Carcieri v. Salazar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carcieri v. Salazar |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued November 3, 2008 Decided February 24, 2009 |
|
| Full case name | Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al. |
| Docket nos. | 07-526 |
| Citations | 555 U.S. 379 (more)
129 S. Ct. 1058; 172 L. Ed. 2d 791
|
| Prior history | Carcieri v. Norton, 290 F. Supp. 2d 167 (D.R.I. 2003); Carcieri v. Norton, 423 F.3d 45 (1st Cir. 2005); Carcieri v. Kempthorne, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 2007) |
| Holding | |
| The term "now under Federal jurisdiction" referred only to tribes that were federally recognized when the Indian Reorganization Act became law and the federal government could not take land into trust from tribes that were recognized after 1934. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Thomas, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito |
| Concurrence | Breyer |
| Concur/dissent | Souter, joined by Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| 25 U.S.C. §§ 465, 479 | |
Carcieri v. Salazar was a very important case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009. It was about whether the U.S. government could hold land "in trust" for Native American tribes. When land is held in trust, it means the government owns the land for the tribe's benefit.
The case focused on the Narragansett Tribe in Rhode Island. The tribe bought some land in the late 1900s. They wanted the federal government to take this land into trust for them. However, the Narragansett Tribe was not officially recognized by the U.S. government until 1983.
The Supreme Court decided that the government could only take land into trust for tribes that were already federally recognized in 1934. This was when a law called the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. Because the Narragansett Tribe was recognized much later, the Court said the government could not take their land into trust.
Contents
What Led to the Case?
Narragansett Tribe's History
The Narragansett Tribe has a long history in what is now Rhode Island. They first met Europeans in 1524. After a big conflict called King Philip's War, the Narragansett Tribe grew by including other smaller tribes.
In 1709, the colony of Rhode Island began to oversee the tribe's affairs. Later, from 1880 to 1884, Rhode Island tried to break up the tribe. They sold almost all of the tribe's shared land, leaving them with only about 2 acres.
The tribe fought back and kept asking to be treated as a tribe. In 1975, they sued Rhode Island for mismanaging their lands. As a result, Rhode Island agreed to place 1,800 acres of land into trust for the tribe. However, state laws would still apply on this land, except for hunting and fishing rules.
Federal Recognition and Land Purchase
The Narragansett Tribe applied for federal recognition in 1979. They were officially recognized by the U.S. government in 1983. After this, the federal government took their existing land into trust.
The tribe and Rhode Island often disagreed on things. For example, they argued about taxes on cigarettes sold at a tribal shop. They also disagreed about building a casino on tribal land.
In 1991, the tribe bought 31 more acres of land. They wanted to use this land for housing for their older members. They asked the Secretary of the Interior to take this new land into trust. This would remove the land from state control, as allowed by the Indian Reorganization Act.
Government's Decision and Court Cases
In 1998, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which is part of the Department of the Interior, said it would take the 31 acres into federal trust. Rhode Island disagreed and appealed this decision. But the BIA's decision was upheld.
So, Rhode Island sued the Secretary of the Interior in a U.S. District Court. The governor of Rhode Island, Donald Carcieri, was the plaintiff (the one suing). The Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, was the defendant. The District Court sided with the BIA and the tribe.
Rhode Island then appealed to a higher court, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This court also agreed with the earlier decision. Rhode Island then asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Supreme Court's Decision
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the main opinion for the Supreme Court. The Court looked closely at a phrase in the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. This phrase said "now under Federal jurisdiction."
Justice Thomas explained that "now" meant "at the time the law was passed in 1934." This meant that the BIA could only take land into trust for tribes that were already under federal control in 1934. Since the Narragansett Tribe was not federally recognized until 1983, the Court ruled that their land could not be taken into trust.
Other Justices' Views
- Justice Stephen Breyer agreed with the main decision. He said that even if a tribe wasn't formally recognized in 1934, they might still have been under federal control due to older treaties.
- Justice David Souter partly agreed and partly disagreed. He thought that "under federal jurisdiction" and "federally recognized" were not exactly the same thing. He believed the case should have been sent back to a lower court to figure out if the tribe was under federal control in 1934.
- Justice John Paul Stevens disagreed with the main decision. He thought "now" should mean "at the time the land was given to the BIA." He would have allowed the land to be taken into trust.
What Happened After the Decision?
The Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar had a big impact. Many tribes have gained federal recognition since 1934. This ruling meant that the government might not be able to take land into trust for these more recently recognized tribes.
People in Native American communities and legal experts quickly reacted. They worried about how this would affect things like tribal casinos and tribal sovereignty (tribes' right to govern themselves).
Activists pushed for a new law in Congress to "fix" the decision. They wanted to change the Indian Reorganization Act so the BIA could take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934.
However, some states and tribes recognized before 1934 opposed this. They worried it would lead to more casinos on new tribal lands.
In 2014, Congress passed a bill called the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act. This law specifically made sure that land taken into trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band could not be challenged in court because of the Carcieri decision.
In 2015, the BIA approved taking 321 acres of land in Taunton, Massachusetts, into federal trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. This tribe was recognized in 2007. The tribe planned to build a casino there. A group of property owners in Taunton sued, saying the BIA was wrong because the tribe was not recognized until 2007. This new lawsuit is still ongoing and might even go to the Supreme Court again.
