Term: 2008
Docket: 07-526
Donald L. Carcieri, Governor Of Rhode Island, Et Al. v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary Of The Interior, Et Al.
- Pro
07-526 CARCIERI, GOV. OF RI V. SALAZAR DECISION BELOW: 497 F3d 15 LIMITED TO QUESTIONS 1 AND 2 PRESENTED BY THE PETITION CERT. GRANTED 2/25/2008 QUESTION PRESENTED: The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 permits the Secretary to take land into trust for certain Indian tribes, significantly impairing state jurisdiction. The Fifth Circuit held that the 1934 Act “positively dictates” that the only Indian tribes for whom land can be taken into trust are those that were “recognized” and “under federal jurisdiction” as of “June 1934.” This Court similarly concluded in that the 1934 Act contained a temporal “recognized [in 1934] tribe” limitation. United States v. John, 437 U.S. 634 (1978) (bracket by Court). The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court decision to the same effect. The Rhode Island Indian Land Claims Settlement Act provides land specifically for the later recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe and comprehensively disposes of all Indian land claims in Rhode Island. The Tribe received 1,800 acres of land for free. In exchange, Congress extinguished aboriginal title and all Indian interests in land in Rhode Island. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the 1934 Act empowers the Secretary to take land into trust for Indian tribes that were not recognized and under federal jurisdiction in 1934. 2. Whether an act of Congress that extinguishes aboriginal title and all claims based on Indian rights and interests in land precludes the Secretary from creating Indian country there. 3. Whether providing land “for Indians” in the 1934 Act establishes a sufficiently intelligible principle upon which to delegate the power to take land into trust. LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 03-2647
The U.S. Supreme Court case Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island, et al. v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al., 2008 revolved around a dispute over land trust rights for Native American tribes recognized after 1934 by the federal government under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). The Narragansett Tribe in Rhode Island had purchased a plot of land to build a housing complex and requested that it be taken into trust by the Department of Interior (DOI), effectively removing it from state jurisdiction and making it tribal lands subject to federal law only. The State of Rhode Island objected on grounds that this was not permissible since they were recognized post-1934; hence did not qualify as "Indian" under IRA's definition which states “now under Federal jurisdiction”. In an opinion delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court ruled in favor of Rhode Island stating that DOI lacked authority to take lands into trust for tribes acknowledged after 1934.
In the dissenting opinion for Carcieri v. Salazar, Justice Stevens argued that the majority's interpretation of "now under Federal jurisdiction" was too narrow and failed to consider Congress' intent when it passed the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934. He contended that Congress intended for all federally recognized tribes, regardless of when they were recognized, to be eligible for land into trust acquisitions by the Secretary of Interior. The majority’s decision would exclude many tribes who gained federal recognition after 1934 from these benefits which contradicts with IRA's purpose - to rehabilitate Indian economic life and secure tribal autonomy over reservation management. Furthermore, he criticized their reliance on a single dictionary definition while ignoring other relevant statutory materials like legislative history or subsequent enactments related to this issue.
