Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States |
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| Argued November 12, 1954 Decided February 7, 1955 |
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| Full case name | Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States |
| Citations | 348 U.S. 272 (more)
75 S. Ct. 313; 99 L. Ed. 2d 314; 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1186
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| Prior history | Appeal from the United States Court of Claims, 120 F. Supp. 202 (1954) |
| Subsequent history | 132 F. Supp. 695 (1955) |
| Holding | |
| Congress did not intend to grant the Tribe any permanent rights to the occupied lands and therefore Government did not owe Tribe compensation for timber taken from tribal-occupied lands in Alaska under the Fifth Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Reed, joined by Black, Burton, Clark, Minton |
| Dissent | Douglas, joined by Warren, Frankfurter |
Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States, 348 U.S. 272 (1955), was an important case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. It involved a group of people called the Tee-Hit-Ton, who are part of the Tlingit people. They sued the U.S. government because trees were cut down on land they lived on. The Tee-Hit-Ton wanted to be paid for the trees, but the Supreme Court decided they were not owed money.
Contents
What Was This Case About?
The Tee-Hit-Ton are a group of Tlingit people who lived in Alaska. They believed they owned the land where they lived. The U.S. government allowed trees to be cut down on this land. The Tee-Hit-Ton felt this was unfair and wanted to be paid for the timber.
They argued that they had "full ownership" of the land. This meant they thought they had the right to control it completely. The government, however, said that the Tee-Hit-Ton only had permission to use the land. The government believed it could take the land back whenever it wanted.
How the Case Reached the Supreme Court
The Tee-Hit-Ton first took their case to a special court called the United States Court of Claims. This court handles lawsuits against the U.S. government.
The Court of Claims agreed that the Tee-Hit-Ton were a real group living in Alaska. It also said that the tribe had an "original Indian title" to the land. This means they were the first people to live there. However, the court decided that this "original Indian title" was not enough. The U.S. Congress had not officially recognized the tribe's ownership rights. Because of this, the Court of Claims dismissed the Tee-Hit-Ton's lawsuit. The tribe then appealed, sending their case to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's Decision
Justice Stanley Forman Reed wrote the main opinion for the Supreme Court. The Court decided that Congress had not given the Tee-Hit-Ton permanent rights to the land. Instead, the tribe only had permission to live there.
The Court referred to an older idea called "conquest." This idea suggests that when a new group takes over land, any previous ownership rights might end. The Court said that taking land from Native American groups did not always require payment from Congress.
Because the Tee-Hit-Ton did not have a "recognized title" (official ownership) to the land, the Court ruled they were not owed money. This decision was based on the Fifth Amendment, which says the government must pay for private property it takes. However, the Court decided that the Tee-Hit-Ton's land was not "private property" in the way the Fifth Amendment meant.
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 348
