fall under Arizona Law as Law Enforcement Officers of the State of Arizona. Their officers are also very highly trained compared to the other agencies in Mohave County.
Whats the discussion about?? …. his rights have been violated …the tribes dont control the airspace … the FAA does ….
In my opinion the tribe should be fined for breaking the law.
Actually it is 2000 ft agl REQUESTED over parks, not required. The FAA governs airspace, not tribes. Hope he wins a bundle.
The Hualapai Nation Tribal Police Department is a law enforcement agency of the Hualapai Tribe. Unlike the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Law Enforcement Services (LES) officers who are federal employees, the Hualapai Police Officers not not.
I doubt the Federal Government or the State of Arizona give jurisdiction for a Tribe to exercise their power off reservations. They might have ad-hoc arrangement but I am sure there are limitations of what Tribal Police Officers can do on off-reservation (like state route 66 which runs through the Hualapai Reservation,the BLM land and the Grand Canyon National Park that are next to Hualapai land.
Actually it is 2000 feet AGL for Parks, my mistake.
Obviously the limitation of 15,000 feet, which is what the tribe wants is too high, but I think 3000 AGL is a reasonable altitude since we do that for parks. This pilot was flying as low as 500 feet AGL according to what I read in http://www.footflyer.com/Articles/News/2009/IndianWar/ParamotorVsIndians.htm That is too low, and to me disrespectful of the tribes sovereign status. There should be a balance here.
I do think the impounding and fine are excessive but perhaps we should not be buzzing reservations 500 feet AGL?
rONZI,
I doubt this has anything to do with dust, noise or any other disturbance. Once again the Hualapai tribe are seeking a way to get a cup of water from a dry turnip.
Their boondoggle bridge was only the most public desicration of “their land.” This is only the latest.
From the information provided in this article the pilot was flying legally in one of the only places around the grand canyon it is possible. Unfortunately the FAA is only too willing to “protect” the entire region from the threat of flight. If the Hualapai wanted to prevent flights, it would have occured through FAA. But that is not the goal.
BIA Tribal Police are Deputized Federal agents and as such can pursue suspects and make arrests off Reservation lands. According to the law they did not steal the motor home, they improperly seized it as evidence since they were acting under the color of authority. For it to be theft they had to take it for personal gain (the fine doesn’t count). The issue here is that they did act outside their scope of Authority since the Tribe has no jurisdiction over airspace.
He does need lawyer and will have to go to federal court on this. I am a big supporter of Tribal Sovereignty, but there are limitations on it. This is about a Tribe trying to keep and exert it’s control over it’s lands. They are probably sick of getting dusted with helicopter rotor wash or the tourist copters doing a hover and watching them as they perform sacred ceremonies; or it could be the pilot in question was a butt and they decided he needed a lesson in respect.
The Tribe in question is not a gaming tribe and it is evident that they are not fully educated on their rights as a sovereign. It looks like the Tribe is getting bad advice or are not listening to the advice they are getting.
What kind of jurisdiction do Tribal officers have? Is it nation wide because they are Federal employees, State wide? or only within the bounds of the tribal lands? If it is only tribal lands then having the motor home towed would be stealing. If a FAR had been violated they could make the arrest ( if it was a criminal offense) in their jurisdiction only but if it was out of that jurisdiction the proper authority would have to make the arrest and the tribe would have to extradite. They have no jurisdiction over airspace. I expect this is about money (the 25,000 fine) or the pilot made someone mad in the tribe. I expect the tribe is in for a serious law suit.