 The oil companies immediately appealed and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the case . This appeal came shortly after the Supreme Court had decided Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe , 435 U.S. 191 ( 1978 ) , which had stated that an Indian tribe did not have the authority to try a non @-@ Indian for a crime committed on the reservation . The Oliphant case was a major blow against tribal sovereignty , and was a case used by the oil companies in their briefs . The oil companies argued that Oliphant , currently limited to criminal cases , should be expanded to civil matters as well . The attorneys for the tribe argued that this case was no different than Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Indian Reservation , 447 U.S. 134 ( 1980 ) , which stated that tribes had the authority to impose a cigarette tax on both tribal members and non @-@ Indians alike . Amici briefs were filed by Montana , North Dakota , Utah , Wyoming , New Mexico , Washington ( state ) , the Mountain States Legal Foundation , the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District , Shell Oil , and Westmoreland Resources in support of the oil companies . The Council of Energy Resource Tribes and the Navajo Nation filed briefs supporting the tribe . 
